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By the 1870s elites in most Latin American states had reached consensus around a shared political and ideological vision, overcoming 50 years of destructive Liberal‑Conservative conflicts and achieving political stability. The new governing elites – usually moderate Liberals – were inspired by European Positivist theory to achieve “order and progress,” in that sequence. They professionalized their military and police forces, replacing caudillo armies and bandit gangs with a monopoly on force by official agents of increasingly centralized governments. They made peace with what remained of the Catholic Church and focused on transforming their countries economically and socially.
The influx of North American and European capital and technology – especially railroads, steamships, refrigeration, and telegraphs – transformed much of Latin America into producers of commodities for export. The most ecologically diverse and fortunate countries – Brazil, Argentina, Mexico – produced several different agricultural and/or mineral products for export, as well as food and fiber crops for local consumption and even industrialization. But a single product came to dominate in countries such as Bolivia (tin), Honduras (bananas), and Cuba (sugar). Latin American elites intended to use revenues from these exports to modernize their societies, seeking to attract European immigrants both to work in the export sector and to “whiten” – that is, “improve” – the racial “stock” of their population.
Immigration, urbanization, the export economy, and modern ideas also reshaped social and cultural life. Immigrants brought new languages and customs. Department stores began to replace urban markets. Elite and middle‑class women sought more education as ideas about their roles as mothers, philanthropists, and even workers evolved.
The effects of modernization were not evenly distributed. Indigenous and African‑descended people were often left behind, as were rural and provincial areas not linked by rail or steamship to the dynamic zones of the region and the world. At the national level Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile were the most transformed, while much of Central America, the Andes, and Paraguay were left relatively untouched.