Each response should contain no less than 400 and no more than 700 words.
Organization and clarity matter: Write at least one draft and read it aloud to yourself before submitting the final version. Check for logical inconsistencies, grammar errors, and typos. You should write in an academic style, avoiding the use of the first-person, colloquialisms, and contractions.
Focus: Be specific and avoid broad generalizations. Refer to ideas, concepts, events, and facts from primary and secondary readings. Use examples, and only include the material NECESSARY to make your point.
Quotes: Do not use direct quotations
EACH OF THESE QUESTIONS SHOULD CONSTITUTE APPROXIMATELY ⅓ OF PAPER. NO ANSWER SHOULD CONTAIN MORE THAN 400 WORDS OR FEWER THAN 700.
1) The Plan of Ayala—a manifesto launched by Emiliano Zapata in 1911 at the height of the Mexican Revolution—paints a dire situation in the Mexican countryside: “… the immense majority of Mexican villages and citizens own no more land than that which they tread upon, and are unable in any way to better their social condition or dedicate themselves to industry or agriculture, because the lands, forests, and waters are monopolized in only a few hands.” Discuss the historical causes behind these problems and how the new Mexican constitution addressed them in 1917.
2) Between the 1960s and 1980s, different Latin American countries experienced life under increasingly authoritarian governments. These regimes often presented themselves as part of a crusade against domestic communism. Discuss TWO examples of Latin American countries under anti-communist authoritarian regimes during this time. Explain why and how these regimes came to power, the types of policies they implemented, and how they ended.
3) Latin America entered the 1980s experiencing deep economic problems in the form of high inflation, economic stagnation, and unemployment. To solve these problems, international organizations (e.g., the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) and the U.S. government started pushing for sweeping reforms in Latin American economic policy. Explain the main points of these economic reforms and their effects on Latin American economies in the 1990s.