ABSTRACT
Latin America holds the unenviable distinction of having been subject to colonial rule for a much longer period of time than that experienced in much of the Other World. Colonialism left long-lasting legacies that contributed to military rule, economic underdevelopment, corruption, and suspicion of outside powers. This chapter begins by looking at the geography, demography, and history of the region to outline the common threads that have united Latin America. It covers the continuing plight of the indigenous and inequality, the strength of anti-imperialism in Cuba, difficulties in the rule of law, and the uneven impact of Organization of American States (OAS) efforts to support democracy, all serve as testimony to that history. Latin America would be forced to confront its export dependency when global economic demand fell during World War I. The preamble of the OAS Charter declares that "representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability, peace and development of the region", legitimating OAS attention to democracy.
