Explain the quest for liberation in colonial Latin America

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ever since the conquistadors arrived, the peoples of Latin America have served the political and economic interests of First World countries. And even after the European nations departed from the shores of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and other Latin American states in the early nineteenth century, the intolerable conditions that had prevailed in the long era of colonialism persisted: the vast majority of Latin Americans, including great masses of peasants of Native American descent, lived in relative poverty, while small, wealthy, landowning elites held power. These elites maintained their position by virtue of their alliance with the financial and industrial interests of First World nations, including (especially since the 1890s) the United States.
In their attempts to cope with persistent problems of inequality, exploitation, and underdevelopment, the nations of Latin America have suffered repeated social upheaval. Political and social reformers have struggled to revolutionize the socioeconomic order, to liberate Latin America from economic colonialism, and to bring about a more equitable distribution of wealth. A predominantly Catholic territory, Latin America saw the Church act on behalf of the masses as an agent of social justice. Reformist elements in the clergy advanced a powerful new rendering of Christian dogma called "liberation theology."