The Creation of a Modern
Military in Latin America
How did the military shift from bands of
caudillos to modern military forces?
Did all new nation states modernize the
military?
How was this accomplished?
Role of International Conflicts
Foreign Advisors
Universal Military Conscription
How could the new nations
eliminate caudillos?
Not all could
Often depended on the level of urbanization
and education of military
Implied that political leaders did not put the
military above the law
Performance in international conflicts often
a factor
Part of the invention of male citizenship
Uniforms of military before
modernization
19 th and early century29th
international conflicts
Textbook provides a clear chronology of foreign
invasions in Latin America
From the time of wars of independence, military
leaders like Bolívar and San Martín corresponded
with foreign military men about support and
weapons
Some served as part of military missions abroad
As early as the 1860s foreign military advisors
began to appear in Paraguay, El Salvador and
Guatemala, invited to modernize military
establishments—came from Prussia, France, Great
Britain, and, eventually, the United States.
The modern military as
patriots
Brian Loveman and others have seen
this as part of a nation building
process to create a sense of
patriotism and pride in former
colonies
Presidents helped the military
modernize by ordering modern
military weapons such as cannons,
Remington rifles
The Impact of the Monroe
Doctrine
By the early 20th century, the United States began
to invade countries in the Caribbean that were
threatened by European powers for non-payment
of debts
In this region, the growth of the military had a
different perspective than in South America where
fears of the U.S. were not great
The impact of the U.S. takeover of Cuba after its
war of independence in 1898 provided incentives to
create modern armies
Modernizing the Military in
Mexico
Porfirio Díaz sent Mexican generals to study in
German academies and imported German
ammunition
Also incorporated European notions of a modern
military establishment based upon
accomplishment and merit, rather than political or
family influence
How were these ideas subverted?
Lack of representation for minority and majority groups of
indigenous
Political corruption that utilized and rewarded the military
for participation in political activities.
Mexican Military Uniforms,
1840,1910
Military modernization in
Central America
Most notable in Guatemala from 1873
onward. Created military academies
and brought in German military
officers
Elsewhere the modernization was not
as complete before 1930.
Left the countries more vulnerable to
dictatorships
The Modern Military in
South America
Far more successful than in Central
America
Occurred in Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile,
Uruguay and Paraguay
Sometimes both French and German
officers were invited to teach and train
officers
Military became the guardians of the nation,
but were often abused, rather than
supported by politicians.
U.S. trained militaries
U.S. tended to establish police forces in Central
American countries, rather than a modern
military—designed to keep the peace
U.S. politicians failed to see the need to train
militaries to protect the nation
Police forces became easily corrupted by
dictators—used the rhetoric of law and order while
they plundered and abused the populations of
Cuba and other countries
U.S. military provided a positive role model in the
construction of sanitary facilities and the
promotion of public health---e.g. Yellow fever
treatment in Panama
Latin American Militaries
during World War I
Were small armies with few modern
weapons—Mexico had only 30,000
men at time of Mexican Revolution of
1910—smaller European countries
usually had at least 50,000 in a
standing army
Peru had 7,000, Colombia 5,300, Brazil
40,000
Implementation of Universal
Military Conscription
Argentina1901 Bolivia1907
Brazil1908, 1916 (implemented)
Chile1900 Colombia1896 Ecuador
1902, 1905 Paraguay 1916 Peru1898,
1901, 1912 Uruguay Heavily debated
in first decades of twentieth century;
none adopted
What did universal military
conscription imply?
Technological advances of
World War I
New technologies of war: tanks, airplanes,
new types of guns, mustard gas
Military officers lobbied Latin American
legislatures for increased budgets
If they did not receive their allocations, this
led them to conspire against the presidents
of the times.
Participation by the military
in overthrow of governments
Argentina 1930
Bolivia 1930, 1934, 1936, 1937
Brazil 1930, 1937
Chile 1924, 1925, 1927, 1931, 1932
Cuba 1933
Ecuador 1925, 1931, 1935, 1937
El Salvador, 1931
Guatemala, 1931
Panama 1931
Paraguay 1936, 1937
Peru 1930, 1931, 1933, 1936
Uruguay 1933
Venezuela 1936
How could the military be
agents of progress?
European teachers informed the military of
social reforms in their countries such as
Bismarck’s Germany
Many in Brazil were also trained to help in
civil engineering projects
Brought new legal models to Latin America
through military codes
Many military officers horrified at the social
differences in their country—how could a
nation be built in these circumstances—led
to revolutions in Bolivia and Peru