To begin with, residents of Latin America have experienced numerous difficulties related to inequality: economic, social, racial, cultural, and political. Consequently, even after the independence of new nations, they still tended to be negatively influenced in their daily lives by cultural and social stereotypes and so-called norms. Individual leaders and a weak economy created new challenges for advancing politics and choosing reliable leaders. Overall, the repercussions of wars served as a constant issue on the path to independence to the nations located both in rural and urban parts of Latin America.
The end to the Spanish rule resulted in the destabilization of Viceroyalty, forcing people of new nations to choose their leaders and government for establishing an efficient legal system. Residents desired equity in their rights, no matter their race, gender, or culture, so they wanted “to oversee … political and financial interests, provide justice to settlers and natives, and supervise the allocation of resources” (Burkholder et al., 2018, p. 56). Still, it is crucial to note that political identity was a highly significant concern for creating new governments since the old regime needed to be replaced with new laws. However, the fact that numerous aspects of Spanish America were planned to be altered, it appeared to be challenging to achieve fruitful outcomes in all the tasks.
Another critical point is that the Spanish were intensely focused on creating and sustaining a democratic government prior to the new nations’ independence. However, as the multiracial society rejected such a perspective, it eventually became undemocratic (Burkholder et al., 2018). To be more exact, the government and political organizations were solely organized by the individual Spanish leaders. As a result, after gaining independence, new nations desired to alter the political aspects of the land entirely so that the members of the Spanish monarchy became simple citizens (Burkholder et al., 2018). By and whole, it was challenging to control every institution ruled by individual leaders and, therefore, some organizations remained untouched, which negatively impacted politics and the economy in Spanish America.
Furthermore, as the democratic practices still were not achieved, the political authority remained to be exercised. As a result, newly organized institutions were not supported and lost their significance to society since “newly independent countries confronted centrifugal political threats” (Burkholder et al., 2018, p. 191). The emergence of the strongmen, caudillos, resulted in the destabilization of formal institutions and, therefore, elections. However, the activities of strongmen focused on promoting “political integration of the masses” were negatively influencing state resources during the 1820s and 1830s (Burkholder et al., 2018, p. 191). Overall, even though the caudillos’ aim was crucial as they desired to enhance the political life of newly independent nations, strongmen contributed to the slowed pace of institution building.
The new nations also faced economic challenges due to the repercussions of wars. To be more exact, countries in Spanish America were economically devastated, along with the fact that “the fiscal stresses of Spain’s wartime expenses exceeded regular sources of revenue” (Burkholder et al., 2018, p. 197). The impact of strongmen on the resources of the new nations negatively impacted their chances of expanding trade, considering that “limited resources reduced and constrained ambitions” (Burkholder et al., 2018, p. 192). It is significant to mention that new countries also had considerable domestic debts, which limited their abilities to advance the economy.
To sum up, the new nations were coping with numerous difficulties all at once due to the negative repercussions of wars on their government and economy. As a result, not all people welcomed the new opportunities and remained undemocratic, which slowed the speed of political and economic aspects advancing. Furthermore, a weak economy of countries in Spanish America was a significant issue for new leaders since the domestic debts were enormous.
Bibliography
Burkholder, Mark A, Monica Rankin, and Lyman L. Johnson. 2018. Exploitation, Inequality, and Resistance: A History of Latin America since Columbus. New York: Oxford University Press.