Well, Johnny, what did you learn in school today? Ah, Mom, my teacher told me to read my text- book, and it said, Critics of the Alliance say it is a failure because it has not met certain goals. Is this fair? ... The Alliance for Progress is a grand experiment. We don't know the best way to progress in Latin America. We try, make mistakes, try again. People reach goals in life at different ages. Are countries any dif- ferent? (The Story of Latin America, Greco & Bacon, California: Addison-Wesley, 1972, p. 174.) What are children learning about Latin America in their social studies and history textbooks at school? To answer this question an assessment of social studies textbooks formally adopted by the State of California for classroom use in grades one through eight was conducted by Project REAL (Recursos Educacionales de America Latina-Educational Resources on Latin America) at Stanford University. WHO'S WHO IN LATIN AMERICA: THE CASE OF BENIGN NEGLECT One of the clearest weaknesses in the books examined is the omis- sion of crucial information. The textbooks give the impression that Latin America is nearly one hun- dred percent male, notwith- standing the occasional photo- graph depicting a peasant woman or crowded street scene. Aside from the rare mention of Gabriela Mistral virtually no female figures appear in these books. Likewise, the history of black people in Latin America and the Caribbean is continuously under- played. Very casual treatment is given to slavery and even less at- tention to contemporary Afro- Latino culture. The issue of race in the present day is most commonly skipped over by euphemistic references to Brazil's harmonious "multiracial" society. Indigenous peoples of Latin America are treated as historical artifacts. Their history abruptly ends with the European conquest and colonization of Latin America. Few of the texts surveyed include significant information on their continuing struggles for economic, social and cultural integrity. At most one encounters a picture of a market scene in the altiplano region or a picturesque photo of Macchu Picchu. Finally, the existence of an in- dustrial proletariat is usually side- stepped as is the concept of social class. Latin America is typically depicted as having been divided into simply rich and poor, but now headed toward more "balanced" development, with a growing "middle class"--of factory workers, store clerks and office workers. STEREOTYPES In the textbooks examined the United States political system is continuously described as demo- cratic, while dictatorships and military coups are presented as almost endemic to the Latin American political process. Expla- nations for dictatorial and authori- tarian regimes in Latin America are based on the idea that Latin Americans were immature, educa- tionally and politically, at the time of independence, and consequent- ly unable to rise to the task of democratic self-government. The typical textbook discussion of political dictatorship as a "Latin tradition" generally provides a convenient framework for examin- ing contemporary Cuba. For ex- ample, Although Cubans wanted a greater voice in their govern- ment, dictators ruled Cuba most of the time. The newest dictator is Fidel Castro. In power since 1959, he has turned Cuba into a one man state .... (M. Schwartz, J.R. O'Connor, Ex- ploring the Western World: Its Peoples, Cultures and Geog- raphy, Globe Book Company, Inc., 1973, p. 361.) At the same time there is a strong tendency to overlook other Latin American dictatorships. Brazil is, perhaps, the best case in point. It is rare to find mention of the military coup which took place NovlDec 1979 in 1964, forcing the democratically elected Goulart government out of power. Instead, textbooks choose to emphasize the vast potential of Brazil's economy; its economic "miracle" of the late sixties and early seventies, and the explora- tion and development of the Amazon region. References to the disastrous consequences of mili- tary rule for the "bottom" sixty percent of the population are scat- tered and often weak by compari- son with the optimistic picture of development taking place. For ex- ample: Much of Brazil's economic history has been a series of ups and downs. ... However, since the beginning of the 1960's, Brazil has had a turnabout in the way its people meet their needs and wants.... Brazil's economy is booming at a growth rate of 11.4% each year. The value of exports has doubled every two years since 1966. (World Cultures, Clarence L. Ver Steeg, Scott, Foresman and Company, 1977, p. 216. Grade 6.) WHO SAYS SO? THE DATA SOURCE GAP Virtually none of the textbooks provide any references to substan- tiate the "facts" being published as knowledge and truth, even in the most obvious cases: the use of statistical tables, graphs and charts. Population statistics are often antiquated, even though the book's copyright may be fairly re- cent. A 1975 edition may, for ex- ample, be using 1960's statistical information. Many textbooks are simply spiffed up from one edition to the next, adding a few new photos or changing the names to update the political profiles of the "constantly revolving dictator- ships." The lack of information sources, however, contributes to the impression which textbooks tend to create among students: that they speak the undisputed gospel truth, requiring no further substantiation. BY THE WAY, I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION While a grade school textbook cannot be expected to include everything, or even nearly every- thing, it is not unreasonable to ex- pect the book to include and discuss the more important topics. Here again, we are continuously disappointed. Textbooks often do include the topic of agricultural problems, while land reform is usually allotted one paragraph. Foreign investment is generally mentioned, but often in near code form or with such euphemisms that one might be inclined to wish it had been left out altogether. For example: Colombia depends on businesses and banks from other countries to invest there. ... Colombia is trying to in- crease its own capital .... But it takes a long time for a country to create new capital by itself. In the meantime, other countries can help by lending money. (People in the Americas, Robin- son, editor, Silver Burdett Com- pany, 1976, pp. 375-376.) Moreover, any issue which smacks of controversy is either glossed over, omitted in its entirety or depoliticized. The result is that the content of these books is often a bland, dull series of concepts and events which have no bear- ing at all to the flesh and blood reality they purport to describe. US-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS The treatment of U.S.-Latin American relations in large part parallels the dominant thinking among North American academics and policy makers about one decade prior to the date of publication of the textbooks. Some of the older books fall into the Cold War category: our mission is to fight the spread of communism throughout the world and particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean-our own backyard. Then, there are a number of texts from the 1960's Alliance for Progress era. These books reflect the attitude that Latin America is indeed a problematic, underdeveloped region which must be helped. The sources of problems are described variously as geographic, lack of natural resources, the predominance of backward/traditional social and economic structures and not enough modern North American technology and industry. Several of the more recent books take a social science developmentalist approach. This approach relies on more complex treatment of economic and social issues, but basically falls back upon the notions of economic growth through the importation of foreign capital and technology as the solution to Latin America's problems. North America is pictured as a source of knowledge and technology which Latin Americans need in order to "be like us." And this is, naturally, the crux of the matter: that Latin Americans should be striving to be like us, that the United States is the correct paradigm which should be desired and imitated. While ideological biases and opinions expressed in most of the textbooks are far from subtle, perhaps more than anything else it is the subtle and invidious ethnocentric economic and political comparisons between "them" and "us" which will stick with the students and be most difficult to change in the years to come.
