Abstract
The "Trujillo Era", which lasted from 1930 to 1961, is considered by historians to be one of the bloodiest of the twenty-first century. This paper examines how through-out his thirty-one year rule, Trujillo was responsible for many murders and mysterious disappearances, including those of all that opposed him. The paper also discusses how he had a two-faced nature as he opened the doors of his country to Jewish immigrants during the war, and created many national parks and expanded nature preserves.

From the Paper
"The rebellion against Trujillo's predecessor, Horacio Vasquez, began in 1930, when rebels marched on the capital, Santiago. Ordered to subdue the rebels, Trujillo's men met no trouble in their attempt. When Vasquez resigned his presidency, the rebel leader Rafael Estrella became the acting president of the Dominican Republic briefly. His new party, the Dominican Party, nominated Trujillo for the 1930 presidential election, and was elected, after receiving 95% of the votes. The sheer amount of votes suggests that he achieved his victory through fraudulent means. A judge, suggesting that the election was fraught with deception, was forced to escape the country. Wearing a sash declaring 'Dios y Trujillo', after his initiation ceremony on August 16, 1930, he assumed dictatorial powers, finally showing his true colors. "

Tags:dominican, republic, dictator, haitian, massacre, parsley

Abstract
This paper tracks the fall of the Spanish Empire over the 19th Century. Starting with the Napoleonic Wars and following the Empires demise into the 20th Century, the essay shows that great-power status is easier to obtain than maintain. It examines the reasons why the Empire fell, delving into economic analysis and socio-political environments.

From the Paper
"European power and diplomacy has changed drastically over the past two centuries. With the onset and the outcome of both the First and Second World Wars, the map and power structures of Europe have been radically altered. Russia emerged as a leading European power and Germany, with its direct involvement in both World Wars, established itself as a country with important European power. Today, Great Britain, Russia, and Germany are seen as vital leaders in European affairs and even France is remembered as the once great power that it was. Many grand powers of the modern period are no longer even remembered as the leaders that they used to be and this is certainly true in the case of Spain. Spain, whose empire at the turn of the nineteenth century was the largest in the world is today mysteriously missing from the roster of European countries of authority. It is the purpose of this paper to discover what events and circumstances of the nineteenth century led to the ultimate demise of the Spanish Empire. Although previous centuries will not be directly discussed in this paper, it is important to note that the decline of the Spanish Empire had already begun before the turn of the century."

Tags:spanish, government, europe

Abstract
This paper examines some of the definitions of democracy. Second, a brief overview of the history and attempts of democratization in Latin America, in particular Nicaragua are presented. Finally, this paper analyzes some of the fact regarding the problems as well
as the future of democracy in Nicaragua.

From the Paper
"Two challenges have dominated Latin American politic in the twentieth century.The one is the struggle to overcome persistent poverty and economic underdevelopment and second is the effort to create and consolidate democratic forms of government. In many cases, this transitional period was completed in open and so called "free elections" as well as an unexpected freedom of press and party organizing. Still, visible poverty, inequality an corruption are core of the problems for majority of Latin American countries that are undergoing the process of democratization."

Tags:poverty, struggle, coup, politics, catholic

Abstract
This paper examines how Latin America has experienced the infusion of Western mass media and telecommunications. It looks at how the WSIS, World Summit on the Information Society, has recently concluded the first half of the conference on mass media and telecommunications and how the goal of the conference is to formulate a vision of the information society amongst all stakeholders and then to devise a workable plan by consensus. It argues that substantial roadblocks exist to realising the WSIS action plan and how objective #23 is essential to the development of an information society based on the dialogue among cultures and regional and international cooperation.

From the Paper
"The power of the WTO grew as corporations lobbied to expand their markets and to have the freedom to gain further access to markets where there were lower costs for labor and materials (Siochru, Girard, and Mahan 68). The WTO in 1996 formulated regulating principles, which expanded foreign investments into every aspect of telecommunications. The rules were clearly established, and there could be no transgressions from what countries outlined as their implementation plan without possible consequences. For the less developed countries, the promised, positive outcome was expansion of networks and access due to increased investments and the negative effect was that multinational companies focused on profit, which neglected the developmental needs. (Siochru, Girard, and Mahan 58). The less industrialised countries met the regulating terms, though, because of fear of what non-compliance might entail for their country."

Tags:unesco, wto, trade, communication, culture

Abstract
In this paper, the writer contends that a common thread throughout the works of writer Jorge Luis Borges is a distrust of order, predictability and linearity as related to memory. To illustrate this contention, the writer examines short stories by Borges: "Funes the Memorious", "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", and "The Circular Ruins". The paper concludes that Borges reads as being averse to totalizing order, which creates a complex literary oeuvre that charms and yet disturbs the reader, which thus offers new paths to understanding this world.

From the Paper
"Borges also challenges the merit of the imagination and the danger of reliance upon memory in "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius". This story is a sustained portrayal of imagination through Borges' traditional short-story format. It tells the tale of an imaginary country created by an underground society of individuals. This country, Uqbar, is a small part of a world called Tlon, created by the Orbis Tertius, or secret creators."

Tags:extremes, reductio ad absurdum, minimalist faculties trickery

Abstract
This paper analyzes the Latin-jazz piece "110 St. and 5th Ave" by Puerto Rican composer, Noro Morales, in terms of texture, metre, timbre and various other musical qualities. The paper includes background information on the emerging Latin scene in 1940s New York City, as well as traditional instruments used in Latin music.

From the Paper
"Noro Morales' piece, "110th Street and 5th Avenue" was created in the 1940's amid a thriving Latin music scene in New York City. Morales was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a family of prominent musicians (Morales). He achieved success as a composer and musician in his homeland, then later moved to New York in 1935. During this time period, many now-famous Latin musicians such as Tito Puente and Morales composed and experimented with various forms of Latin music. These forms included salsa, meringue, mambo, and rumba. These forms of music incorporated brass and woodwind instruments, mostly in minor keys such as the Cuban tres, above percussion. These forms of music were also lively, up-tempo, and heavily rhythmic, essentially meant for dance (Mambo). Mambo, as well as its predecessors, danzon and salsa, was derived from Afro-Cuban rhythms (Mambo). These sounds and rhythms can be heard in this piece."

Tags:clave, cuba, mambo, puente, salsa, saxophone

Abstract
Maquiladoras are essentially offshore assembly plants that emerged along the United States-Mexican border in the 1960s. This paper examines how maquiladoras offer cheap labor to produce/assemble goods and how, since NAFTA, have expanded beyond border towns and have moved south into the heart of Mexico. It looks at how although maquiladoras do provide thousands of jobs throughout Mexico, upon closer inspection, they are often operated by tyrannical bosses under sweatshop conditions and are a nesting ground for cheap labor. It argues that for Mexicans, NAFTA is not an agreement based upon free trade but rather an exploitative tool used to extract cheap labor for foreign products.

From the Paper
"While the profits of the maquiladora sector exploded after the passage of NAFTA, the wages and labor conditions of those working in the assembly plants have gotten worse. According to Mexican labor laws, the maximum hours a person can work a week is forty eight hours, the first nine hours of overtime is to be paid at double-time rates with anything exceeding nine hours overtime to be paid at three times the pay rate. (3). In spite of this, maquiladora workers report that "they were often not paid anything extra for overtime even if they worked from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. In some maquiladoras, workers do veladas- all-nighters- once or twice a week. "

Tags:labor, assembly, plants, profits

Abstract
This essay examines the identity of a death squad; its effects on Salvadorians as well as unveiling the supporters and revealing the future for this type of organization.

From the Paper
"El Salvador has been rocked with instability both economically and politically since its independence in 1838. The existence of the Death Squads, created by the Salvadorian Government, destroyed the countries ability to become prosperous and secure, which has left the country distraught and pillaged after over a decade of horrific abuses of power. The Squads were designed to keep the people of El Salvador in line no matter what the cost, and the economic losses, political instability and human costs were devastating. The world sat back and watched the Salvadorian people be terrorized by the gruesome acts of the government deployed Death Squads and did nothing to stop them. It wasn't their problem. The United States took a much different approach to the volatility in El Salvador, by supporting the government in power, the ARENA party, in order to fulfill their own economic interests, with lower coffee and other agricultural exports prices. This essay will examine the identity of a Death Squads; its effects on Salvadorians as well as unveiling the supporters and revealing the future for this type of organization. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. Ignorance has left tens of thousands dead, and many more emotionally wounded."

Tags:death, el, salvador, squads, execution, army, violent, crime, recruit, gun, victim

Abstract
An examination of why almost every revolutionary movement in Latin America in the 1960's and 1970's failed to achieve its aims. The author explains that the aims of these movements were to defeat or topple an existing regime and replace it with a better regime. It shows that these aims failed because of the methods used.

From the Paper
"Latin America has had an abundance of guerrilla movements and guerrilla wars in its history. The majority has these, and the ones concerned with in this paper, have occurred in the last twenty to thirty years. Since the success of Fidel Castro in Cuba in January 1959, numerous attempts have been made to overthrow regimes using the same methods used by Castro. It is here that the various Latin American movements have made mistakes. Cuba appears to have been an "exception to the rule", the methods used there were ineffective elsewhere as is noted by the failure of most of the guerrilla movements from 1959 to 1979. It makes no difference whether the movement is politically "left wing" or "right wing" oriented, the errors are still there."

Tags:america, armed, castro, che, fidel, guerilla, guevera, latin, left, struggle, warfare, wing

Abstract
This paper discusses how Bonfil Batalla writes passionately about the abuses of power within Mexico in his "Mexico Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization". It looks at how beginning with the colonization by Spain and enduring until the present, the disempowerment of the group that came to be identified as Indian has lead to an internal struggle between the imaginary Mexico and the Mexico Profundo. It explores how the misuse of power physically and psychologically has been utilized to subjugate the Mexico Profundo and to attempt to destroy what is uniquely theirs. It also shows how Batalla writes that now at the time of the collapse of the civilization project envisioned by the imaginary Mexico, an opening exists for readjusting the power balances and forging ahead with the tremendous resources available within Mexico.

From the Paper
"Within the Mayan community of the Chamulas explored by Rosenbaum (1993), they have decided to have the elders of the community elect officials for their own council from those who have had positions on religious cargos and although the state's council has final authority the Chamula's council is able to make decisions in alignment with their value system. The Chamulas have developed a very strong cargo system and have found a way to empower themselves regarding civic politics and, thereby, have been able to feel the penetration of imaginary Mexico less than other Indian communities. Their cargo system is well structured, so although most of the people cannot afford a cargo, they can participate as assistants expanding those participating to about a thousand and, thereby, confirming the communal activity that reaffirms the Mesoamerican culture."

Tags:mayan, community, chamulas, indians