Blog Three

Jacob Smithson

WH 140

Professor Soland

1 November 2019

Blog Three

After the Independence movements within what was then called “Spanish America”, the regions it once encompassed were granted their own identity to a certain extent. The regions began to be recognized as “Latin America” or “Hispanic America”. However, as was apparent once the regions had taken their independence from Spain, no individual identity in specific existed for the countries within it. This is made clear in the article by Jose Marti when he makes the claim that In order for Latin Americans to preserve their own identity, the need to become more independent and rely less on models provided to them by Europe and the United States. Marti’s main purpose within his article is to make it widespread knowledge that self identification comes from one’s own belief in themselves and their origin and should not come from other people or places. This is reflected in the beliefs of Mexican and Guatemalan revolutionaries as they were part of the few that deeply longed for a unique identity that did not revolve around those in Western Europe or the United States. Additionally, Brazil at this time was having somewhat of an Identity crisis where latin identity represented, “conservatism, anti-liberalism, anti-republicanism, Catholicism and, not least, ties to Europe – that is to say, to France and Spain,” (Bethell). This idea that Brazil did not have its own identity at the time stems from the popularity of mimicking French and European social, political, and religious ideas within the region. In addition to Brazil and Latin America not developing their own national identities, Brazil further distanced itself from Latin America based on what they believe separated them from the region. This came mainly in the form of differences in geography and history in relation to Spain and France although Brazil had shared commonalities with Latin America such as Iberian and Catholic backgrounds. 

It was known by the likes of Jose Marti and others that in order for Latin America to become a truly independent region that the development of an original national identity which did not mimic other countries was needed. However, with the interference of the CIA based in the United States with the politics of Cuba and Guatemala (specifically the Bay of Pigs and other interferences that resulted from the Cold War and tensions with Russia), as well as Spanish interference with other Latin American countries, it became clear to Latin America that their true independence was going to be yet another struggle for years to come. This is especially true for Mexico where The United States annexed Texas, took much of California, and began to occupy New Mexico and other South Western regions of the United States that allow it to have the geography it does today. Much like the Independence movements in the early 1800’s, there was still opposition to the independence of the regions and foreign powers would continue to make attempts at forcing the areas to remain dependent on other international super powers. With the idea of “Euro-centrism” dominating the regions of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and other Latin American countries, the much needed self identification of those countries fell behind. As is the case with Eurocentrism, the identities of most regions within Hispanic America/ Latin America were based on Western European or American social standards, ideas, religious beliefs, and political ideologies.

Works Cited

Bethell, Leslie. “Brazil and ‘Latin America’.” Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 42, no. 3, Aug. 2010, pp. 457–485., http://www.jstor.org/stable/40984892.