Background 

José Antonio Páez was a ranch hand who became a successful cattle owner. He formed a band of cowboys who joined the South American revolutionary movements against Spain. He rose through the ranks to become the chief Venezuelan commander under Simón Bolivar. After Spain was defeated, Venezuela was part of Colombia until breaking free to become an independent nation in 1829. Páez ruled as dictator of Venezuela for most of the 1830s and 1840s and returned to power again in the 1860s, when his rule was particularly harsh. Other caudillos of the nineteenth century included Antonio López de Santa Anna of Mexico, Andrés de Santa Cruz of Bolivia, Juan Manuel de Rosas of Argentina, and Francisco Solano López of Paraguay. Twentieth-century caudillos included Juan Perón, who ruled Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and again from 1973 to 1974

Economic and Political Instability in Latin America The Monroe Doctrine The rise of caudillos British and U.S. control of trade Widespread poverty

Background 

In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt added what would become known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. In it, Roosevelt declared that the United States could intervene in Latin American countries in cases of flagrant wrongdoing.

Discussion 

What were Juarez's Laws of Reform?

Separation of church and state, toleration of all faiths, curbing the power of the military, education for all, and the redistribution of land to the poor

Discussion 

What was "dollar diplomacy"?

A policy in which the United States extended its influence in Latin America by investing in Latin American development