Latin American History Commons^™

Home: Transforming A Public Arts Grant Into A Community Project, Scarlett G. Baily

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Home is a 2,535 ft² site-specific mural in San Diego’s Liberty Station that reconnects the site’s military history with Kumeyaay Indigenous heritage and maritime culture. Through depictions of native flora and fauna, the work foregrounds overlooked origin stories and ecological knowledge of Point Loma. Developed through deep community collaboration, including Kumeyaay advisors and over 100 local participants, the mural fosters shared authorship and cultural continuity. It invites viewers to engage with alternative histories while supporting language revitalization and environmental awareness.

Art Heals Chicago: Murals On The South Side Of Xicágo, Brenda Rodriguez

Pomona Senior Theses

Mural making as a collective art form is a tool for healing, resistance, and cultural pride in Black and Brown communities. With my focus being on Mexican American communities on the South Side of Chicago, specifically Pilsen. I make ties to indigenous motifs and the history of Mexican Muralism to show how it has evolved and how murals in the 1960s and 70s were used for healing from violence and the revolution. Murals that include images that reference the Mesoamerican past and preconquest life are a powerful way of reclaiming one’s identity and asserting one's indigeneity in the present and …

Riqueza Por Decreto: The Role Of Politics In Shaping The Banking Industry Of Pre-Revolutionary Mexico, Daniel Lorenzen

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the nexus between politics and banking in pre-revolutionary Mexico, particularly during the Porfirian era. It scrutinizes how political entities molded the banking sector to consolidate authority and dictate economic policy. Through an analysis of historical documents, financial records, journal articles, and expert interviews, the study delineates the profound influence of legislative reforms on the evolution of Mexico's financial landscape and power structures.

Mexicanidad Y Negritud: Tracing The Cultural And Legal Exclusion Of Afro-Descendants In México., José A. Chiquito

CMC Senior Theses

In 2019, the Mexican National Congress amended Article 2 of the national constitution to recognize Afro-descendants as part of Mexico’s pluricultural constitution and grant them collective rights. With this, Mexico joined a group of five other Latin American countries to explicitly recognize Afro-descendants in the text of their constitution. Current Latin American scholarship analyzes Afro-descendant inclusion resulting from the creation of new multicultural constitutions. This literature, however, fails to take into consideration those cases where Afro-descendant inclusion happened via reforms to an existing constitution. This paper contributes to existing literature on constitutional multiculturalism by analyzing why the Mexican government recognized …

La Floresta; An Appreciation And Reimagination Of My Barrio, Ana Rodríguez

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis is a love letter to my barrio, La Floresta in Quito, Ecuador. I have divided it into three different sections: a creative writing piece where I walk readers through my barrio and my life in it, a historical section where I analyze its history and the reasons for its uniqueness and current identity, and finally a project proposal for a community center called "Casa La Floresta".

Doris Stevens: A "Fascist" Feminist? Stevens, The Inter-American Commission Of Women, And The Unión Argentina De Mujeres, 1936-1939, Jeannette Hunker

Scripps Senior Theses

Doris Stevens (1888-1963) was a U.S. feminist, suffragist, and member of the National Women’s Party. After the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1920, Stevens, among other U.S. feminists, involved herself in Latin American politics, working to pass women’s suffrage legislation in multiple countries. Stevens was chair of the Inter-American Commission of Women (IACW) from 1928 to 1939. Eventually, a number of Latin American feminists, as well as members of the Roosevelt administration, sought to remove her from the IACW when her political tendencies posed a threat to both. Accused of being a “fascist,” Stevens was voted …

(Re)Constructing National Memory In Neoliberal Chile Through Patricio Guzman's The Cordillera Of Dreams (2019), Mica Barrett

Scripps Senior Theses

One of the most renowned Chilean exile filmmakers is Patricio Guzmán. Best known for his documentary work regarding the Allende years, Guzmán has continued to make films regarding his homeland in the decades following his initial exile.

The Cordillera of Dreams is the concluding film in a trilogy exploring the natural lands of Chile and their relationship to physical remnants of the human past. The initial and most renowned film in the series, Nostalgia for the Light, centers the Atacama Desert and Chileans’ relationship to the geography as a gateway to revealing artifacts of Chile’s recent history of genocide …

The Struggle For Land In Nineteenth-Century Bolivia: Triangulating Indigenous Demands Between The Republican And Colonial States, Siena Hinshelwood

Scripps Senior Theses

After Bolivia gained independence from Spain, many colonial systems continued, including the tributary pact between Indigenous peoples and the state. This thesis investigates how Andean communities in the nineteenth century instrumentalized legal systems, especially colonial land titles, to force the republican state to respect Indigenous land rights and all the worldviews they contain. This project looks closely at Indigenous apoderados and their triangulation on behalf of their communities between helpful colonial legacies, the republican state, and their own cosmovision. This connects to continuing movements of rebellion and uprising in Bolivia and the Andes to this day.

Jibaritos Y Más: The Impacts Of Migration, Gentrification, And Cultural Maintenance On Chicago-Puerto Rican Cuisine, Emilio Araujo

Pomona Senior Theses

An analysis of the history of Puerto Rican cuisine from first contact between Indigenous Taínos and Spanish explorers to present day Chicago-Puerto Rican cuisine. This thesis will examine the development of Puerto Rican national cuisine as part of growing nationalism in the late nineteenth century and again in the early twentieth century. As Puerto Rican migrants settle in Chicago, they bring their cuisine with them and Puerto Rican national cuisine changes in their new context to become Chicago-Puerto Rican cuisine. This new cuisine grows along with the Chicago-Puerto Rican community and is impacted by transnational forces as well as gentrification …

Trading Spaces: An Analysis Of Gendered Spaces Before, During, And After The French Revolution Of 1789 And The Mexican Revolution Of 1910, Kevin Kilroy

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the affects of the French Revolution of 1789 and the Mexican Revolution of 1910 on gender roles in their respective societies. Women that contributed to political discourse challenged separations of public and private spheres, which dictated order in the late and postrevolutionary periods of France and Mexico. Given the deliberate acts by both postrevolutionary governments to send women to the periphery of their respective societies, it is vital to revisit the examples of female influence that shaped the early French and Mexican Revolutions. The understanding that comes from a detailed analysis of the parameters of gendered spaces …

Camino A La Interseccionalidad: Una Aproximación Al Desarrollo De Ideas Feministas En La España Contemporánea, Kierra Mitchell

Scripps Senior Theses

Esta tesis utiliza la interseccionalidad como lente para hacer un análisis de los textos culturales y activistas para explicar cómo se manifiestan las ideas feministas en estos dos períodos cruciales de avance del feminismo en España: el primer cuarto del siglo veinte y las primeras décadas del siglo veintiuno. La interseccionalidad sirve como una prisma de análisis que permite entender los sistemas hegemónicos de poder. Esta tesis analiza ejemplos de textos y demandas que ilustran las preocupaciones y aparatos ideológicos que sustentan diferentes aproximaciones al feminismo en estas dos épocas. Un interés específico, en especial en la segunda parte, es …

Grave Breaches: American Military Intervention In The Late Twentieth- Century And The Consequences For International Law, Calla Cameron

CMC Senior Theses

The duality of the United States’ relationship with international criminal law and human rights atrocities is a fascinating theme that weaves through all of American history, but most distinctly demonstrates the contradictory nature of American foreign policy in the latter half of the 20th century. America is both protector of human rights and perpetrator of human rights atrocities, global police force and aggressor. The Cold War exacerbated the tensions caused by American military dominance. The international political and physical power of the American military allowed the United States to do as it pleased in the 20th century with few consequences, …

Negotiating Mexican Citizenship: Examining Implications Of A Narco-State And Rebellions In Contemporary Mexico, Nereida Guadalupe Montes

Scripps Senior Theses

Neoliberal has bee largely responsible for the creation of a narcoestado. As the Mexican state abandon its previous cultural projects such as education, employment, and social services, economic void increased. Narco-traffickers have increasingly filled this vacuum. Arguably, the weaken pillars of Mexican society allowed narco-trafficking to penetrate the areas once fulfilled by the state. It has led to the recruitment of economically dislocated farmers and citizens to turn to narco-trafficking for financial stability. Although, the state and narco-traffickers at times compete with each other to fulfill some of these functions, they also at times co-exist and merge into what …

Partisanship In Mexico: Influence Of Violence And State Spending, Christopher White

CMC Senior Theses

This paper serves to further investigate factors influencing partisanship in Mexican politics with a focus on state spending and drug violence. With state spending, this paper builds on prior literature about political effects of federal social spending (Handelman 1997, Domínguez and Chappell 2004, Díaz-Cayeros 2009) to propose a similar theory regarding state social spending. The proposed panel data model for national elections between 2000 and 2012 finds that for diputados elections, a thousand-peso increase in state spending had a statistically significant influence on party voting – boosting PRI candidates (typically incumbents) by 0.66% and hurting both PAN and PRD candidates …

The Importance Of Strong Governmental Institutions In Military Subordination: Mexico And Argentina, A Comparative Study, Eli Landman

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the history of civil military relations in Mexico and Argentina in an attempt to understand why Mexico was able to subordinate its military following the fall of the Porfírian military regime, while Argentina experienced decades of military intervention into the civilian sphere. It argues that strong governmental and political institutions in Mexico were the key to subordinating the Mexican military to civilian control, while patterns of populist political movements in Argentina hampered the formation of strong governmental institutions that would have enabled the subordination of the military to civilian control.

Holes In The Historical Record: The Politics Of Torture In Great Britain, The United States, And Argentina, 1869-1977, Lynsey Chediak

CMC Senior Theses

While many politicians gain national or international acclaim, domestic political activists are rarely remembered for their dedication and, similarly, their sufferings. More specifically, the acts of female political activists, and the harsh punishments they endure following government pushback, are not appreciated or acknowledged by popular histories.

Across Great Britain, the United States, and Argentina, three women played crucial roles in advancing reform against unjust government policies. Josephine Butler (1828-1906) was a pivotal character in repealing laws allowing for the government regulation of prostitution, the Contagious Diseases Acts, in Great Britain. Similarly, Alice Paul (1885-1997) was essential in achieving the ratification …

Desde Una Identidad Transnacional A La Hibridez: La Formación De La Nueva Identidad Nikkei En La Población Japonesa En El Perú, Nina Pincus

Scripps Senior Theses

Over the past century, the Japanese community in Peru has grown to be the second largest in South America. Their arrival and subsequent success in small businesses posed a threat to the Peruvian attempt to “whiten” their population. Because of this, racial conflicts arose between the Japanese and Peruvians, leading to the widespread “Yellow Peril” epidemic. Anti-Japanese sentiments caused immigration reduction laws and in the years leading up to WWII, tensions grew. During this time, the Japanese community remained ethnically close, maintaining transnational ties with Japan. This changed after the war, when their sojourner mentality changed to the permanence of …

From Housewife To Household Weapon: Women From The Bolivian Mines Organize Against Economic Exploitation And Political Oppression, Catherine A. Raney

CMC Senior Theses

Drawing from oral histories which I gathered while living in Bolivia, this thesis tracks the start, growth, and development of the political movement led by women from the Bolivian mines from 1961 to 1987. This movement helped create a new political culture that recognized the importance of women’s participation in politics and human rights. Today, this culture lives on. Bolivia has not experienced a coup since 1980, and the nation’s human rights record has improved dramatically since the 1980s as well.

Prior to the mid-1980s, Bolivia was often under the control of oppressive military regimes that resorted to many different …

"A Single Finger Can't Eat Okra": The Importance Of Remembering The Haitian Revolution In United States History, Ashleigh P. Shoecraft

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the impact of the Haitian Revolution on the United States as a lens through which to view the transnational nature of American exceptionalism. It concludes with an articulation of the necessity of incorporating this relational nature of United States identity development into high school coursework, and advocates for teaching about the Haitian Revolution as an effective means through which to do this.

Canciones Del Movimiento Chicano/Songs Of The Chicano Movement: The Impact Of Musical Traditions On The 1960s Chicano Civil Rights Movement, Marisa B. Mendoza

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes resistance songs as key representations of the identity and political formation that took place during the 1960s Chicano movement. Examining particular musical traditions, this thesis highlights the value of placing songs of the Chicano struggle in national narratives of history as well as in the context of an enduring and thriving legacy of political and social activism that continues to allow the Chicano community to recognize and validate their current social realities.

Fear Of Forgetting: How Societies Deal With Genocide, Emily O. S. Gelber

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis discusses how certain societies (Germany, Israel, and Argentina) that have been involved in two documented cases of genocide in the 20^th Century -- one that was the source for and falls within the United Nations Treaty definition of genocide (the Holocaust), and one that does not (the Dirty War in Argentina) --have dealt with these events in their recent past. In dealing with these issues, the thesis employs the analysis of genocide developed by the Argentine scholar, Daniel Feierstein, who has proposed that all genocides progress through a series of steps that first create what he calls …

Mexican-Americans In Los Angeles: Strengthening Their Ethnic Identity Through Chivas Usa, Stephanie Goldberger

CMC Senior Theses

A large Mexican-American population already exists in Los Angeles and, with each generation, it continues to rise. This Mexican-American community has maintained its connection to its heritage by playing and watching soccer, Mexico’s top watched sport. In this thesis, I analyze how Major League Soccer's Chivas USA serves as an outlet through which many Mexicans in Los Angeles have developed their ethnic identities. Since the early twentieth century, Mexicans in Los Angeles have created separate residential communities and sports organizations to strengthen their connections with one another.

To appeal to Mexican-Americans, Chivas USA has branded itself closely to its sister …

The Mexican Hydra: How Calderón's Pursuit Of Peace Led To The Bloodiest War In Mexican History? Will The Mexican People Inherit A Failed State In 2012?, Marco A. Pinon-Farah

CMC Senior Theses

THE MEXICAN HYDRA: HOW CALDERÓN’S PURSUIT OF PEACE LED TO THE BLOODIEST WAR IN MEXICAN HISTORY. WILL THE MEXICAN PEOPLE INHERIT A FAILED STATE IN 2012?

Abstract

Marco Antonio Pinon-Farah

The drug-war in Mexico (2006-present) has accelerated at a chilling rate, claiming the lives of 35,000 Mexican people. Since President Felipe Calderón assumed office, Mexico has been battling an internal beast unlike any it has known, the Mexican Hydra. Like the mythical creature, the Mexican cartels have proven capable of not only combating the government forces, but also of regenerating and strengthening themselves in the face of increasing government scrutiny …

Short Term Strategies For Long Term Power: The Rise And Potential Fall Of Hugo Chávez, Linden E.S. Schult

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the route to power of Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez and the methods by which he has remained in power throughout his presidency. Also, it explores the potential for Chávez to lose power, given the current economic and political situation in Venezuela. The importance of the oil industry, Chávez's suppression of the opposition and control of the media, and constitutional changes and reforms are all discussed as keys to Chávez's continuance in power.