Cattle and environment in Nicaragua : a world system analysis of the beef export industry and its environmental impact, 1950s-1970s

Developing nations have often attempted to follow the development patterns of developed countries, usually at the behest of one or more developed nations and/or international aid-granting agencies with the support of national elites. Unfortunately, these development schemes have too often been ill-suited to the needs and environment of developing states. Central America, for example, has long been under the influence of other 'more advanced' nations, beginning with Spanish colonization in the 1500s and continuing with the United States' 'big brother' stance. Nicaragua, in particular, has an unusual history of U.S. military occupation spanning more than 20 years, following with the establishment of Anastasio Somoza into a virtual dictatorship which lasted over 40 years. Beginning with Spanish colonization, Nicaragua was integrated into the world economy as a supplier of raw materials and agricultural products, a position it occupied for centuries. Nicaragua supplied indigo dye and cacao immediately following Spanish colonization. Following independence, the primary exports shifted from coffee to cotton to beef cattle. With each new export, there was a concomitant peasant dislocation, concentration of more and better agricultural lands in to fewer hands, reduction in food produced for domestic production, and increased environmental degradation, such as deforestation, soil erosion, siltation of waterways and drinking water supplies, and habitat destruction. This thesis discusses the beef export boom in Nicaragua from the late 1950s until the end of the 1970s. The beef cattle industry in Nicaragua illustrates the problems that a focus on agro-export industries for economic development generates for the natural environment and the peasants of developing nations. Using historical analysis, I examine the characteristics and growth of the beef cattle industry in Nicaragua and its impact on the environment and Nicaraguan campesinos. I discuss the internal and external social forces that have shaped the expansion of peripheral capitalism through an agro-export model of development. I rely on the world-system perspective and Samir Amin's concept of peripheral capitalism for my theoretical framework.