History of Simon Bolivar, Essay Example

Octavio Paz was a loyal defender of Democratic ideals. However, his views were influenced from many sources. He took cues from Marxism, surrealism, existentialism, Buddhism, Hinduism, French and Anglo-American modernism (Liukkonen, 2008).  Paz saw that Democracy was an ideal and that it took more than ideals to make it work. In Mexico, Democracy is threatened by government corruption and private interests. In order for change to occur, true Democracy, led by the people, needs to happen. Mutli-national corporations, which have vested interests in Latin American countries, do not want true democracy to occur, since they would be forced then to pay fair wages and treat their host country with respect. Democracy is threatened in countries where the government has made unholy bonds with multi-national corporations. Sadly, this is true throughout Latin America. A good example can be seen in the country of Costa Rica. American companies have enjoyed loose banking benefits by making their business there. Greed and corruption led to a financial collapse in 2008 when the American market crashed. Crime and drug trafficking has increased. In July of 2010 the U.S. Sent 700 troops to Costa Rica to combat the drug trafficking since Costa Rica has no national army. The situation has been viewed by some to be a risk to the country’s Democracy (Vorpahl, 2010).

The poem from Neruda is a take on the Lord’s Prayer. It represents the Catholic church, which is at the center of the spiritual lives of many who live in Latin America. However, the poem is not directed to God, as it is when it is repeated in church. It is instead directed towards Simon Bolivar, one of South America’s greatest generals (Johnson, n.d.). Bolivar led his people against the Spaniards, winning independence for Bolivia, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Like the poem says, “everything bears your name.” This is because many places have been named in honor of Bolivar in these countries. The country of Bolivia is named in his honor. The poem echos the sentiments of the people of these countries, who feel they owe their freedom to the man who led them in battle against Spain and won. As the poem suggests, Bolivar is next to God in importance to the people there.

Women in Latin America are emerging from their traditional roles as homemakers to become members of the Latin America workforce, though they tend to earn much less, $4,000 a year average as opposed to the $10,000 a year average for men (Shah, 2010). Women have the right to vote and have jobs in all levels of society, from politics to business. However, the traditional role for women in Latin America tends to be the mother and homemaker. The fact that more women are being recruited to work in low paying jobs in factories is taking women away from the house, leaving children home alone or with relatives. This is changing the family dynamic of Latin American families, which have traditionally been very centered on the family and home.

The role of the Catholic Church in Latin America as typically been one of oppression. The missionaries from Spain came in the 1500’s bringing domination to the indigenous people. While Catholicism is practiced today throughout Latin America, and brings hope, joy and strength to the people there, the official stance of the church is still to favor governments that oppress the people over the rights of the people. This is evident in Pope Benedict XVI’s stance against the liberation theology that is being practiced by poor Catholics in Latin America. The movement is one where the people have united in order to gain rights and freedoms. The Catholic church does not accept the movement and has been very forceful in trying to oppress it (Rother, 2007).

References

Johnson, Harvey L. (n.d.) History of Simon Bolivar Retrieved October 15, 2010 from http://www.bolivarmo.com/history.htm

Liukkonen, Petri (2008) Octavio Paz (1914-1998) Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/opaz.htm

Rother, Larry (May 7, 2001) As Pope Heads to Brazil, A Rival Theology Persists Retrieved October 2, 2010 from  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/world/americas/07theology.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5089&en=34f757c655dbef9f&ex=1336190400&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Shah, Anup (March 14, 2010) Women’s Rights Retrieved October 5, 2010 from             http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights

Vorpahl, Mark (July 19, 2010) The U.S. Military Moves into Costa Rica Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://mostlywater.org/us_military_moves_costa_rica