272 CHAPTER 11 THE TRIUMPH OF NEOCOLONIALISM AND THE LIBERAL STATE, 1870–1900
of the various nations of Latin America. This typi-
cally included encouragement of exports, foreign
investment, and privatization of public resources
like land and subsoil rights. But it also relied on
the consolidation of forceful, often brutal, dictator-
ships that used their monopoly of state power to
create a unifi ed national market, control labor, sub-
ordinate local caudillos, and conquer indigenous
lands. The liberal dictatorships consolidated po-
litical authority and promoted economic growth,
but they failed to sustain an authentic national
development that benefi ted a broad cross section
of the population. Thus, they bequeathed a legacy
of social instability and political discontent that
frequently combined to produce violent move-
ments for social reform.
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