- From what groups did Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata draw their primary support? Why were
these groups dissatisfied with the established regime?
- Several of the larger Latin American states have experienced upheavals that have brought a change
in government. What is the justification for saying that only Mexico had a genuine revolution?
- What were the objectives of the Mexican Constitution of 1917? In what ways were attempts made
to realize those objectives? To what extent were those attempts successful?
- Describe the reform program of President Lázaro Cárdenas.
- What problems accompanied the industrial expansion beginning in the 1940s in Mexico?
- Describe the consequences of the Mexican government's miscalculations following the discovery
of oil and gas in 1976.
- Identify the root causes of social and political unrest in Mexico.
- What were the major achievements of Carlos Salinas as president of Mexico?
- To what extent are Brazil's problems typical of industrializing societies? To what extent are they
typical of many Latin American societies?
- What were the major features of Brazil's economic boom beginning in the 1960s? What were
the frailties of this period of growth?
- What led to Brazil's hyperinflation of the 1980s? What were its political consequences?
- What natural advantages does Argentina possess?
- What factors have led to instability, inequality, and conflict in Argentina in the twentieth century?
- What were the bases of Juan Per¢n's political support? What was the character of his rule, and
what were its consequences?
- What circumstances brought about the fall in 1983 of the military junta that had ruled Argentina
for seven years?
- How do you explain Argentina's decline from prosperity to near bankruptcy within the span of
a century?
- What measures did President Carlos Saúl Menem take to bring Argentina's inflation under
control and improve Argentina's economy? How successful were his policies?
- What were the major changes pursued by Salvador Allende as president of Chile?
- How do you account for the violent overthrow of Chile's democratically elected president in
September 1973?
- Why, in your judgment, was General Pinochet able to retain power longer than several other
contemporary dictators?
- How do you explain the trend toward military dictatorships in much of Latin America after the
Second World War?
- In what respects was Peru's military dictatorship of the 1970s different from other military
regimes?
- What factors have promoted the expansion of coca cultivation in northeastern Peru? What
hazards (both domestic and international) does it pose?
- What did Alberto Fujimori do to try to turn the Peruvian economy around? What signs of
success can you point to?
- How do you explain Uruguay's turn from a relatively high level of democracy to dictatorship and
repression by the 1970s?
- "Bolivia could be viewed as a working model of the problems and frustrations confronting Latin
American nations." Explain this statement.
- What are some of the general weaknesses common to many Latin American economies?
- What were the objectives of the "Twenty-sixth of July Movement" in Cuba?
- Despite successes in some areas, what have been the roadblocks to the achievement of all of Fidel
Castro's dream for Cuba?
- What circumstances delayed the coming of revolution in Central America?
- In 1979 dictators were expelled both from Nicaragua and El Salvador. How has the subsequent
regime in El Salvador differed from Nicaragua's?
- Compare or contrast the objectives of the Sandinistas with those of (a) the Mexican revolution,
(b) the Cuban revolution.
- Explain why the United States' position with regard to Panama changed from cooperation with
the government of General Omar Torrijos to conflict with the government of General Manuel
Noriega.
- What are some of the indicators that could give hope for greater stability and prosperity in Latin
America in the future?
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