Every man for himself: militarism and modernization in Central America 1930-1979

Abstract

The economic development promoted by the liberals at the end of the 19th century had its crisis in the region at the end of the 1920s. The way to maintain their power was to establish alliances with the military, which led to the period of dictatorships, which is why, from 1930 to 1979, they played an important role in politics. The exception in Central America was Costa Rica, which, making an alliance with the business and political elites, built a modern nation project, greatly influenced by the form of government built in 1934 in Mexico. Therefore, the objective of this article is to study the process of military dictatorships and the ideas of modernization in the region, which was linked to the implementation of a military theory to control the various groups in society and the influence of the Mexican Revolution in the region by dividing large properties to avoid conflicts over land. Having said the above, the following question is asked: What was the political objective of implementing dictatorships in Central America?