Examine the conditions that led to the establishment of caudillo rule in one Latin American country.

The question requires that candidates consider the interrelationship between the rise to power of caudillos and the conditions that may have facilitated such rise. Candidates may refer to political conditions, including political instability after independence; centralist/federalist conflicts; regionalism; tradition of authoritarian rule; and/or support of powerful institutions such as the Church. Candidates may also refer to economic conditions, including debts arising from independence wars and stagnation in economic activity after independence. Social conditions may also be considered, including illiteracy; social inequality and lack of opportunity (especially for natives and marginalized rural workers); and/or existence of regional elites that could empower caudillos. Candidates might also explore the role of caudillos’ personal attributes and abilities that contributed to the establishment of caudillo rule. Examples may include Juan Manuel de Rosas in Argentina, José Antonio Paez in Venezuela, José Antonio López de Santa Ana in Mexico, among others.

The question required candidates to consider the interrelationship between the rise to power of the caudillos and the conditions that may have facilitated such rise. The question generated few, but fairly sound, responses that discussed a range of conditions leading to caudillo rule. Most emphasized were depressed economic conditions and the absence of a functional national political system.