POLI3426 Outliers Exam 2

Central American countries that gained independence from Spain in 1821

• Costa Rica

• El Salvador

• Guatemala

• Honduras

• Nicaragua

Rigoberta Menchu

Quiché activist from Guatemala and Nobel Peace Prize winner who grew up on fincas and helped develop peace post- civil war (1996) in Guatemala

Guatemalan fincas

large agricultural plantations that saw institutionalized forced labor and land dispossession from indigenous populations.

invention that made coffee valuable

steamships

Federal Republic of Central America (years, states, & problems)

a sovereign state in Central America that existed from 1823 to 1841; included Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua

came to an end due to civil wars, local uprisings, economic problems, elite power, and infrastructure problems

Four towns of Costa Rica with historic political power

Cartago, San Jose, Alajuela, Heredia

Act of Ayuntamientos

1821 act where Costa Rica declared independence from Spain

first Central American nation to export coffee

Costa Rica

Braulio Carillo

Costa Rica’s head of state from 1838- 1842 who began to build state/institutions

Costa Rica’s strategy of agricultural expansion

Government started giving away land in 1821 to people who would grow/export crops (by 1856, there was no more public land)

role of elite in Costa Rican agriculture

group that played financial role in Costa Rica’s agriculture, where the farming was left to small landowners

Costa Rica’s first regular election

1882

Jose Figueres

Costa Rican farmer, revolutionary leader, and statesman who abolished the army, created a constitutional convention, and introduced compulsory public education

1948 Costa Rican Civil War

short conflict in 1948 that ended with a short-term junta led by Jose Figueres

debt peonage

an economic system where a person pledges their labor to repay a loan or financial obligation, but the terms are manipulated or excessively large so the worker cannot realistically pay it off

where is debt peonage seen in Central America?

on Guatemalan fincas

what 2 things did Guatemala have at independence that Costa Rica didn’t?

1. Powerful merchants/landowners

2. Pre-developed colonial economy

Rafael Carrera

conservative dictator of Guatemala between 1838-1865 who implemented elite control

Justo Rufino Barrios

leader of the liberal movement of Guatemala that came to power in 1871

the narrow corridor

idea that liberty flourishes only inside a delicate balance where the state and society are in equilibrium

agency

the ability of key actors to influence the course of their society

2 big factors faced by small (Central American) states

1. Agency constrained by limited size

2. Asymmetry in international relationships

Panama’s year (& country) of independence

1903 from Gran Colombia

explanation for lack of democratic communalism & direct democracy in Central America

Historically, the majority of populations were marginalized from democratic processes; elites were given priority

outlier in Central America for governance & political development

Costa Rica

Mesoamerica

term that refers to Central America and Mexico

years that Spanish conquered Aztecs

1519 - 1521

New Spain, 1535 - 1821

territory of the Spanish Empire that included Mexico, Central America, and the Carribean

Highest & lowest HDI state of Central America

Panama (0.839)

Honduras (0.645)

Highest & lowest GFS of Central America

Costa Rica (91)

Nicaragua (14)

Jacobo Arbenz

democratically elected President of Guatemala, from 1951 until he was overthrown in 1954 by the CIA

2 things Arbenz did that led to CIA coup

1. Legalized Guatemalan Party of Labor

2. Tried to nationalize/expropriate land of United Fruit Company

Che Guevera

famous Argentine Marxist revolutionary who was radicalized by the CIA’s 1954 coup in Guatemala

Civil War of Guatemala

30-year civil conflict (1960-1996) between the elite government of Guatemala and various leftist and indigenous rebel groups

Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index

score administered by a German NGO that ranks corruption in governments

corruption

the abuse of entrusted power for private gain

All Central American countries are below the CPI median except for:

Costa Rica

the “little country that could”

Costa Rica

ticos/as

nickname given to Costa Ricans

exports of Costa Rica

• medical instruments

• integrated circuits

• pineapples

largest country with no standing army

Costa Rica

Cocos Island National Park

UNESCO site and Costa Rican National Park that is renowned for its diving, rumored to be the site of pirate treasure, and cannot be inhabited

Belize Barrier Reef

the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere

known for the Great Blue Hole cenote

Caracol ruins

one of the best-preserved Mayan ruins; located in Belize

year of Belize’s independence

1981

“British Honduras”

colonial term that refers to Belize

Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Caves

caves in Belize with tombs

“tropical North Korea”

Nicaragua

____ of Nicaragua’s population is hungry

1/5 of Nicaraguan’s population is _____

Daniel Ortega’s first rule (Dates & context)

ruled in Nicaragua from 1979-1990 as part of the Sandinista guerilla

Daniel Ortega’s years of rule

1979-1990, 2007-present

Daniel Ortega’s current rule

2007-present; dictator of Nicaragua

Ortega-Murillo regime

highly oppressive diarchal leaders of Nicaragua who have overthrown the constitution, civil society, and culture

objective of Ortega/Murillo regime

keep their family in power

Daniel Ortega overhauls constitution (years & details)

2024 — makes his wife co-president and disabled all checks/balances on their power

Rosario Murillo

powerful (co-)dictator of Nicaragua and wife of Daniel Ortega who is widely disliked/feared

Panama’s 1903 independence

gained independence from Gran Colombia with the U.S.’s support, in exchange for the canal construction/operation

General Noriega

Panamanian military dictator and the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 until he was ousted by the US in 1989

Operation Just Cause

1989 US military operation under H.W. Bush to oust Panama’s General Noreiga

4 reasons for Operation Just Cause

1. Protect US

2. Restore democracy in Panama

3. Combat drug trafficking

4. Protect the Panama Canal Treaty

Jose Raul Murino

current conservative leader of Panama with a minority coalition and high dissatisfaction

focused on restructuring social security system and closing the Darien Gap to migration

70% of Panama’s GDP comes from ____

services make up ___% of Panama’s GDP

Colon Free Trade Zone

the largest free trade zone in the Western Hemisphere, located at the Atlantic entrance of the Panama Canal

with Panama’s high GDP/c, also comes high ___

income inequality

Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903

treaty that designates the Panama Canal zone to be under US control “as if it were sovereign” in exchange for US support of Panamanian independence

Torrijos-Carter Treaties (1979)

1. Panama Canal Treaty: 1999 handover

2. Neutrality Treaty

Panama Canal Authority (PCA)

Panamanian governmental agency and administrator of the canal

Rio Indio Reservoir

proposed project that would direct more water towards the Panama Canal due to concerns of water scarcity / drought

Fuerzas Publicas of Panama

national security and law enforcement agencies of Panama (no standing military)

2025 US/Panama MOU

says Panama and US forces can have presence at pre-1999 military installations

Trump says what about the Panama Canal in Jan 2026?

China “controlled” the Canal and the US needs to “take it back”

Panama Ports Company (PPC)

a subsidary of the Hong-Kong-based CK Hutchinson which could operate 2 ports at the ends of the Panama Canal, until the Panamanian Supreme Court annulled the concession in 2026 after Trump complained about Chinese influence

Central American countries use ______ to find their _____ and prosper

sovereignty to find their niche

Panama has the highest percentage of _____ heritage in Central America due to _________?

African heritage; due to slave trade and labor for canals

Panama’s main source of electricity

hydropower

Darien Gap

a remote, dense, and dangerous jungle in Panama that cuts off the Pan-American highway

saw high human trafficking / smuggling during Biden administration

Vasco Balboa

Spanish explorer who in 1513 discovered the Pacific Ocean and called it the “South Sea” (because it was south of Panama)

New Caledonia Colonial Scheme

attempt by Scotland to settle Puerto Escoces in Panama that failed miserably and contributed to Scotland’s debt in the 1690s

After Operation Just Cause, where did Noreiga flee to?

The Vatican embassy

how did the US draw Noreiga out of his retreat in the Vatican’s embassy?

played rock and heavy metal music (ACDC) 24 hours a day to pressure him to come out

a man a plan a canal Panama

palindrome and slogan that refers to Theodore Roosevelt’s plan to build the Panama canal

French attempt at Panama Canal (1881-1889)

first attempt to build a canal in Panama that failed and left 20,000 workers dead due to disease

Panama hats

straw hats that gained popularity when Theodore Roosevelt visited the construction site of the Panama canal and gave them to the workers

Lake Gatun Reservoir

reservoir that provides the water to “fill” the bathtub of the Panama Canal locks and uses twice the daily water than New York City

Panama canal locks

water “elevators” that lift ships up 3 steps between sea level and Gatun Reservoir, and then lowers the ships back down to sea level

San Blas Islands

group of 365 Panamanian islands that are home to the Cuna Indians

molas

blouses made by Cuna women after Christians insisted they cover up that now function as a key economic driver of their community

physical characteristics of Cuna Indians

tattoos on nose and nose ring

matrialocal

a social system in which a newly married couple settles with/near the wife’s family

Cuna Indians

indigenous group of the San Blas islands of Panama that is matriarchal and matrialocal

3 ways Panama uses sovereignty to find niche

1. Flagged merchant fleet

2. Offshoring corporations

3. Offshore banks

Flag of Convenience

practice where a shipowner registers a merchant vessel in a country other than their own, allowing the ship to fly that nation's flag

Panama’s merchant fleet

Panama sells ship licenses to ship owners, giving them little oversight, fees, taxes, or labor laws, making Panama the 3rd largest merchant fleet and bringing in $150m a year

Two reasons for the decline of Panama’s merchant fleet

1. Crackdown from EU/US forces bc of Russia/Iran shadow fleets

2. China detaining Panama-flagged ships at port

Russia & Iran’s “shadow fleets”

two countries that register their ships under the Panamanian flag to avoid sanctions and oversight

offshore corporations in Panama

350,000 registered corporations that get no taxes, privacy, low cost, and flexibility

offshore banking / financial services in Panama

65 banks that offer confidentiality, USD, legal protection, and remote opening/access

world’s only spousal diarchy

Nicaragua

only diarchies in world

Andorra, San Marino, & Nicaragua

Nicaraguans are fleeing to….

Costa Rica