Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) was an actor, politician, and president of the United States from 1981-1989.
During his government, there was the implantation of neoliberal economic measures, the end of the Cold War and the Iran-Contra affair.
Biography
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911.
He graduated in Sociology and Economics, was a sports announcer and an actor in Hollywood. There, he would act in B-films, productions that did not stand out for their artistic value, but which were welcomed by the general public.
He would have his first political experience as president of the Actors Union. Also during this period he would meet his two wives: actress Jayne Wyman to whom he would be married from 1940 to 1949. He later married actress Nancy Davis in 1952 and would remain with her until her death in 2004.
After leaving Hollywood, he was elected governor of the state of California by the Republican Party in 1967 and retired in 1975.
Finally, he would run for president of the Republic, staying at the White House from 1981 to 1989.
The Reagan administration would privilege capital over labor, benefiting Wall Street financiers and harming workers. Unions were stripped of their functions, factories closed and moved to other countries causing unemployment.
In foreign policy, Ronald Reagan politically supported the Mikhail Gorbachev and the two rulers ended the Cold War. He also found a faithful ally in the prime minister. Margaret Thatcher, from the United Kingdom, which applied the neoliberalism in your country.
After leaving the presidency, Ronald Reagan took care of his political legacy by organizing the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and the library of the same name.
He withdrew from public life when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1994 and would die ten years later of pneumonia in Los Angeles.
Reagan government
The eight years of Reagan's rule were marked by the reduction of public spending, the elimination of several social assistance programs and the reduction of taxes for large fortunes.
This led to the indebtedness of the American middle class, who now had to resort to banks to pay for their studies at universities and their own homes.
Likewise, several American industries have moved to underdeveloped countries to lower production costs. This left thousands of people unemployed in the United States.
Originally from the Republican party, Reagan repudiated the socialism. In a 1983 speech he called the Soviet Union the "Evil Empire."
Still, with the election of Mikhail Gorbachev in the USSR in 1985, and his policies of Perestroika and Glasnot, Reagan approached the Soviet leader. The objective was to limit the nuclear arsenal between the two powers.
After many negotiations, in 1987, the two presidents sign a treaty that would end the Cold War. In a famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Reagan challenged: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”.
Certain analysts agree that Ronald Reagan's actions contributed to the end of the ussr in a peaceful way.
Fighting Drugs
During Ronald Reagan's second term (1985-1989) war on drugs was declared.
First Lady Nancy Reagan was directly involved in this policy by launching the campaign “just say no” (Just say no). The aim was to sensitize children and adolescents about the problems of drug use.
However, this policy was the excuse that the American government managed to intervene in South American countries, such as Colombia, to capture drug traffickers.
This mobilized soldiers, American intelligence and the arms industry, which made a profit by selling products to both sides.
Read more at Drug Decriminalization
Iran-Cons
The most scandalous corruption case during the Reagan administration was the sale of arms to Iran and to the “Contra” in Nicaragua. These were a group fighting General Ortega, declared an enemy by the United States.
However, the US Congress had banned arms sales to Nicaragua and Iran. This meant that the presidency was disobeying the law of the Legislative Branch.
The scandal ended with several members of Reagan's cabinet convicted. The president himself came close to receiving some sanction, but he was not prosecuted. In any case, his popularity dropped considerably while the investigations lasted.
Ronald Reagan Phrases
- "Socialism is a system that only works in Heaven, where you don't need it, and in Hell, where it already exists."
- “The government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short sentences: 'If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, adjust it. And if she stops moving, subsidize her'.”
- “Don't expect the solution to come from the government. The government is the problem.”
- "Governments tend not to solve problems, just reorganize them."
- “Man can be free as long as government has limits; when the government grows, freedom diminishes.”
read more:
- Fall of the Berlin Wall
- North American Imperialism
- economic liberalism
- Cold War Questions
