Latin American Dichotomy

Throughout the settlement, colonization, and eventual formation of Latin American nation-states, the social and economic elite pushed to create and maintain a dichotomy between themselves and those below them. While some tools may seem obvious, such as emphasizing the superiority of certain races or limiting economic opportunities for the impoverished, the very organization of cities and geographic space allowed them to pursue their own visions for their countries. Essentially, cities were designed and spaced out to maximize profit, and those that failed to fall under the organized and modern notion Western Europe had presented were adapted and exploited to generate revenue for the elites (Capello, 8). While it may be convenient for historiographic …show more content…
As Capello points out in City at the Center of the World, individual cities were marketed to outsiders, as was the case with Guayaquil and Quito. While neither was specifically designed from the ground up, both were adapted to fit roles Ecuador needed to attract foreign investors and tourists. Guayaquil was presented as a “modern, urban” city with multi-lingual, business-savvy people, and the ability to travel to, through and from Guayaquil was advertised by the social elites who largely profited from a growth in commerce and industry. Conversely, Quito never developed into the planned, urban setting that Guayaquil was made out to be, and as a result Ecuador’s elite sought to transform a rural city into the nation’s tourist “capital”. Rather than pushing for the modernization of the city’s layout or creating spatial “order”, the national government was content to leave the city as it was and present it as an authentic town with cultural history, selling the idea to foreigners nostalgic of colonial times and who had no interest in the development of the nation as a …show more content…
A perfect example of these ambitious campaigns is that of Brasilia, Brazil. The nation’s new capital was created over the course of 3 years far from the coastline, where the majority of urban metropolises already existed (Cities of Tomorrow, September 11th). The result was a highly organized city that spoke volumes to the progress Brazil was making in an attempt to become modernized. However, the establishment of Brasilia was not all glitz and glamour, as destitute farmers and urban workers flocked to and around the capital in search of potential employment or simply easier access to water, since the flow of fresh water was redirected to the structured city. Similarly, by pushing for a modernized and spacious city, the elites of Latin American nations inadvertently displaced thousands of their poor. With an increasing demand of workers to do menial jobs to maintain the cities’ splendor, as well as domestic workers, the poor were needed to keep these urban jungles afloat. The result of this paradox of hiding the impoverished while keeping them close enough to utilize led to the increased growth in favelas (Birth of the City,