Iguazu, Brazil, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Patagonia…. Have a very different feel from Peru and Ecuador. This may be yet one more example of their history…. And subsequent management, the foundations of which were laid in the history and the relationship to Spain and the Church. Of course, their physical conditions are also different. Enough to explain what appears to be happier people? Enough to explain what appears to be an overall higher level of prosperity? Not being an expert makes wild speculation a lot easier. So I’ll offer the wildass-guess observation that the northern regions of South America, like Central America and parts of the American Southwest experienced a very different type of history 1500-1700 as compared to the southern regions of South America. Aspects are common: Spanish invasion, occupation, and enslavement (either actual physical enslavement or economic enslavement) are shared experiences. Domination, in partnership with the royalty and elite, by the Catholic church are shared… Suppression of the people’s own religions, cultures, and spirit in favor of a convenient religious–commercial alliance is the common thread. But the form of the suppression seems to be different. From eastern Brazil southerly the suppression seems to have been more of a cooptation of local beliefs, cultures, etc., rather than just suppression through military force. Not that military force wasn’t tried and successful throughout much of the region but rather the seeds of the Jesuit approach that sought to coopt through education of the local elite together with inclusion of local art and cultural practices into their European spiritual practices. What difference does it make? Well, I would offer that Peru, Ecuador, and the regions north were so brutally suppressed and enslaved (economically and spiritually) and for so long that the indigenous people’s and large parts of the mestizos were depleted (robbed?) of their human nature to try, to work to get out of their impoverished condition. They work incredibly hard but (it seems) within a defined universe that says this is their lot and they should have no expectation of anything more. Dispirited resignation. Don’t be fooled though. They understand the game and work within its boundaries. Whether it is the little children in their beautiful and colorful traditional clothing who have been taught to approach the tourist not with smiles (which are beautiful like all children) but with fetching, sad, almost desperate beggar expressions….. Until they go off to play with their children friends. Similarly, these children are prepared physically to work the crowd. Their beautiful, colorful, traditional clothing is impeccable, pressed, and worn just right. No rags, these tidy uniforms. Yet, on a closer look, they are betrayed by the dabs of dirt applied like rouge to their cheeks. Cannot afford to wash? …cannot afford to remove the thumb prints of their mothers that stuck when the rouge was applied that morning. They also understand how to work the international theater, these otherwise politically and economically disenfranchised people. We are on their side when they have the massive political rallies and strikes that they have had in Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina while we are here. They understand that the extremely destructive open-pit mining destroys their present and their future; and that they will see little or none of the economic wealth that would be extracted. They understand that their anti-mining demonstrations will get them the international exposure and pressure to gain political strength that they do not otherwise have. I do not intend to diminish the severe economic plight of the indigenous peoples. I agree with them on their concerns for their own well being as well as the immediate and long term disastrous environmental and social impacts associated with the mining, deforestation, and oil developments that are being approved everywhere. I applaud that they have learned the political skills to bring international pressures to the decision makers that otherwise could continue the centuries-old practices that impoverished these people in the first place. I regret, however, that it appears to be a losing battle–the continuation of the centuries-old exploitation and ruination of these regions for the financial gain of the rich and powerful in far off lands seems unabated by anything other than a few “show and tell” spots to drag the international delegations through on their periodic visits from far away lands. Again, I applaud the efforts of those brave enough to sit in front of the train. The places remain stunningly beautiful. The people appear to be happy. The riches here do appear to be boundless–as if one could continue the exploitation indefinitely without serious effect. For some perspective though, consider the following: for all the gold the Aztecs, Mayans, Inkans, and those that followed mined, shaped, fought over, stole, sank, decorated Europe, etc., it accounts for less than 10% of the gold mined since 1865– and our pace and our technology are increasing, not decreasing, the quantity and impact (vast open pit mines using all manner of chemical processes) of the mining activities throughout South America. And not just gold: copper, aggregates, silver, iron, you name it. Mining and poisoning the people, the lands, and the rivers. In the middle of this remains some of the most impressive natural wonders on the planet. One of them is Iguazu–arguably the largest natural water falls in the world. Situated with the border between Brazil and Argentina running through the middle of the falls, they appear to have cooperated extremely well to make this an enjoyable experience for all visitors while minimizing the impact on the falls and surrounding semi-tropical forests. Miles of well designed and well built elevated walkways (to minimize disturbance of the terrain) take thousands of tourists to the most incredible views. Interpretive signs in multiple languages enable most people to understand something of what they are looking at and a slice of understanding of the forests that they walk though. (Don’t misunderstand me, ALL of the parks, reserves, etc., that we have visited in all of the regions are incredibly well done. They understand the value of this export commodity–tourism–in their economy and what a foreign exchange earner it is— per dollar of expenditure, tourism probably retains 5-6 times more foreign exchange within the country and probably has a much higher multiplier effect than any other sector. I am focussing here on Iguazu but the same can be said of the highlands of Patagonia (where we found beautiful hiking trails that, based on the low usage, probably would never get built in the US) or butterfly trails in Ecuador…) Anyway, watch the movie The Mission from about 1985 with DeNiro and Jeremy Irons. Based on true stories (mashes several together) from about 1570, it provides some of the beauty, the conflicts within the invading troups (The Church, the Jesuits, the commercial interests, and each of their armies) and the locals caught in between. It takes some liberties (surprise!) with the locations, the people, etc., put it will show you a little of what we are in the middle of.

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1 thought on “Iguazu, Brazil, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Patagonia…. Have a very different feel from Peru and Ecuador. This may be yet one more example of their history…. And subsequent management, the foundations of which were laid in the history and the relationship to Spain and the Church. Of course, their physical conditions are also different. Enough to explain what appears to be happier people? Enough to explain what appears to be an overall higher level of prosperity? Not being an expert makes wild speculation a lot easier. So I’ll offer the wildass-guess observation that the northern regions of South America, like Central America and parts of the American Southwest experienced a very different type of history 1500-1700 as compared to the southern regions of South America. Aspects are common: Spanish invasion, occupation, and enslavement (either actual physical enslavement or economic enslavement) are shared experiences. Domination, in partnership with the royalty and elite, by the Catholic church are shared… Suppression of the people’s own religions, cultures, and spirit in favor of a convenient religious–commercial alliance is the common thread. But the form of the suppression seems to be different. From eastern Brazil southerly the suppression seems to have been more of a cooptation of local beliefs, cultures, etc., rather than just suppression through military force. Not that military force wasn’t tried and successful throughout much of the region but rather the seeds of the Jesuit approach that sought to coopt through education of the local elite together with inclusion of local art and cultural practices into their European spiritual practices. What difference does it make? Well, I would offer that Peru, Ecuador, and the regions north were so brutally suppressed and enslaved (economically and spiritually) and for so long that the indigenous people’s and large parts of the mestizos were depleted (robbed?) of their human nature to try, to work to get out of their impoverished condition. They work incredibly hard but (it seems) within a defined universe that says this is their lot and they should have no expectation of anything more. Dispirited resignation. Don’t be fooled though. They understand the game and work within its boundaries. Whether it is the little children in their beautiful and colorful traditional clothing who have been taught to approach the tourist not with smiles (which are beautiful like all children) but with fetching, sad, almost desperate beggar expressions….. Until they go off to play with their children friends. Similarly, these children are prepared physically to work the crowd. Their beautiful, colorful, traditional clothing is impeccable, pressed, and worn just right. No rags, these tidy uniforms. Yet, on a closer look, they are betrayed by the dabs of dirt applied like rouge to their cheeks. Cannot afford to wash? …cannot afford to remove the thumb prints of their mothers that stuck when the rouge was applied that morning. They also understand how to work the international theater, these otherwise politically and economically disenfranchised people. We are on their side when they have the massive political rallies and strikes that they have had in Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina while we are here. They understand that the extremely destructive open-pit mining destroys their present and their future; and that they will see little or none of the economic wealth that would be extracted. They understand that their anti-mining demonstrations will get them the international exposure and pressure to gain political strength that they do not otherwise have. I do not intend to diminish the severe economic plight of the indigenous peoples. I agree with them on their concerns for their own well being as well as the immediate and long term disastrous environmental and social impacts associated with the mining, deforestation, and oil developments that are being approved everywhere. I applaud that they have learned the political skills to bring international pressures to the decision makers that otherwise could continue the centuries-old practices that impoverished these people in the first place. I regret, however, that it appears to be a losing battle–the continuation of the centuries-old exploitation and ruination of these regions for the financial gain of the rich and powerful in far off lands seems unabated by anything other than a few “show and tell” spots to drag the international delegations through on their periodic visits from far away lands. Again, I applaud the efforts of those brave enough to sit in front of the train. The places remain stunningly beautiful. The people appear to be happy. The riches here do appear to be boundless–as if one could continue the exploitation indefinitely without serious effect. For some perspective though, consider the following: for all the gold the Aztecs, Mayans, Inkans, and those that followed mined, shaped, fought over, stole, sank, decorated Europe, etc., it accounts for less than 10% of the gold mined since 1865– and our pace and our technology are increasing, not decreasing, the quantity and impact (vast open pit mines using all manner of chemical processes) of the mining activities throughout South America. And not just gold: copper, aggregates, silver, iron, you name it. Mining and poisoning the people, the lands, and the rivers. In the middle of this remains some of the most impressive natural wonders on the planet. One of them is Iguazu–arguably the largest natural water falls in the world. Situated with the border between Brazil and Argentina running through the middle of the falls, they appear to have cooperated extremely well to make this an enjoyable experience for all visitors while minimizing the impact on the falls and surrounding semi-tropical forests. Miles of well designed and well built elevated walkways (to minimize disturbance of the terrain) take thousands of tourists to the most incredible views. Interpretive signs in multiple languages enable most people to understand something of what they are looking at and a slice of understanding of the forests that they walk though. (Don’t misunderstand me, ALL of the parks, reserves, etc., that we have visited in all of the regions are incredibly well done. They understand the value of this export commodity–tourism–in their economy and what a foreign exchange earner it is— per dollar of expenditure, tourism probably retains 5-6 times more foreign exchange within the country and probably has a much higher multiplier effect than any other sector. I am focussing here on Iguazu but the same can be said of the highlands of Patagonia (where we found beautiful hiking trails that, based on the low usage, probably would never get built in the US) or butterfly trails in Ecuador…) Anyway, watch the movie The Mission from about 1985 with DeNiro and Jeremy Irons. Based on true stories (mashes several together) from about 1570, it provides some of the beauty, the conflicts within the invading troups (The Church, the Jesuits, the commercial interests, and each of their armies) and the locals caught in between. It takes some liberties (surprise!) with the locations, the people, etc., put it will show you a little of what we are in the middle of.”

  1. Your blog is wonderful and I am enjoying the trip with you! Macau Pichu is on my list of things to do and the waterfall in Brazil was used in the animated film “Up.” I was very interest ed in the comments about the missionaries/the Spanish etc. and have seen the film. Look forward to next instalment. Much love Cate x

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