Unit 3 - Essay Exam

Unit 3 Exam – Essay:

In this essay I want you to describe the concept of neocolonialism. What does the term mean? What are it’s economic and political underpinnings and outcomes? Make sure to include examples from the class. You should also discuss U.S. military interventions in Latin America as they relate to neocolonialism (describe at least three). You can use your class notes and your book to assist you.

Neocolonialism. What you have to do first is break the "neo" and "colonialism" apart to figure out what it means. Neo mean "new" and "colonialism" means a way to make new colonies in other places that have less power, kind of like Imperialism. So, to me Neocolonialism means "new colonies" or a new way to govern them. Neocolonialism can also refer to the involvement of powerful countries in the affairs of less powerful countries, like I said before. And we ALL know that the U.S. did A LOT of intervening in Latin America.
To understand Neocolonialism, you have to look at the good and the bad. The good is that some countries in Latin America get what they want. For example, Panama wanted to become independent, Colombia wouldn't allow that because they were a whole. So, once the U.S. found out about this they told Panama that we would have their backs and in order to gain your independence you have to break away from Colombia. Well guess what happened? Good guess, but Panama did break away from Colombia, and in the end they got what they wanted.
During the Neocolonization period, Latin America had also been relieving a major makeover by the U.S. and part of Europe. Railroad tracks in Latin America grew enormously, prior to the fact that they were primarily owned by European and U.S. companies. United States banana companies expanded throughout Central America. One thing that Latin America was doing right is that they were getting their cash flow! They were exporting goods and the U.S. paid them for it even though they were U.S. based companies.
One important factor of this Neocolonialism period is the Roosevelt Corollary that was inspired by the Monroe Doctrine. The Roosevelt Corollary stated the right of the United States to intervene and stabilize the economic affairs of small nations in the Caribbean and Central America if they were unable to pay their international debts. From this point on the U.S. really started to intervene in parts of Central America and the Caribbean. Latin America let us intervene basically because they didn't have the money and they needed someone to go to, so they came to us because at that time we were a rising world power and we still are till this day.
Three examples of U.S. military interventions are Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. The intervention in Nicaragua is know as a fierce war between the Marines and the Nationalist guerrillas led by Augusto Cesar Sandino. The U.S. intervened many times from 1912-1933. Its because of Sandino that the Marxist movement in the 1960s was created and was called the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional (FSLN).