My summary for the W.E. (cheesy) book

José Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia

The years after independence in Latin America were hard. There was instability because of the new governments.  There were two political parties, loosely the “conservatives” and the “liberals”.  Generally, the conservatives were the higher class and the criollos. The liberals were generally the lower classes like  mestizos and shopkeepers. The governments in many of the Latin American countries were run by caudillos, who were whoever could gain control troops. Regional leaders often rose to national power, and many were quite similar to dictators. The firs caudillo, the ruler of Paraguay, Dr. Jose Gaspar Francia, closed off his country completely during  his reign. In Argentina, their first caudillo was so rigid that no opposition was allowed. No one appeared without wearing some form of red ribbon. Later, there was the “popular caudillo” who would rule tightly like a a normal caudillo, but would greatly improve the country.
    At the beginning of Mexico’s independence, the country was very turbulent, with the government split between the two parties. Their original constitution was rewritten in 1836 by a group led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. He frequently switched parties. However, Santa Anna Seceded almost half om Mexico's territory to the United States, which composed the present day states of California, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Years of fighting had taken a toll on the Treasury of Mexico, and with no money to pay his troops, Santa Anna retired. The wars and fighting in Latin America took a toll on many economies. In addition to the fact that they were building new economies, it was often practically impossible to transport goods to the capital city or to other countries because of the mountains and rainforests, both of which are ubiquitous in South America. Also, cheap European goods competed heavily with the work of local crafts people. However, many countries in South America got telegraph lines and railroads during the Industrial Revolution. 

Flow Chart of economical development.

   Argentina was very prosperous, more so than many other Latin American countries. This may be because it had a higher European population than many of the other countries. Their main trades were beef, wool, and cereals.However, the industries boomed and busted when the Argentinian government spent lots of money and then the value of their money crashed. However, with their strong industries, they were able to regain a strong economy.