Blog. This week we will partner to do the blog and not the wiki. Each pair of partners, and one set of three will be assigned one of three essays in Chapter III that aren’t included in Reading assignment. They are listed as essays 4,5, and 6. The essays are: 4) “The Lions of Payara,” pp. 72-76; 5) “Ribbons and Rituals,” pp. 76-79 and 6) “Protagonist on a National Stage,” pp. 79-81. The pairings and assigned essay are:
[1+4] #4, [2+12] #5, [4+13] #6, [5+14] #4, [6+24] #5, [7+23] #6, [8+22] #4, [9+21] #5, [10+20] #6, [15+17+19] #4, [16+18] #5.
Read the assigned essay. Contact your partner(s) and determine what the two or three or you think is the most extreme form of manipulation used by the caudillo in the essay. Compose 100 word description of that manipulation and post it according to normal procedure between 5 pm Friday, Jan. 28 and 5 pm, Saturday, Jan. 29. This is a NEW procedure. Please pay attention. Do not post to the blog before Friday at 5 pm. I don’t want leaders to have too many followers.
[22] #4
ReplyDeleteIn this article, Jose Antonio Paez relives his days of being a major part of a caudillo. He was a strong leader and was president of Venezuela for two years. A topic of manipulation had to do with the Farfan brothers. At first they served an enemy royalist but later joined Paez after they heard of his ranking reward. The Farfan brothers would routinely disappear from Paez’s group and would return at their leisure; this was highly frowned upon. Around 1836, the Farfan brothers rebelled against the government in Apure without instruction. Paez convinced them to repent their rebellious efforts so there would be no battle between them and the government of Apure. In 1837, they rebelled again without warning in Guayana. This time it ended in a battle where Paez and his followers defeated the Farfans. Paez was a strong leader but he was manipulated by the Farfan brothers. Paez continued to give them opportunities to stay with his group because he trusted them and in the end he had to defeat them. This goes to show that manipulation can occur even between caudillos.
[5 + 14] #4:In The Lions of Payara, José Antonio Páez is a powerful Venezuelan caudillo that manipulates those who were once loyal to him in order to reinforce his own political power. The Farfán brothers, who once helped Páez gain power, although they always tested his authority, later decided to rebel against the government, of which Páez was the president. Páez manipulated the situation to his advantage by brutally murdering the rebel army, where his own army only lost two men. Through the annihilation of the rebel army, Páez used the situation to reinforce his own power and to make other aspiring caudillos fearful of rebelling against him.
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ReplyDelete[16+18] #5 When reading Ribbons and Rituals we discovered that the if the people didn't wear the ribbons simply by forgetting to wear the ribbon after changing clothes, they were automatically called a Unitarian. There were very strict punishments to pay if someone wasn’t wearing the ribbon or if the ribbon wasn’t worn properly. People were whipped and some were even killed. It was a form of terror. The government wanted them to think about the ribbon all the time. From fear of being called a Unitarian or Federalist the slightest change of the ribbon, the community would hide and change their ribbon because a piece of paper showed how the length of the ribbon shall be.
ReplyDelete[7+23]#6: The strongest form of manipulation is the tone in which Santa Anna uses when writing this autobiography. Santa Anna portrays himself as a victim and as being vulnerable, not as a person in a position of great power. When Santa Anna is asked to become temporary president he writes, “…the hardships of the journey and the change of climate weakened me.” He continues to write about his poor heath during his time of rule in order to gain sympathy from the audience. The death of his wife was mentioned and Santa Anna writes about how greatly her death impacted his life, wanting empathy. He left office but was pleaded to return: “Their pleas led me to sacrifice myself to the public good, I withdrew my resignation.” The final act that pushed Santa Anna to flee the country was the disrespect rioters showed him whenever they took “his amputated foot from the cemetery of Santa Paula and proceeded to drag it through the streets to the sounds of savage laughter.” In the essay, Santa Anna spoke highly of himself, manipulating the reader to believe that he was the vulnerable protagonist.
ReplyDelete[9+21] As Niccolo Machiavelli said, “it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved.” Juan Manuel de Rosas truly embodied this passage when he came to power. By using red ribbons and other red paraphernalia as ways for people to show support, but publicly beating them if they did not wear the ribbons, the people were forced to show support to Rosas for fear of repercussion. This fear did not just apply to wearing ribbons, but also expended to flying flags and hanging banners; the article had a passage highlighting this “a shopkeeper puts out a flag to attract people’s attention. His neighbor sees him and fearing he will be accused of tardiness…puts out his own…[pretty soon] everyone else on the street puts one out too” (pg. 78-79). The manipulation displayed here is that of terror, which spreads like disease across the country. Rosas himself describes this tactic best in his writing when he states “whoever is not with me is my enemy;” by wearing or displaying the red paraphernalia the people showed that they were at least superficially ‘with’ Rosas (pg 76).
ReplyDeleteWhen everyone was ordered to wear the red ribbon, consequences resulted for those who did not wear it. People were publicly lashed when they did not have it on. They were killed if they did not wear it at all. With this fear instilled, the people were manipulated to conform their beliefs.
[15+17+19] Essay # 4 - We think that the most extreme form of manipulation used in this essay is Manipulation by Patriotism. Paez felt that everyone had a "patriotic duty" to serve him and his forces. He promised the people of Venezuela that they would not have to pay taxes and in return he wanted them to fight for him and show loyalty to their country. He was a very strong Caudillo who led many plainsmen into victorious battles. He tried manipulating them into helping him and defending him. This was the reason that many of his army decided to later revolt against Paez. Paez realized that in a society that was going to thrive and survive, improvements needed to be continually made in order to prevent the towns and cities from falling into demise. This of course needed to be accomplished with the payment of taxes in order to have money to make necessary repairs. As the war progressed Paez was not able to convince the leaders of the rebels to change their minds. Finally the rebels gave up but the cost to the Venezuelan people was enormous due to the amount of blood that was shed.
ReplyDelete[2+12]#5 While reading the essay, "Ribbons and Rituals" we came along many forms of manipulation. There were some cases extremer than others. The first form we noted was how the roses manipulated the people into believing a simple red ribbon meant support for a nation. Also many punishments were put into place if a citizen didn't wear the ribbon in public. With these punishments Caudillo was able to show everyone that he was indeed the "restorer." Everyone had to wear the ribbon. If they didn't they would face some serious consequences. An example would be getting whipped. These punishments put fear into peoples eyes and that was what was intended.
ReplyDelete[6+24] #5: Juan Manuel de Rosas was a master of manipulation, and used that to make people fear him. He wanted the government in his hands and did whatever it took to obtain that goal. Once he gained power Rosas made his intentions very clear in his proclamation by saying, “Whoever is not with me is my enemy”. He demanded order and implemented for everyone to wear red ribbons to show their support. Still he felt that just wearing one wasn’t enough, it had to be perfect or they would receive a lash from the police. This had a domino effect on everything that the people did. If their neighbor swept their sidewalk, they would feel obligated to go sweep theirs, fearing punishment if they did not. Everything that was done was done out of fear, Rosas accomplished his goal. He was the master mind of the society, and gained his power by manipulation the people into having fear if they did not do as he told.
ReplyDelete[1+4] In the reading of The Lions of Payara, the Venezuelan caudillio Josi'e Antnio P'aez had supporters who were mounted herdsmen who were like cowboys from the wild west. After the Independence, the cattle was distributed to the vailiant warriors of the army. Thus giving them a role to play in the prosperity of the territory. This I believe was just not a nice gesture, but a way for P’aez to gain control and access to the plains at all times through the manipulation of these people. Along with these gestures he also “Offered to give the rank of captain to any plainsman who brought forty fighters with me, and from then on they rode with me in Apure from then on.” This was just another way of manipulation and control he had over the people. I felt that he used them to get areas in the Orinoco plains and lied to them about receiving certain lands and rewards for their involvement. For example, on page 74, He he wrote in a letter that he promised to the people of Apure during the war of independence that in a free Venezuela they would have to pay no taxes. Then added that there were going to be taxes for certain customs. I just see this manipulation as him using these people to help gain control of these lands, promising certain rewards, then taking them away.
ReplyDelete[20+10] #6
ReplyDeleteWhile Santa Anna was standing in as president, there was the threat of revolution. To disperse the revolution Santa Anna sent General Gabriel Valencia to the town of Acajeta, where the revolution was stemming from. General Valencia executed José A. Mejia. Mejia was the leader of the revolution. After Mejia was killed the revolution died. Caudillos used fear to manipulate their followers. In Killing Mejia, Santa Anna assured that nobody would dare to begin another revolution. Santa Anna, to maintain power, calls together a group of prominent citizens from all states in the nation to instigate needed reform. The group came up with The Principles of Political Organization. Though it is ironic that it is he, Santa Anna, who is elected president once the reform was created. Santa Anna says he wants reform, but that is only to maintain support so he can keep his power. "Reforming" was his manipulation.
(13) The basis of this essay is to gain the sympathy of the audience in order to manipulate them. His physical health and emotions are express throughout the essay so the audiences can somewhat sympathize with him. The heath issues are made known from the beginning of this short essay with the removal of his foot, and he moves on to the emotional death of his wife. He method of sympathy was quite effective. When he retired from his office, the people yearned and begged for his return. Being as conceited as he was, Santa Anna considered his return to be a sacrifice for the people. Santa Anna’s ways of manipulation were short lived. People of the town drug his severed foot throughout town laughing which led the Santa Anna leaving the country.
ReplyDelete[8+22] Jose Antonio Paez was a major caudillo in Latin America during the 19th century. He was a strong leader and president of Venezuela for two years. A good example of manipulation occurred on the part of the Farfan brothers. The Farfan brothers were caudillos who once served an enemy royalist, but later joined Paez after they heard of success and power The Farfan brothers would routinely disappear from Paez’s group, test his power, and were sometimes unreliable; this was highly frowned upon. Around 1836, they rebelled against the government in Apure without instruction. Paez convinced them to repent their rebellious efforts to avoid fighting between them and the government of Apure. In 1837, they rebelled again, without warning, in Guayana. This time it ended in a battle where Paez and his followers defeated the Farfans. Paez was a strong leader but the Farfan brothers manipulated him. Paez continued to give them opportunities to stay with his group because he trusted them, however they took advantage of the opportunities he gave them and he was forced to eliminate them This goes to show that manipulation often occurs between caudillos.
ReplyDelete[11] Manipulation is the key component of Juan Manuel de Rosas strategy to gain public unanimity under his rule. Everyone under caudillo Rosas must show their unlimited loyalty to him by extensively celebrating festivities in his honor, wearing a red ribbon, as well as his picture over their heart. Believing in his policies and rule was not enough. Latin Americans were manipulated into thinking that they must follow all of these demands in order to be a loyal citizen. If they did not, they would feel the wrath of the Rosas regime. Rosas was treated as a God-like figure. His portrait sat in front of alters of Catholic Churches. Masses would be devoted to giving him thanks. To sin against Rosas, is to sin against God himself. The Mazorca would whip anyone who may have forgot to wear the red ribbon at anytime. The red ribbon was created in order to maintain the uniformity of public opinion. If one did not wear the ribbon, they were doomed. This political manipulation of Latin Americans created a disease of terror and conformity. People were manipulated into thinking that if one person was honoring Rosas in better way than others, they must copy and do better than them. Manipulation forced conformity and terror among the Argentineans.
ReplyDeleteCaudillos used (and use) emotions, rewards and violence of all stripes to manipulate followers and enemies alike.
ReplyDeleteThe tale of Jose Antonio Paez and the Farfan brothers demonstrates the role of rewards, in this case conferring the rank of captain upon them for bringing 40 or more troops into his army. The play between Paez and the Farfan brothers is significant, that is, the brothers come and go several times to pillage on their own but are allowed to return to the fold. What we see, in fact, is that Paez is just one of a number of caudillos in Venezuela. He uses fatherly flexibility mixed with threats of punishment to keep the Farfan’s in line. Ultimately, he fails and must turn to kill them. He succeeds in felling one brother and thereby maintains his power over the other. But we see that the business of caudillismo is tenuous.
In some contrast, Juan Manuel de Rosas was one of the most dominant, long-lasting caudillos in history. He ruled Argentina with an iron fist for 20 years. The essay we read about him describes how extreme his control reached. Red was the color of his so-called political party – the Federalists – and in complete submission to his rule, the people of Buenos Aires competed with each other to display red ribbons on their person and in their windows. Failure to dawn red ribbons drew whippings or worse from his henchmen, the Mazorca, who patrolled the streets like German Nazi troops occupying France in World War II. Rosas exerted mass terror, physical and mental manipulation of a supreme order.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who conquered the Alamo in 1836, used pure emotions to attempt continued control and influence. The piece in MLAH reads like a soap opera episode. Sympathy is the emotion evoked for Santa Anna’s sacrifices for god and country. It is the weak side of manipulation, but his personal record within Mexico lasted so long that sympathy at least partially succeeded in his last years.