The military became the power brokers of twentiethcentury
Latin America. Especially in the 1960s and
1970s, Latin American armies portrayed themselves as
the guardians of national honor and orderly progress. In
the mid-1970s, only Colombia, Venezuela, and Costa
Rica maintained democratic governments.
A decade later, pluralistic systems had been installed
virtually everywhere except in Cuba, Paraguay, and some
of the Central American states. The establishment of
democratic institutions, however, has not managed to
solve all the chronic problems that have plagued the
states of Latin America. Official corruption continued in
many countries, and the gap between rich and poor is
growing, most notably in Brazil and Venezuela, where a
leftist regime led by President Hugo Chavez aroused massive
protests by adopting policies designed to redistribute
the wealth in this oil-rich country.
World History
