As Latin America’s economy grew, there demand for government control also grew. The dillema was a decision to let government control all or to let the people and it’s markets run the economy. For either choice, there would be some clear success and some failure.   The great export boom triggered Latin Americas involvement with the rest of the world. It occured in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and brought over 90% of their economy. Perhaps the most helpfull technology that helped trade was the invention of the railroad system which went from 2000 to 59,000 miles in a matter of thirty years. Each Latin country mined and grew somewhat different items than the next country.

Mexico for one had its trade grow 900% between 1877 and 1910 trading silver, sugar, coffee, and fibers. Brazil became known as the coffee country when they achieved so much trade of it that it was two thirds of the entire worlds supply. Cuba’s economy was able to sustain trading only sugar while Chile mined nitrates, copper, and iron for its trade. Latin America eventrually traded many different items including coffee, copper, cacao, cattle, silver, oil, bananas, henequen, cotton, rubber, guano, sugar, sheep, wheat, tin, yerba mate, nitrate, and of course tobacco. Those who proffited the most from trading were those who owned land. Middle class folk also profited a little if they were merchants, proffesionals, or office workers. The working class is who suffered since more land now had to be farmed meaning more jobs and larger amounts of work per person. The rich were able to continue this way only be controling the voting situation. The poor often could not measure up to the literacy requirements and if they did, they would struggle to pass through the electoral management (land owners and judges were the ource of this) created by the authoritarians (Chasteen in Chasteen, p. 182-194).   In a short story  The Switchman by Juan Jose Arreola a depiction of how the railroads were run in its early stages is indicated. The story didn’t really talk about the transportation of goods radther is spoke of the affect of the railroad on it’s passengers and villages. Railroad systems started out very unorganized and sold tickets to everyone everywhere. People who show up at the railroad station expecting to board a train with their ticket but only those with enough money and a ticket could successfully bribe their way onto the train most of the time. Once on the train there were no guarantees that you would make it to the correct destination. Sometimes the train would even be going the wrong way from where a passenger was suppose to go. Also in the early stages there was insufficient funding for the tracks (before trade continued to grow) and the tracks seemed to just end its path at times. Supposably one time the train came to a valley and the passengers and crew had to disasemble and carry the parts across and reasemble to continue on their way. Other places the train ran on sand rather than tracks which is very risky. The main idea of this story was to show that where ever railroads went, prosperity and growth followed (Juan Jose Arreola, in Gonzalez, p 313).