Latin America went through many years of colonial rule by Spain, but around the 1800s it began to seek independence. The years that followed were full of rebellion and war, trying to gain independence from colonial Spain. The “Americanos” now believed that they were capable of governing themselves and that it was no longer necessary for Spain to continue to control the Americas. When Latin America finally defeated Spain, new problems began to arise, caused by many years of war, which led to chaos and a sense of imbalance in Latin America's hands. Many of these struggles have prevented Latin America from governing itself and creating its own democracy. Some of the main challenges and struggles that were most predominant during Latin America's independence were the economic instability caused by many years of war, the burden of Spanish colonialism, and the strong hand of the caudillos. Many years of war have made Latin America's economy suffer and made it almost impossible to collect the debt. A stable economy is essential to be able to gain credibility with other countries and allow continued investments. In Peru, for example, silver mines and machinery were destroyed beyond repair. “Horrible economic devastation occurred during the wars of independence. The hardest hit were… the Peruvian silver mines. Their wells were flooded and expensive machinery was destroyed. 120 (Chasteen). This caused Peru to suffer greatly because it was one of their main trades. In Mexico, one of the greatest economic difficulties was the lack of transportation infrastructure, which meant that Mexico did not have railroads. Mexico also lacked navigable rivers, making it much more difficult to...... middle of paper ......c The Church and its power did not help liberal ideals of democracy. The caudillos, and their uncontrollable power, also made the government vulnerable, at which point they were overthrown by the caudillo leaders. If these obstacles did not exist, I think Latin America would have had an easier path to democracy. In conclusion, after Latin America gained independence, it faced many challenges that would prevent it from creating an ideal democracy. Some of the important struggles involved the bad economy in Peru and Mexico. The Catholic Church with its conservative ideals which wanted to retain its power, and Argentina and its caudillo government of Rosas. Many of these countries faced similar problems which, with time, would soon be overcome. Works Cited Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire, A Concise History of Latin America. WW Norton ,