Latin American History

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms and definitions from the lecture notes.

Contras

Rebels supported by the United States who fought against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.

Dirty War

Period between 1976 and 1983 in Argentina characterized by state-sponsored terrorism, torture, and executions.

Import-substitution industrialization

Economic policy aimed at building a nation's industry by restricting foreign trade, as implemented by Getulio Vargas in Brazil.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Agreement that eliminated tariffs among the United States, Canada, and Mexico, creating a large free trade zone.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Military alliance formed in 1949 by the United States and other Western nations.

Oligarquia

The wealthy elite in Argentina who controlled vast tracts of farmland and dominated the country's agricultural production.

Pearl Harbor

Naval base in Hawaii that was bombed by the Japanese in 1941, prompting the United States to enter World War II.

Proxy Wars

Conflicts in which the United States and the Soviet Union supported opposing sides with arms and financing, without directly engaging each other.

Sandinistas

Revolutionaries who overthrew the U.S.-backed Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979.

Truman Doctrine

Policy issued by the United States in 1947 promising military aid to any nation fighting communist or socialist insurrections.

Emiliano Zapata

Led peasant revolts in southern Mexico to take land from wealthy hacienda owners and return it to Amerindian villages.

Pancho Villa

Organized peasant revolts in northern Mexico and seized haciendas in an effort to redistribute wealth.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff

The highest import duty in US History that was passed by Congress in 1930 to protect American businesses from foreign competition.

Getulio Vargas

Authoritarian ruler of Brazil who staged a coup in 1930 and implemented import substitution industrialization.

Lázaro Cárdenas

Mexican president who revitalized the revolution, redistributed land, and nationalized railroads and foreign-owned oil companies.

Fulgencio Batista

The undemocratic, corrupt, and repressive president of Cuba

Fidel Castro

Led a popular rebellion in Cuba that forced Batista from power

Bay of Pigs invasion

A CIA-sponsored invasion of Cuba designed to overthrow Castro that ultimately failed

Nikita Khrushchev

Backed down and withdrew missiles from Cuba in the Cuban missile crisis

Salvador Allende

Chile's democratically elected president who was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup as he attempted to nationalize U.S.-owned copper mines.

Augusto Pinochet

Took control of various aspects of the Brazilian solution in Chile

Anastasio Somoza

U.S.-backed Nicaraguan dictator

Violeta Chamorro

Led a moderate coalition and was elected after the Sandinistas called for free elections in 1990.