Is this video accurate about LatAm’s problems? (life, country, place)

[Suesbal]

I would say that the US has treated its most recent Presidents as Messiahs.
https://reason.com/video/2021/12/14/...latin-america/

[AntonioR]

Originally Posted by Suesbal

I would say that the US has treated its most recent Presidents as Messiahs.
https://reason.com/video/2021/12/14/...latin-america/

The concept of viewing political leaders as a fix-everything-messiah isn't rooted on either Leftism or Rightism. Much of Latin America was ruled by Spain for about 300 to 400 years, depending on the place. Government positions were open to locals, but in every single place in Spanish America whether it was Mexico City, Santo Domingo, Bogota, Lima, Santiago de Chile, etc the governors was reserved exclusively to Spaniards from the Iberian Peninsula (hence they were known as peninsulares.) Furthermore, it wasn't reserved to any Spaniard from Europe, but only those choosen by the Spanish king. Governorships in Spanish America more often than not was a way for the King of Spain to repay for political and/or military favors. For example, lets say there is a war between Spain and another country. Spain comes out victorious because it wins the war.

The Spanish military general that lead the military endevour for Spain would be repaid for his services by granting him a title that gave him privileges (from the way people would address him to receiving monthly payments for life from the Spanish government, often in large enough quatities that it would guarantee him, his family and even his direct descendants not to have to work for a living ever.)

He was also repaid by the King of Spain giving him a very large real estate holding, often a huge parcel or hacienda somewhere in Spanish America (much of that land was worthless at the time, but as the population grew it took greater value and the owner could make money by putting a part in agricultural production and by selling parts big or small.)

He would also be repaid declared as a governor of one of the territories of Spain in America. Not only did the governor positions have a much higher salary that came directly from Madrid, but as governor basically the territory was his fiefdom. All or most powers fell on the governor, his decision could overrule whatever decision from the royal court. He was the savior, the everything, almost like a god. He could fix anything for anyone at anytime. Around 12 to 16 generations of Spanish-speaking Latin Americans from Mexico (well, in reality much of the west of the USA, ahem) to Argentina for whom the this was their world, where almost everything fell on the shoulders of the governor and he was at all times a Spaniard from Europe.

Now, that's the most recent that lead to the caudillismo which is so typical of Latin America, but very few people in Latin America are of European heritage only. Most are of mixed origins and the peoples that made up those different origins, before the era of the Spaniards, their societies was also based on a sort of messiah ruling over the people. For example, for the Aztec the cacique (chief, ruler, king, etc) was virtually a god. In Africa, many of the people brought to the Americas were from oligarchical societies with a sort of king on top and often he too was seen as a sort of god or the closest thing to God.

To reduce the Latin American obsession on politicwl strong men that would solve everything to a mere leftist interference, which is quite recent, is to reduce it to the rediculous.

[AntonioR]

As for Latin American economic ideas influenced by the leftists such as price controls is very much a very leftist creation, in many cases downright communism. I think that has been more damaging than seeing political leaders as messiahs. The reason is simple, other parts of the world also has a tradition of seeing leaders in a similar way, but they are prosperous societies. Look at the Arab Guf countries that became rich with oil. No one told all those sheiks that they needed to spread the oil wealth to their people and countries. They did it out of allegiance to the their people (especially their tribes), but all those Arabs political leaders are seen as some sort of messiahs by their people too. What they didn't do is mess with communism and ectreme leftism as had been done in Latin America.

To put it bluntly, a society doesn't need to be democratic in order to be wealthy and its leaders can be seeing as messiahs and still be wealthy. Mess with communism and regardless it it's a democracy, a kingdom, a dictatorship or what have you, failure and widespread poverty is almost guaranteed.

[Suesbal]

Originally Posted by AntonioR

As for Latin American economic ideas influenced by the leftists such as price controls is very much a very leftist creation, in many cases downright communism. I think that has been more damaging than seeing political leaders as messiahs. The reason is simple, other parts of the world also has a tradition of seeing leaders in a similar way, but they are prosperous societies. Look at the Arab Guf countries that became rich with oil. No one told all those sheiks that they needed to spread the oil wealth to their people and countries. They did it out of allegiance to the their people (especially their tribes), but all those Arabs political leaders are seen as some sort of messiahs by their people too. What they didn't do is mess with communism and ectreme leftism as had been done in Latin America.

To put it bluntly, a society doesn't need to be democratic in order to be wealthy and its leaders can be seeing as messiahs and still be wealthy. Mess with communism and regardless it it's a democracy, a kingdom, a dictatorship or what have you, failure and widespread poverty is almost guaranteed.

One reason those kings and sheiks spread the money around is to keep their subjects from thinking about democracy. And not everyone living and working in those countries gets a fair share. There are lots of people from Asia doing the grunt work who aren’t citizens and thus ineligible for the goodies.