History of South America - Recent History

Recent History

South America, like many other continents, became a battlefield for the superpowers during the Cold War in the late 20th century.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay were overthrown or displaced by U.S.-aligned military dictatorships. These detained tens of thousands of political prisoners, many of whom were tortured and/or killed (on inter-state collaboration, see Operation Condor). Economically, they began a transition to neoliberal economic policies. They placed their own actions within the U.S. Cold War doctrine of "National Security" against internal subversion. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Peru suffered from an internal conflict (see Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and Shining Path). Revolutionary movements and right-wing military dictatorships have been common, but starting in the 1980s a wave of democratization came through the continent, and democratic rule is now widespread. Allegations of corruption remain common, and several nations have seen crises which have forced the resignation of their presidents, although normal civilian succession has continued. International indebtedness became a notable problem, as most recently illustrated by Argentina's default in the early 21st century.

In recent years, with deep economic and social crisis provoked by neoliberal policies, the right wing lost appeal in the region (with the major exception being Colombia) and the election of a sequence of left wing presidents began with Hugo Chávez' victory on the 1998 presidential election in Venezuela. As a matter of fact, The Nation described Dilma Rousseff's victory in the 2010 Brazilian election as a defeat for the Washington Consensus.

Despite the move to the left, South America remains largely capitalist and is enjoying its best years of economic growth. The Brazilian GDP, for instance, is expected to grow 7.5% in 2010, second only to the People's Republic of China in the world.

The list of left wing South American presidents is, by date of election, the following:

• 1998: Hugo Chávez, Venezuela
• 1999: Ricardo Lagos, Chile
• 2002: Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil
• 2002: Lucio Gutiérrez, Ecuador
• 2003: Néstor Kirchner, Argentina
• 2004: Tabaré Vázquez, Uruguay
• 2005: Evo Morales, Bolivia
• 2006: Michelle Bachelet, Chile
• 2006: Rafael Correa, Ecuador
• 2007: Cristina Kirchner, Argentina
• 2008: Fernando Lugo, Paraguay
• 2009: José Mujica, Uruguay
• 2010: Dilma Rousseff, Brazil
• 2011: Ollanta Humala, Peru

In 2008, the Union of South American Nations (USAN) was founded, revealing South American ambition of economic integration, with plans for political integration in the European Union style. This was seen by American political commentators as a pivotal moment in the loss of U.S. hegemony in the region. According to Noam Chomsky, USAN represents that "for the first time since the European conquest, Latin America began to move towards integration".