Chapter 16

Storm over the Andes: The Struggle for Land and Development in the Central Andean Area

The following material is designed to help you sort out the major themes and important information in our textbook Benjamin Keen, A History of Latin America, 5^th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996). You will be quizzed over this material in class. Also use this information as a study guide to prepare for the exam.

Learning Objectives

After you have read and studied Chapter 16, you should be able to:

1. Describe common features of the modern histories of the three Andean republics of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.
2. Discuss the Indian and agrarian problems in modern Peru and the evolution of Peruvian thought concerning those problems.
3. Discuss the origins and program of the Peruvian Revolution of 1968 and assess its consequences.
4. Describe major political trends and events in Peru since the conservative restoration of 1975 and outline the country's unsolved economic and social problems.

Chapter Summary

The chapter opens with a survey of modern Bolivian politics, describing the important reforms achieved by the revolution of 1952, the retreat from reform under U.S. pressure, and the recent emergence of coca and cocaine production as a major prop of the Bolivian economy. It continues with a review of the recent history of Ecuador, the scene of a continuing struggle between leftist and reformist parties and conservative parties that favor the neoliberal policies advocated by the United States. A survey of the history of Peru from independence to 1968 follows, with emphasis on the semifeudal agrarian structure of its neocolonial economy, based on the export of a few products (guano, nitrates, copper, oil) and foreign loans. Attention is then directed toward the Peruvian Revolution of 1968 and how it failed to solve the problems of dependency and backwardness. In conclusion, an account is given of the failed modernizing effort of the García regime, the impact of the neoliberal policies of the current Fujimoi government, and the reasons for Fujimor's reelection in 1995 despite his human rights abuses and the suffering caused by his neoliberal economic policies.

Identification Terms

Be sure that you are able to identify and explain the historical significance of each of each of these terms from this chapter.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. This material is presented as a study guide exclusively for the use of students in Latin American History at Illinois State University. Please direct any questions to Marc Becker at mbecker@ilstu.edu.