Cocalero

The film "Cocalero" tells the story of how Evo Morales became the current president of Bolivia. Compared to the last movie we watched, about the way in witch former Bolivian president, "Goni," returned to power, it is interesting to see how Morales did so in a completely different manner. Evo had been fighting for the indigenous population of Bolivia for a long time. "Goni" could be seen as an outsider that used Western style campaigning to once again become the Bolivian president. Morales simply focused on the message of protecting the indigenous people and the rest of Bolivia from influences detrimental to their country. Social reforms were his main objective, and it became clear he would be an enemy to the large business owners in Santa Cruz and the capitalist western world as he stood in support with other Latin American socialists such as Hugo Chavez. 

The indigenous communities of Latin America have been struggling to be heard for hundreds of years. In the article, "Ecuador's Pan- Indian Uprising," Les Field illustrates just how hard the indigenous have fought for their voice to be heard. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) led a march across the country in the early 1990's that forced the Ecuadorian government to mobilize the army as the indigenous population shut down roads and took political members hostage to show just how serious they were about reforming the country. Field's explains their main message was simple, give back the land that was rightfully theirs. The CONAIE leaders proposed sixteen demands that centered around land reform and improving the overall quality of life for the indigenous people. As seen in the film, protests by indigenous communities throughout Latin America have become common as the people continue to struggle from what they view as being exploited by the upper class elite. Suzana Sawyer's article, "The 1992 Indian Mobilization in Lowland Ecuador," also shows how much of a struggle it has been for the indigenous populations. Sawyer goes on to explain how the indigenous populations had fought everything from state sponsored racism to being barred from political office over the previous decades. Without some sort of mass mobilization of the indigenous community it would likely remain the same for a long time. 

It appears the voices of the indigenous communities are finally being heard and that is a great thing. However, the governments in place in countries such as Venezuela and Bolivia should be viewed with caution. Evo Morales rose to power through the union ranks and used great coercion to become the leader of the indigenous people in Bolivia. Union members are required to attend meeting and pay dues, otherwise they could be fined. Refusal to pay the fine leads to being tied up and eaten by deadly ants. Punishments like this would be greeted with intense cries of human rights violations in the western world, but it seems to be overlooked in countries like Bolivia. One could argue that drastic means were needed for these people to have a chance at improving their lives, but it seems that Bolivia has thrown out former dictators in favor for a union dictator that may damage the country even more.  

Our Brand is Crisis

"Our Brand is Crisis," is an interesting film that covers the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. It follows GCS, a political consulting firm based out of Washington D.C. and headed by people such as James Carville, and tells the story of how they helped Gonzalez Sanchez de Lozada, "Goni," once again become the president of Bolivia. GCS helped release a number of smear ads against fellow presidential candidates Manfred Villa and Eva Morales. Manfred had a large lead and Morales had much support from the indigenous population of Bolivia. GCS also informed Goni that he must make the people believe he had learned from his past mistakes and could use privatization to help the struggling economy. When Goni decided to run oil through a Chilean pipeline, against  the will of the people, Morales and his supporters took to the streets and Goni was forced to resign and relocate back to D.C. In the end, the movie tells the story of how many Latin American countries have struggled economically as corporations continue to take their natural resources

In the "Slow Death of the Washington Consensus," James Cypher writes that the "Washington Consensus" is the ability of large multinational corporations and other entities, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to influence Latin American countries to adopt neoliberal policies. Cypher goes on to explain that as these countries adopt these polices they suffer economically. Poverty increases, wages drop, unemployment rises, and overall these countries are negatively affected. He writes that initially these effects were described as transition costs and that the overall growth of these nation's economies would have a positive outcome for the people. However, these countries were borrowing tons of money from foreign markets, and when these markets begin to collapse, such as the collapse of the Asian economies in the 1990's, the countries were unable to finance these debts. Cypher further explains that the economies of these countries continue to struggle, but that the collapse of the "Washington Consensus" is the best thing to come out of D.C. in years.

John Perkins goes on to write about his experiences as what he calls an economic hitman. In "Confessions of an Economic Hitman," Perkins tells the story of how he become an economic consultant and en expert witness for businesses to do work in Latin America and other places throughout the world. He believes U.S. imperialism has forced countries throughout the world to continue to struggle economically. He writes that most people, like himself, are just part of the process by following orders and are inadvertently allowing the process to continue, but large companies are keeping the people of these countries from becoming prosperous. Perkins writes about how some leaders, such s Jamie Roldos attempted to fight against these companies. Roldos attempted to pass hydrocarbon legislation and informed the oil companies in Ecuador that their companies must benefit the people of Ecuador. Shortly after this, while his hydrocarbon initiative was working its way through congress, Roldos died in a plane crash that Perkins attributes to a CIA assassination attempt ordered by Ronald Reagan. As Ecuador continues to struggle, Perkins blames it on what he believes are the imperialistic policies of the United States, and writes that we must reevaluate ourselves and consider where we want our children to end up.

The film and the articles offer a lot to think about. The economic struggles of Latin America can very much be attributed to the influence of international organizations such as the World Bank. Entering large amounts of debt was a terrible decision for these countries and of course the multinational corporations would have encouraged it so that they could better use the land, but blaming the U.S. completely for this outcome is a bit over the top. These countries made their own decisions in the end. Most of the U.S. founders were against entering large amounts of debt. They understood that to become a powerful nation we had to do it ourselves. It was a process that took almost 150 years for us to overtake Britain as the world's largest power. We definitely made mistakes, but blaming the U.S. for each poor country's struggles is preposterous.  Did we encourage some of these companies to enter foreign countries? Undoubtedly so, but it seems highly unlikely that a United States president would order the assassination of a foreign leader over his stance on what companies could remain in his country. Hopefully these countries have learned from their mistakes, and hopefully the U.S. stays out of these foreign countries as it seems it would work to our advantage to help our current financial crisis, but  it is hard to believe we are the only reason these countries cannot become economically viable.

La Virgen de los Sicaros

"La Virgen de los Sicaros" is a film about the immense amount of violence that surrounds the Colombian drug wars. The film centers around a relationship between Fernando, an older gay gentleman, and Alexis, a member of a gang who is constantly being sought after by other gang members. Alexis is eventually killed by one of the gang members, leaving Fernando alone again until he meets Wilmar. Wilmar turns out to be the gang member who killed Alexis, because Alexis had killed his brother. Fernando contemplates killing Wilmar, but instead they decide to leave the country together. As Fernando waits for Wilmar to return from returning a refrigerator to his mother's house, Fernando receives a phone call informing him that Wilmar has now died. The amount of violence is not the most surreal part of the film, instead it is the nonchalant attitude of the citizens towards the violence.

In the article "State, Esprit, Mafioso, and Armed Conflict in Colombia," Ricardo Vargas helps explain why this amount of violence became common in Colombia. Vargas explains, "drug trafficking is situating itself so as to capitalize on an eventual reordering of power by the state. Private power is thus being used to create a new public order." He also explains that the geography of Colombia has helped facilitate guerrilla warfare that is promoted by local leaders. The isolation of each Colombian state and the wide amount of poverty has also encouraged the warfare according to Vargas. Local, private elites funded their own private armies, attempting to protect their land and their illegal activities, causing much violence throughout the country. In the "Evil Hour in Colombia," Forrest Hylton helps explain the rifts between the various military groups and mpolitical factions. Hylton writes that Colombia was the one Latin American country in the mid twentieth century that did not succumb to agrarian reform and efforts of organized labor. The Catholic Church helped to keep the Conservative party in control during the 1930's and 1940's, helping to keep these movements out of Colombia. During a time frame referred to as La Violencia, occurring in the 1940's and 1950's, 300,000 men lost their life due to the struggles between the various groups seeking control. This large number of deaths helped to lead to what was known as The National Front, a combining of the Liberal and Conservative parties that was backed by the Catholic Church. However, there was little central power in Colombia and politics was still dominated locally. It is during this time that Hylton explains the guerrilla warfare witnessed in the film began to spring up, as men roamed the country attempting to avenge the death of loved ones. Mafia leaders like Pablo Escobar and others also began to enter politics in the 1980's, helping to continue the violence surrounding the drug wars in Colombia.

After reading these articles it is clear why the people in the film seemed to not be phased by the amount of violence. When 300,000 men lose their life in less than a decade, it is obvious that most Colombian's had to cope with amount of violence they witnessed. Vargas writes that defeating drug trafficking and the violence surrounding it is not an easy task, but notes that attempts by Colombia to deal with it mostly failed because the military approach did not consider the local interests that surrounded the drug war. It appears that the U.S. and Colombian forces attempting to defeat the drug trafficking problem should have been more focused on creating a strong central power that could address the problem. This absence of a strong central government helped fuel the violence for the better part of the 20th century.

Cocaine Cowbys

"Cocaine Cowboys" is a documentary covering the illegal drug rings busted up in 1980's Miami. The film tells the story of drug runners Mickey Munday and Jon Roberts, enforcer Jorge "Rivi" Ayala, and the Godmother, Griselda Blanco. Miami, and the rest of the country, seemed to turn a blind eye to their activities until blood starting puring into the streets through the ruthless crimes committed by people like Rivi. The film tells the stories of how innocent children were murdered at the order of Griselda, but it leaves out how the Latin American nations were affected by the drug wars and how the United States helped fuel part of the drug war. 

The United States has had a long policy of promoting democracy throughout the world. During the 1980's, the United States helped fund a group knows as the "Contras" in Nicaragua. They opposed the military rule in the region and found support in the United States Government. Oliver North, a top ranking U.S. military official, was one of the most involved U.S. officials in funding the Contras. Government documents, taken from the link "Did the U.S. Sell Cocaine in the 1980's?," show North used various drug smuggling outfits to help fund the Contras. One of the largest examples is known as the Iran- Contra scandal. Talked about briefly in the film, the U.S. government sold weapons to a terrorist group in Iran for the release of several U.S. hostages. The government documents show that some of these funds were used to help fund the Contras and General Noriega in Nicaragua.  

An article by Coletta Youngers explains the effects these U.S. policies had on the people of these Latin American countries. Youngers writes, "drug trafficking in the Andes breeds criminality, exacerbates political violence, and hence greatly increases problems of citizen security." Youngers believes that the U.S. policy of funding local military and police forces to defeat the war on drugs has been ineffective and lead to multiple human rights violations. She gives examples of countries like Colombia, Peru, and other countries where the U.S. has funded counterinsurgency campaigns that have only lead to the killings of tons of people. She also writes that these U.S. polices have only increased the amount of cocaine production in countries like Colombia and Bolivia. The millions of tax dollars sent to these countries each year seems to be a lost since it has only lead to the deaths of many and even increased the drug production in these countries. 

"Cocaine Cowboys" does a great job of describing the effects of the drug war in 1980's Miami. However, it only gives us a glimpse of how it affected the countries like Colombia and Nicaragua. Miami eventually recovered from drug war and even benefited from the tons of cash it brought to the city, but the Latin American countries were adversely affected by the U.S. policies to combat the drug war. The question of how we should deal with these drug cartels is a question we are still facing today. Most people do not want their cities to turn into the Miami of the 1980's, but how we deal with these other countries is something we should look at. Promoting democracy throughout the world is something most American's would see as a noble cause, but at what cost should we continue to fund groups that seem as corrupt as the governments they claim to oppose? 

Bus 174

"Bus 174" was an interesting movie about the hijacking of a bus in Brazil. The attempted robbery ended horribly, but the film explains how people like Sandro are forced into making decisions like this. With no family, no real friends, constantly staying high on cocaine and glue, and no chance of getting a real job or education, Sandro brought a voice to people like himself who were constantly ignored their entire lives.

With the death of his mother and the death of his friends at the Candaleria Church, Sandro had witnessed and lived through horrible events at a very young age. Being constantly placed in prison for robbing and stealing only made his life harder. The prison's goals seemed aimed at breaking the inmates, not rehabilitating them. Seeing no way out, it is easy to see how Sandro continued to steal. The article, "The Heart that Bleeds," shows just how children like Sandro get lost in  these Latin American countries. Even though the article is about Mexico, it explains how much emphasis the country and its leaders have placed on modernity. Losing much of its older traditions and focusing on building KFC's and Taco Bell's as the author explained, has some negative effects on the society. Unfortunately, children like Sandro are one of these effects. It is hard to imagine telling these middle and lower income countries not to industrialize, but they should consider its effects on the ones like Sandro. Without an education or previous work experience, Sandro could not get a job even though he wanted one. During the movie an older woman he lived with remembered him asking her who would hire him. The reality is that probably no one would.

The article, "The Drive- by Victim ,"shows what kind of effect unemployment can have on these people. The gang members need to come up with a few million pesos, and the only way to obtain this was by robbing people in need of a taxi ride. Just like Sandro in Bus 174, the robbers are not particularly portrayed as bad people. At the end of the article the author states he would have asked them to breakfast if he was braver. This is hard to understand, but there seems to be a sense of compassion towards the victims in both cases. They all seem to understand that the robbers are just trying to continue to make a living. This does not excuse their actions, but somehow there winds up being an understanding between the victims and robbers.

As these Latin American countries continue to industrialize, they need to consider how to handle the lower income, underprivileged people of the population. "Bus 174" and "City of God" show what kind of disastrous effects ignoring these people will have. They have to find a way to survive and this need for survival usually turns to crime and drugs. This is obviously a very tough situation with no easy answer, but people like Sandro need some sort of way to rehabilitate. Offering some sort of formal education and helping these people find a real job would be a good start. They need to know they have a place in society that does not revolve around drugs and crime.

City of God

The film, "Cidade de Deus," shows how violence in our world tends to follow a cyclical path. The movie starts out with young boys like Li'l Dice, Benny, and Carrot taking control of the various drug and criminal activities within the city. By the end of the movie another group of young boys can be seen rising up and taking over the illegal industries. It is interesting that regardless of the place, Brazil, the U.S. or anywhere, the ghettos like this seem to constantly pan out to a similar story. The poor and underprivileged of the larger cities are constantly looking to take advantage of these criminal activities, as most seem to have trouble finding another way of life.

As Julio Cesar Pino explains in his article, "Labor in the Favelas of Rio De Janerio, 1940- 1969," the Brazilian favelas began to grow out of the mass immigration from rural to urban setting in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the country began to industrialize. Pino explains the problem with Brazilian urbanization was the lack of rights for Brazilian workers. The Brazilian ruling class was able to take advantage of this as they consumed a mass amount of good that the lower class produced at a cheap cost. The country had established a minimum wage, but that was only for full time workers. Businesses were able to constantly lay off workers and restrict their rights even more. Pino cites the fact that in any single year between 1940 and 1960 that 40% of the favela population would have been unemployed.  This sub-proletariat class was not paid minimum wage, were not protected by a union, and simply did not have the means to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and their families because of the elite's manipulation of the working class. When reading about how poor these people would have been, it is not surprising that children like Li'l Dice and Carrot were able to perform horrendous crimes at a young age. They understood what kind of life they were likely to have to live and saw the selling of drugs as a way to control their own lives.

Ney dos Santos Oliviera writes about the similarities and differences between the Brazilian favelas and the ghettos of New York City. She explains that only 12% of the American population is black, compared to the roughly 43% black population in Brazil, with about 5 million people inhabiting the favelas. She explains that even with such a large black population in the country, few blacks have achieved any sort of political office. In the U.S. there may still be a disproportional number, especially at the national level, but the numbers are much better and for a smaller portion of the population. The author contributes this to a lack of political organization within the Brazilian favelas. This is not surprising, as in the U.S, large groups of poor people are disconnected from political activity even though they may have the most to gain from political involvement. These facts also help explain why kids growing up in these poor environments may see this illegal activity as their only way out.

 It is rather stunning to see little children like Li'l Dice able to commit murder and sell and use drugs. However, it is a part of the society that has been created. As long as these underprivileged children view this activity as their only way out of a poor, troubled life then it will always occur throughout the world. It happens in the major cities of America, maybe not as prevalent as in a poor South American country, but these troubled kids tend to come from the same poor, undereducated, and impoverished backgrounds. The kids in these situations need to know there is a way out besides dealing drugs. That is easy to see in a place like the U.S, it is not so easy to see in a place with larger amounts of poverty.

Revolutionary Che

The film, Che Part 1: The Argentine, shows how Che and his group of guerrilla forces defeated the larger Cuban army and helped bring Fidel Castro to power. After watching the film and reading articles about the life of Che Guevara, it appears that this turned into a struggle of ideology in which Che was ready to give his life for. His resentment towards U.S. policy helped bring about his ideas of revolutionizing the world, not just Latin America, into a socialist state through a revolution by the people.

The use of guerrilla tactics by Che was extremely successful in the small, undeveloped Cuban state. Che outlines how his tactics worked in his own article, "Guerrilla Warfare: A method." First there is the defensive stage, where the smaller forces slowly attack the enemy in small battles and running. Next, is what he calls the state of equilibrium. Here attacks are possible from both sides. Lastly, is when the revolution has won the hearts and minds of the people which allows them to overtake the major cities within the country. These three stages are clearly viewable in the film. Initially, Che and his forces are roaming the countryside and planning precise attacks on Batista's army. While doing this Che is also taking in and educating the people. The second stage can be seen Batista's army infiltrates one of Che's camps and destroys it. The last stage can be seen as Che's forces overtake the city of Santa Clara and then begins to head for Havana.

It is interesting that in his "Message to the Tricontinental Congress," Che explains he is doing this because there is no other alternative to a socialist revolution. He believed the U.S. and other western powers were oppressing the underdeveloped countries of the world and would continue to do so. He frequently speaks of American imperialism and calls it the last stage of capitalism. This makes it evident that Che is beginning to fight an ideological battle. It seems hypocritical for him to argue that a socialist intervention from a foreign party, such as himself, is any better than a capitalist intervention in another state. In the film he is constantly speaking about fighting for the Cuba and its people. This was a cause that the Cuban's should risk their lives for, but why? Batista was only being replaced with another dictator under the name of Fidel Castro, and indebted it to the Soviet Union instead of western powers. Che only seemed concerned with escaping the control of foreign powers, and not relieving the people of Latin America from oppression concentrated within their own governments.

Socialism and defeating what Che believed to be American imperialism were his main concerns. One can buy that he was truly caring for the people, but when only watching documentaries showing the man in a positive light it is easy to establish this perspective about him. This is his legacy however, as Eric Zolov states in his article "Between Bohemianism and a Revolutionary Rebirth: Che Guevara in Mexico;" " Che remains for many Mexican youth, as well as for those of the generation of 1968, a symbol of international solidarity and anti- imperialist struggle an irreverent revolutionary who overcame his bohemianism while never repudiating his wanderlust spirit." However, it seems saddening that Che did not visualize a revolution that brought people real freedoms. People need freedoms from all governments, especially the one closest to them.

Motorcycle Diaries

The "Motorcycle Diaries" attempts to tell the story of Ernesto Guevara being transformed into the revolutionary we all know him as today. As he traveled through the impoverished countries of Latin America, one can see Guevara beginning to have a different view of the world. It appears he envisioned a united Latin America, where every member, regardless of what class they were, whether they were indigenous, or an immigrant, be given an equal life to live. The most enlightening part of the film is his time at the leper camp in San Pablo. The egalitarian community of the leper camp seems to be what Che had envisioned turning Latin America into.

As Eduardo Elena notes in his article, "Point of Departure: Travel and Nationalism in Ernesto Guevara’s Argentina," many Latin American countries had succumbed to a movement of nationalism. Guevara seems to be unique in that he saw the struggles of the people of each Latin American country as eerily similar and should not be restrained within the borders of each country. This is not surprising after Elena notes that by his teenage years Che had familiarized himself with Marx and other leftist authors. Advocating a socialist movement of the working class seems to be something that Guevara was likely support as he traveled through Latin America. 


In the article, "Awaiting the Blood of a Truly Emancipating Revolution: Che Guevara in 1950's Peru," it is obvious that the injustices Guevara noticed during his travels strengthened his view that a large social revolution was necessary in Latin America. A quote in the article by Paul Dosal states, " the poverty and injustices he observed struck a sensitive chord." Guevara's eagerness to begin reform came from the struggles he witnessed from the working and helpless people of Latin America. As observed in the film from his time in the leper community, Che saw himself no different from these people with the exception of having a better status in the world. In the leper community it appears that only the Catholic nuns see themselves as better than the lepers, as they require the use of gloves around the ill, which Che refuses to use. Drinot's article helps us to understand why Che was so bothered by the injustice he saw. As in Peru, most Latin American governments attempted to eliminate their opposition. Quieting the views of the people is something that would have bothered Che as he witnessed the mass amount of poverty in the region. 


Ann Zulawski writes in her article that Che had a strong bond between the indigenous people of Latin America. He recognized their struggles and how they were were treated as second class citizens by every other class in the region. This seems why this quote in the article by Drinot explains the revolutionary view of Che, " political change could only be brought about only through a violent revolution led by people capable of emancipating others who could not emancipate themselves." Che saw himself as in a position to help others. The working people of Latin America were not afforded the resources to bring about a revolution for themselves. Che and people like him could help unite the lower classes of Latin America and bring about the change he saw necessary. 


It is interesting that Guevara attempted to unite such a large group of people. Latin America appears to have been run by a small elitist class and largely influenced by outside forces during this time period. Che saw the policies enforced as being against the will of the majority of the regular people. He wanted to lead a revolution that would wind up bringing about a similar egalitarian community as the one he witnessed at the leper colony in Peru. It appears that much of his work failed in most places, as only Cuba was the one place that seemed to prosper in any aspect from the effects of Che and many would argue it only hurt the country in the long run. Guevara was right that the injustices of the Latin America people needed to be addressed, but his socialist movement was largely ineffective. The people needed a government that allowed them to grow and prosper as individuals, not one that made everyone equal by depending on the state for their basic needs. 

Soy Cuba

Soy Cuba is a unique movie telling the story of the Cuban Revolution. It begins by portraying the large, tourist city of Havana. Initially, it appears to be a thriving city with few problems. The issues of poverty and neocolonialism begin to prevail as the first part of the movie comes to an end with the tourist walking through the destitute parts of the city. Fidel Castro and his new government attempted to fix the economic situation with the distribution of land, goods and income, but the U.S. embargo and other post World War II issues hindered these efforts.

Susan Eckstein discusses many of these issues in her article, "The Impact of the Cuban Revolution: A Comparative Perspective." One of the problems Eckstein brings is up is how Castro attempted to industrialize the economy domestically. However, by the mid 20th century this was practically impossible to accomplish. Cuba needed capital to produce goods for export. Chasteen reports in chapter eight of "Born in Blood and Fire," that the U.S. focused most of its efforts after World War II on helping to reconstruct Europe. Much of Latin America felt betrayed by this after they helped supply many goods to the world market during the war. Chasteen states that only two percent of U.S. foreign aid was given to Latin American countries between 1946 and 1959 as the U.S. focused its efforts on the Marshall Plan. Eckstein writes that Cuba was even farther burdened by its relationship with the Soviet Union after World War II. As the U.S. attempted to squash the communist revolution in Cuba, the Soviet Union swooped in attempting to undermine its enemy. They supplied large amounts of aid to Cuba, but demanded in return that Cuba buy their inferior, cheaper goods. The Soviet Union took advantage of Cuba while the U.S. enforced a trade embargo that kept the country from growing at a faster rate under Castro.

As Americans, we tend to see communism as a threat to our individual liberties. It more than likely is, but as Chasteen writes in chapter 8, Marxism appealed to many Latin American countries because they feared the U.S. would only begin efforts of neocolonialism. This is somewhat of an understandable thought to consider, seeing as most Latin American countries had only recently gained independence from foreign powers. Eckstein writes that even though the Castro regime was not able to perfectly achieve its initial aspirations due to outside influences and factors it was unable to control, it was successful in creating schools, providing healthcare, and keeping the overall gap between rich and poor closer than most of its neighboring countries.

The important lesson from the readings and the movie is that a country must consider how it will deal with factors from outside influences when attempting to industrialize the country. As the hegemonic state, the U.S. was going to be able to effect the Cuban economy in one way or another. It is likely the new regime in Cuba did not consider these effects when it began to rule. Much of its future was dependent on the survival and strength of the Soviet Union. Even though the Soviet Union was competing with the U.S. as the world superpower, it continued to have its own economic problems until it was finally defeated not long after Eckstein wrote her article. After watching Soy Cuba, it is interesting to ponder what kind of state Cuba, and the rest of Latin America, would have been if Castro had not been able to successfully come to power.

Gabriela

Gabriela contains several underlying themes that are not easily picked up without further investigation of the time period in Latin America. The western world was on the verge of tremendous progress economically, politically, and culturally. The rest of the world was forced to follow or be left behind. The economic and political changes appeared easier to implement as their impacts were easier to recognize. The overall treatment of certain people within the society was not as easy to change. Traditional customs that held certain groups back, such as women, can be seen through Gabriela. 
As Chasteen notes in chapter five of, "Born in Blood and Fire," reforms were focused on groups such as slaves but women were constantly left out of these reforms. Chasteen illustrates how most of the emphasis on reform in Brazil was placed on ending slavery. By the mid 19th century, the Brazilian elites fought over these reforms. Eventually the liberal minded elites won out on this issue of slavery, but as the film Gabriela points out things only appeared to get worse for women. Susan Beese explains how the "Law of Cain" affected tons of women during this time in Brazil. As in Gabriela, a husband was allowed to murder their spouse and someone they were having an affair with. Even though laws had begun to change , society continued to turn a blind eye to these acts of passion. Beese uses a report in the magazine, "Revista Feminina," to show just how out of control these crimes had become. It reported that a woman was murdered by a man every half hour in 1924 Brazil. This is a shocking revelation at just how backward the views against women were a this time. However, this is not completely surprising when one considers that even the United States Congress did not pass the 19th amendment which allowed women the right to vote until 1919. The focus of reform for women's rights is something that is relatively new in our world, with the largest impacts occurring just over the last century.
The voice from the women of Brazil did not come much later. Beese writes on page 654 that earliest voices for reform came from middle class women in women's magazines. This is not surprising either, as lower class women were in no position to voice their concerns and most upper class women would not have voiced views that would have affected their husbands. What is surprising is who Beese contributes for allowing the reform movement to gain considerable ground. She explains that four men and several other members of the legal community led this cause. By the 1940's, the fight against crimes of passion appear to have disappeared as most these crimes ended.
Beese also goes on to explain on page 656 that the estimate by "Revista Feminina" of a 2400% increase in the number of crimes of passions over a 6 short six year period was likely an over exaggeration. Even so, one can not underestimate just how problematic these crimes were. It is unfortunate that reforms for women took so long throughout the world. Even in the developed western world, women were the last class of people to have reforms advanced for their causes. Gabriela showed just how even more problematic these problems were for women in the less economically developed areas of Latin America.

La Ultima Cena

La Ultima Cena is a great film that captures the turmoils of slavery in a very unorthodox manner. Most films retelling the trying troubles of slaves tend to focus on their actual treatment. We are accustomed to seeing slaves beaten, forced to work relentlessly, and just a terrible life overall. La Ultima Cena did all these things, but its does so through the eyes of their master who feels he is a compassionate and caring master. This winds up not being the case, as he seems to have attempted to use Christianity as way to make the slaves even more obedient.

The master, Count de Casa Bayona, seems to be comparing himself to that of Jesus Christ throughout the movie. He washed and kissed the 12 slaves feet who he invited to his duplication of the last supper, just as Jesus had done before he was betrayed by Judas. After the slaves rebelled and it becomes evident that the Count would not bring them under control before serious damage was done, he asks the priest what time Jesus died, and the priest responds with the same hour of the current day. The Count appears to have forgotten that the disciples were not slaves of Jesus Christ. They had free will to choose to follow Jesus. The Count's slaves did not have the same free will. They were forced to be working in the fields of Cuba because they were brought there from Africa.

The Count did not see these slaves as true humans, as we are initially led to believe. As John Mraz writes in his article, "Recasting Cuban Slavery," the Count had an obligation to allow  the slave he had granted freedom to the night before to leave. Instead he was executed along with the rest of the slaves who were in attendance of the dinner. Mraz claims that treatments like this were common and very few slave owners followed any slave laws. Alejandro de la Fuente's article, "Slaves and the Creation of Legal Rights in Cuba: Coartacion and Papel," further illustrates how manipulative slave owners could be. Slaves were given a price that they could work at to pay off for their freedom. However, slave owners would tend to change these prices and force slaves to keep working even though it was supposed to be illegal to do so. The slave who had his freedom granted by the Count was already a very old man and had been there for an extremely long time already. The Count had granted him his freedom but the overseer still tried to force him to work. The Count also should have had no legal rights to have him executed, he was already a free man and had violated no laws. The poor treatment of the slaves is also shown when one of the slaves states at the dinner table that he just wants a hut. The Count asks him what is wrong with the barracks, and the slave basically responds that it is dark and that a man can not be himself there. The pictures off of the website of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas also portrays this. When looking at these pictures on can more fully relate to what the slave meant when he said his one wish would be to have a hut

La Ultima Cena appears to have done a great job at recreating the life of a slave in eighteenth century Cuba. It does an even better job at illustrating the manipulativeness of the slave's owners. The Count was practically asking the slaves to rebel when he used attempted to use Christianity to control his slaves. He hid not have a basic understanding of his own religion and used it in a way Jesus Christ would have never intended it to be used.

The Mission

            The Mission gives the typical Hollywood version of history. The longing to describe an event of the past by searching to make a hero out of a group of people who would not have been viewed as such at that time tends to be a recurring theme in historical representations produced by Hollywood. When watching The Mission one must remember that maximizing entertainment is the goal of Hollywood to produce large profits. Historical accuracy is usually near the bottom of the list for movie producers.

            The films appears to do a good job at representing the tensions over religion and other controversial issues such as slavery, but it’s representation of the Jesuit mission and Guarani people appear to be lacking in factual substance. James Saeger’s article gives a rather compelling argument that the Jesuit mission and the Guarani people were actually very different than portrayed in the film. The film portrays the relationship between the two groups as a friendly and compassionate relationship. The Guarani are rather accepting of the Christian faith, and seem to only question the Pope’s ability to know the will of God. Saeger explains that the Guarani people were not as accepting of the Christian faith as the movie may lead one to believe. They were highly superstitious and stuck to many of their traditions. The Jesuit missionaries are portrayed as heroes in the film that are only concerned with the well being of the Guarani people. In truth, they were there under the orders of the Catholic Church. They had a job to make land transfers more peaceful and religious leaders hoped Christianity would make the Indian people of South America submissive to these land transfers. One thing the movie does correctly portray is the strong will of the Guarani people.

            The Guarani people were not so willing to just give up their way of life. The films portrays that they were easily persuaded by the Jesuits, but Saeger argues that most of the relationship relied on the mass influx of iron that was used to produce tools and weapons that improved the overall  living condition of the Guarani people. Within the film, the Guarani people are portrayed more as savages who drastically needed the help of the Jesuits. In truth, the Guarani people were more than capable of surviving on their own. The tools and weapons initially brought to them was simply an attempt along with Christianity in order to make them more submissive to the European powers. Their strong will to maintain their own way of life did not allow this to happen.

 The European powers of the sixteenth century were interested in the land only for its economical advantages, this included being able to enslave the natives of the land to use them as a means of cheap labor for producing goods. Surely many of the missionaries were there because they truly believed they were brining people to God, but they were also pawns of the European powers and the Church to colonize new lands. These facts are not clearly stated within the film itself. Without delving into the true accounts of the Guarani people and the turmoil they faced, many people would miss the obvious historical inaccuracies of The Mission.

The Mission gives the typical Hollywood version of history. The longing to describe an event of the past by searching to make a hero out of a group of people who would not have been viewed as such at that time tends to be a recurring theme in historical representations produced by Hollywood. When watching The Mission one must remember that maximizing entertainment is the goal of Hollywood to produce large profits. Historical accuracy is usually near the bottom of the list for movie producers.

            The films appears to do a good job at representing the tensions over religion and other controversial issues such as slavery, but it’s representation of the Jesuit mission and Guarani people appear to be lacking in factual substance. James Saeger’s article gives a rather compelling argument that the Jesuit mission and the Guarani people were actually very different than portrayed in the film. The film portrays the relationship between the two groups as a friendly and compassionate relationship. The Guarani are rather accepting of the Christian faith, and seem to only question the Pope’s ability to know the will of God. Saeger explains that the Guarani people were not as accepting of the Christian faith as the movie may lead one to believe. They were highly superstitious and stuck to many of their traditions. The Jesuit missionaries are portrayed as heroes in the film that are only concerned with the well being of the Guarani people. In truth, they were their under the orders of the Catholic Church. They had a job to make peaceful land transfers more peaceful and religious leaders hoped Christianity would make the Indian people of South America submissive to these land transfers. One thing the movie does correctly portray is the strong will of the Guarani people.

            The Guarani people were not so willing to just give up their way of life. The films portrays that they were easily persuaded by the Jesuits, but Saeger argues that most of the relationship relied on the mass influx of iron that was used to produce tools and weapons that improved the overall  living condition of the Guarani people. Within the film, the Guarani people are portrayed more as savages who drastically needed the help of the Jesuits. In truth, the Guarani people were more than capable of surviving on their own. The tools and weapons initially brought to them was simply an attempt along with Christianity in order to make them more submissive to the European powers. Their strong will to maintain their own way of life did not allow this to happen.

 The European powers of the sixteenth century were interested in the land only for its economical advantages, this included being able to enslave the natives of the land to use them as a means of cheap labor for producing goods. Surely many of the missionaries were there because they truly believed they were brining people to God, but they were also pawns of the European powers and the Church to colonize new lands. These facts are not clearly stated within the film itself. Without delving into the true accounts of the Guarani people and the turmoil they faced, many people would miss the obvious historical inaccuracies of The Mission.

The Mission

The Mission gives the typical Hollywood version of history. The longing to describe an event of the past by searching to make a hero out of a group of people who would not have been viewed as such at that time tends to be a recurring theme in historical representations produced by Hollywood. When watching The Mission one must remember that maximizing entertainment is the goal of Hollywood to produce large profits. Historical accuracy is usually near the bottom of the list for movie producers.

            The films appears to do a good job at representing the tensions over religion and other controversial issues such as slavery, but it’s representation of the Jesuit mission and Guarani people appear to be lacking in factual substance. James Saeger’s article gives a rather compelling argument that the Jesuit mission and the Guarani people were actually very different than portrayed in the film. The film portrays the relationship between the two groups as a friendly and compassionate relationship. The Guarani are rather accepting of the Christian faith, and seem to only question the Pope’s ability to know the will of God. Saeger explains that the Guarani people were not as accepting of the Christian faith as the movie may lead one to believe. They were highly superstitious and stuck to many of their traditions. The Jesuit missionaries are portrayed as heroes in the film that are only concerned with the well being of the Guarani people. In truth, they were their under the orders of the Catholic Church. They had a job to make peaceful land transfers more peaceful and religious leaders hoped Christianity would make the Indian people of South America submissive to these land transfers. One thing the movie does correctly portray is the strong will of the Guarani people.

            The Guarani people were not so willing to just give up their way of life. The films portrays that they were easily persuaded by the Jesuits, but Saeger argues that most of the relationship relied on the mass influx of iron that was used to produce tools and weapons that improved the overall  living condition of the Guarani people. Within the film, the Guarani people are portrayed more as savages who drastically needed the help of the Jesuits. In truth, the Guarani people were more than capable of surviving on their own. The tools and weapons initially brought to them was simply an attempt along with Christianity in order to make them more submissive to the European powers. Their strong will to maintain their own way of life did not allow this to happen.

 The European powers of the sixteenth century were interested in the land only for its economical advantages, this included being able to enslave the natives of the land to use them as a means of cheap labor for producing goods. Surely many of the missionaries were there because they truly believed they were brining people to God, but they were also pawns of the European powers and the Church to colonize new lands. These facts are not clearly stated within the film itself. Without delving into the true accounts of the Guarani people and the turmoil they faced, many people would miss the obvious historical inaccuracies of The Mission.