Quiz 18: Twilight of the Tyrants: Revolution and Prolonged Popular War in Central America

The FMLN fought against what U.S. backed government? A) Guatemalan. B) El Salvadorian. C) Nicaraguan. D) Peruvian.

A major objective of the Guatemalan Revolution of 1944 was to A) create a Central American federal union headed by Guatemala. B) transform Guatemala into a socialist nation on the model of the Soviet Union. C) transform Guatemala's backward feudal economy into a modern capitalist nation. D) liquidate the monopolistic economic power of the United Fruit Company.

The central figure in planning the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954 was A) E. Howard Hunt. B) John E. Peurifoy. C) Dwight D. Eisenhower. D) John Foster Dulles.

A "scorched earth" policy against the Guatemalan guerrillas was implemented in 1982 by a junta headed by A) Mario Méndez Montenegro. B) Kjell Laugerud. C) Efraín Ríos Montt. D) Oscar Mejía Victores.

Which of the following does not describe José Santos Zelaya? A) He was a Liberal dictator who built roads and modernized Nicaragua's infrastructure. B) He surrendered Nicaraguan claims to sovereignty over the Atlantic Mosquitia coast. C) He promoted foreign investment and granted lucrative concessions to U.S. businesses. D) He was an ardent nationalist who opposed U.S. efforts to build a canal in Nicaragua.

Sandino's guerrilla struggle against the U.S. Marines and the Nicaraguan National Guard A) ended in his defeat and surrender. B) proved that a popular guerrilla army could resist a technologically superior invader. C) was not inspired by any vision of social and economic change. D) ended with his acceptance of a U.S. plan calling for a U.S.-supervised election.

With respect to the Somoza dictatorship, the United States A) denounced its human-rights violations. B) used the CIA to attempt to overthrow it and replace it with a democratic regime. C) provided loans and helped to establish a military academy to train the National Guard. D) welcomed the outbreak of the Sandinista Revolution.

Sandinista ideology may perhaps be best defined as A) a mix of Marxism and progressive Catholic thought. B) a Marxist-Leninist doctrine with a thinly disguised pretense of pluralism. C) a Christian socialist body of thought. D) a populist ideology with no well-defined characteristics.

Social progress in Sandinista Nicaragua was most marked in A) the liquidation of poverty. B) the end of dependence on export crops. C) education and health improvements. D) industrialization.

Which of these does not describe the impact of the expansion of Salvadoran coffee plantations? A) The coffee boom created greater demand for labor and higher wages for peasants. B) There was less demand for a permanent work force and greater reliance on migrant labor. C) As the value of land rose, so did the rate at which landlords evicted peasants from milpas. D) Wages and living standards, always precarious, were now determined by global markets.

A crucial event in the history of El Salvador was A) the election of 1930. B) the peasant uprising of 1932. C) the Soccer war between El Salvador and Honduras. D) the formation of the Central American Common Market.

Most of the arms for the rebel forces in El Salvador have come from A) Cuba, Nicaragua, and Israel. B) United Statessupplied government arms captured by the rebels. C) Vietnam and the Soviet Union. D) the international arms market.

The Reagan administration supported José Napoleón Duarte in his race for president of El Salvador because of his A) strong defense of human rights in El Salvador. B) implementation of agrarian reform in El Salvador. C) effective conduct in the war against the guerrillas. D) ability to maintain the reformist image of the Salvadoran government.

The assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero by right-wing military A) served to unify the Catholic population behind the government. B) helped to unify the various factions of the Christian Democratic party. C) served as a catalyst for the growth of the popular struggle against the government. D) was followed by a successful general offensive against the rebels.

A major factor in President Duarte's growing isolation and the growing unpopularity of the war was A) the economic sabotage carried out by the rebel forces. B) the fact that the war had reached an impasse, with no end in sight. C) the exploitation of cheap labor for U.S.-based companies in El Salvador. D) the pressure of the swelling population on wage levels.

The program of the FMLNFDR for El Salvador called for A) nationalization of all industry and collectivization of agriculture. B) breaking diplomatic relations with the United States. C) a land reform that would distribute land held by large landowners to landless peasants. D) dissolution of the national army and its replacement by people's militias.

The main objective of the FMLN offensive of 1989 was to A) capture the working-class quarters of San Salvador. B) inflict maximum damage to the economy. C) force the ARENA regime to the bargaining table. D) provoke the United States to enter the war.

Which of the following does not describe the United Fruit Company (UFCO)? A) It marketed the indigo and cochineal produced by thousands of small farmers. B) It acquired monopolistic control over land transport in Guatemala. C) It exercised virtual ownership of the major Atlantic port of Puerto Barrios. D) It acquired vast banana lands on very favorable terms from the Guatemalan government.

The reforms initiated by Juan José Arévalo included all of the following except A) an ambitious social welfare program calling for school, hospital, and housing construction. B) the abolition of all forms of forced labor and the enfranchisement of literate women. C) a labor code guaranteeing workers the right to social security and collective bargaining. D) the confiscation of UFCO lands and their redistribution to landless peasants.

During the Arévalo government, urban middle-class ladina women A) were largely ignored as Arévalo's programs stressed class rather than gender equality. B) opposed the Arévalo reform program because it threatened the rights of private property. C) organized to support the Catholic Church, which Arévalo's reforms targeted. D) played an influential role, agitating for women's rights and leading literacy crusades.

Which of the following does not describe the government of Jacobo Arbenz? A) Import substitution industrialization was a strategy to promote economic independence. B) A 1952 agrarian reform law expropriated estates larger than 223 hectares. C) The influence of peasant and trade union confederations grew, pushing Arbenz to the left. D) Arbenz united the landed oligarchy with a weak middle class to preserve his power.

Anastasio Somoza García, the first of a family dynasty of dictators in Nicaragua, was a A) Liberal leader who demanded the elimination of the National Guard. B) firm opponent of the United States and refused to accept a U.S.-sponsored peace treaty. C) heavy handed dictator, but always supported the United States. D) strong supporter of import substitution industrialization to develop the nation's economy.

The 1972 earthquake was pivotal in the growth of democratic opposition to Somoza because A) the dictator alienated former business allies by shamelessly pocketing international aid. B) his failure to reconstruct businesses and houses of his staunchest supporters angered them. C) his enemies siphoned off much of the international aid that later flowed into Nicaragua. D) the United States abandoned its support due to his corrupt management of international aid.

Maximiliano Hernández Martínez overthrew the democratically elected Arturo Araujo because he A) scorned wealthy landowners and tried to confiscate their estates. B) favored modest reforms like limited land redistribution and women's rights. C) threatened to disband the military and replace it with a civilian police force. D) refused to collaborate with the United States military.

In 1948, Oscar Osorio overthrew Hernández Martínez and inaugurated a A) modest program of state-sponsored import substitution industrialization. B) revolutionary reorganization of Salvadoran society that empowered workers and peasants. C) neoliberal agenda that stressed privatization of national resources and free trade. D) communist dictatorship that collectivized land and abolished trade unions.

Which of the following was not a legacy of the Salvadoran Revolution? A) It demilitarized Salvadoran society and created political space for popular mobilization. B) It depleted the male labor force and expanded women's participation in the wage economy. C) It facilitated a new feminist consciousness that sought freedom from patriarchy. D) It radically redistributed property and transformed capitalist labor relations.

What were the characteristic features of the liberal developmental model in early 20th century Central America and how did it affect the interests of various social classes and women?

The Eisenhower administration proclaimed that the Guatemalan government in 1954 was "communist" or "procommunist." What were the ostensible and the real reasons for the CIAState Department conspiracy to overthrow the Arbenz regime?

What were the policies pursued by Arévalo and Arbenz and how did they compare or contrast to those proposed by the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and the FMLN in El Salvador?

How did successive U.S. interventions in Nicaraguan affairs during the 20th century affect Nicaraguan national development?

The Sandinista government engaged in a unique social experiment, seeking to create a society and economy equally distant from those of Cuba and those of most Latin American countries. Summarize the main features of the Nicaraguan experiment that distinguished it from other Latin American social revolutions.

After an investment of more than $4 billion in U.S. military and economic aid to the Salvadoran government, the war in El Salvador ended in an impasse. Summarize the historical background of the war and suggest reasons for the failure of U.S. policy in El Salvador.

One of the most important legacies of the Central American revolutions in the 1970s and 1980s was that they engendered a new "female consciousness." Explain.

How did women variously participate in the revolutionary struggles in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, and how did their demands affect the state's role in national economic development?