Modern Latin American History Final Exam:

All questions are essays. You must answer all three. YOU MUST USE FORMAL ESSAY FORMAT!!!...

I. Intro paragraph – including thesis statement
II. Supporting argument paragraph
III. Supporting argument paragraph
IV. Supporting argument paragraph
V. Supporting argument paragraph
VI. Conclusion paragraph paragraph

1. Compare Brazil (Matt Korni), Bolivia (Leonel Hernandez), Mexico (Eric Lipari), and Cuba (Josh Rivera) – how are the countries similar? How are they different? Pay close attention to important social indicators like – 1. life expectancy, 2. infant mortality, 3. literacy, 4. per capita GDP and 5. percentage of persons living in poverty. Also look at the economic base of the country (exports) and the ethnic and “racial” makeup of the country.


2. Compare the social indicators of Haiti, Honduras (Noe Espino), Argentina (Aaron Booth) and the Unites States. How different are the economic and social conditions in these 4 countries.


3. The governments of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, and the recently elected FMLN in El Salvador have reacted negatively to the economic model that the United States has advocated for Latin America. What do they reject about the “Washington consensus” or neo-liberalism? What do they hope to accomplish? For some ideas, check out my recent blog entries at…

http://mrmeadlucero09.blogspot.com/

You must post your answers to your blog by 9:00 AM on Friday morning, March 20th

FMLN wins presidential election in El Salvador...

On Sunday, the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front), the former Guerrilla Army (remember the movie Innocent Voices) turned political party, won the elections for the presidency of El Salvador. Their candidate Mauricio Funes is a former television news reporter who criticized the government and the military for its massive human rights abuses during El Salvador’s brutal 12 year civil war. This election is the first time a leftist government has come to power in El Salvador. The FMLN rejects many of the economic policies promoted by the United States in Latin America. However, President Funes has promised not to make radical changes. Here are some links to more info…

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509438,00.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/08/AR2009030801775.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-elsalvador13-2009mar13,0,3098771.story

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1885573,00.html

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B19E6AA84-DCAF-4108-B996-5DB0F378CCD2%7D)&language=EN