Contemporary Latin America after World War 2

World Civilization
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation World Civilization
Main Features of Contemporary Latin America after World War II
At the end of the Second World War, Latin America had high expectations especially the economic ones, but these hopes were only partially fulfilled. There was a slow economic and political power consolidation as compared to the other parts of the world such as Western Europe and East Asia. The Latin America share of international trade declined drastically, and this increased the poverty gap in Latin American countries (Buzan & Lawson, 2014). There was also a wide gap in the per capita income experienced by the countries in Latin America as compared to the world leading democracies. The popular and formal education increased which made the people aware of the economic lag. Also, the mass culture and mass media became vocal and served to feed dissatisfaction among Latin Americans. Among the solutions put forward to solve the economic crises were the Marxist revolutions and the military dictatorship, but none of these were successful in addressing the challenges. However, these civil and political wars have been a significant part of insecurity and economic instability in Latin America countries.
Are the Nations of Latin America Still Economically Dependent on the United States and Western Europe?
The countries in Latin America are still dependent on Western Europe countries and the United States. Most of the exports from Latin America to the international market are raw commodities such as minerals, and agricultural produce. Due to lack of proper infrastructure, Latin America countries export most of their products to the United States and Europe. On the other hand, these countries import finished and manufactured goods from Europe and the United States. This gap creates a significant deficit in the balance of trade. Additionally, the Latin America countries take corrosal amounts of debts from the United States of America and European countries to fund their budgets (Loaiza Maya, Gomez-Gonzalez & Melo Velandia, 2014). This reason makes these countries remit some of their income to service their debts. European investors have also invested a considerable amount of money in the Latin American industries. These industries employ many of the locals meaning that the European and Americans control the labor market. Thus, it can be concluded that nations of Latin America are still economically independent of Europe and the United States.
Liberation Theology
Liberation theology is a political and social movement within the Catholic Church that attempts to interpret the bible and the gospel of Jesus through the lives of the poor and oppressed in the society. The origin of liberation theology is in Latin America (G...