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Summary In just over 70 years, between 1930 and the present, the transformations and attempts at reform in Latin America have been on such a scale that it would be no exaggeration to state that it is impossible to understand them properly without a detailed examination of the principles and causes underlying them. The twentieth century in Latin America has been marked by events such as the emergence of agrarian movements, intense electoral activity despite the presence of dictatorial regimes, various forms of populism, indigenous movements, liberation theology and the remarkable prominence of literature and plastic arts. The region’s political, economic and social course has also been affected by world events such as the cycle of economic crises, the emergence of totalitarian movements and the move from a multipolar system to a bipolar international power structure following the Second World War (which generated a struggle of ideological, geopolitical and military dimensions). The many revolutionary and social movements and the various types of interventionism have all been affected by this situation. New trends of globalization, renewed attempts at regional integration and the emergence of independent political projects are all phenomena of a world no longer defined by ideological borders, and have shaped the Latin American societies of today. This volume is the joint work of 26 historians and specialists of Latin America, the United States and Europe, and is essential to identifying and understanding the main cultural, political, economic and social currents that combined to create today’s Latin American societies. |
