The Revolutionary Mission: American Enterprise in Latin America, 1900–1945

Cambridge Latin American Studies #81

by Thomas F. O'Brien

During the twentieth century, American corporations have spread American material productivity and American values such as consumerism and competitiveness around the globe. People in other nations have accepted some aspects of American corporate culture while vehemently rejecting others. The Revolutionary Mission is the first book to explore the impact of American corporate culture on Latin American societies and to examine its influence on the populist nationalist movements of the 1930s.

Paperback

First published March 29, 1996

Reviews

[Biblio Curious · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most enraging Introduction I've read in ... possibly forever. The rest of the book is broken up into countries and then chronologically for the history of (mainly) American companies in Latin America.

O'Brian deals with this subject matter in a fairly direct way, he sticks to the 'matter of facts' with various single line commentaries included throughout. So while most of the text is factual events, there are some commentary observations included. This isn't the densest history book, it's quite readable for anyone with a keen interest in Latin American history.

Essentially, each Latin American country experiences a complex mix of exploitation & economic development by the various corporations. The social reactions to this vary incredibly & I'm sure the effects are still felt today. Traditional societies & customs were pushed aside for mining operations or to build infrastructure to serve the various companies. The local elites benefited from the economic development & formed a partnership with the companies. Overall, the social structures of Latin America changed greatly. Unions formed, massive strikes ensued & the social landscape changed permanently.

I'd recommend this for anyone who'd like to learn about the history of migrant workers or possibly gain some insight into current events today.