Mulattoes

person of mixed African and European ancestry

Mestizos

person of mixed Native American and Spanish (or Portuguese) ancestry; from the Spanish word for “mixed”

Santeria

is a syncretism religion of West African and Caribbean origin.

Soviet Union

was a constitutionally socialist state that existed on the territory of most of the former Russian Empire in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.

Cuban Missile Crisis

was a confrontation between the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War.

Zapatistas

is a revolutionary group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico.

Revolution

is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.

North American Free Trade (NAFTA)

signed in 1993, an arrangement that allows free trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico

Communism

an economic and political system in which property is owned and collectively and labor is organized in a way that is supposed to benefit all people.

Discrimination

is a sociological term referring to the prejudicial treatment of an individual based solely on their membership (whether voluntary or involuntary) in a certain group or category.

Cuban Revolution

was an armed revolt that led to the overthrow of President Fulgencio Batista of Cuba on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement led by Fidel Castro.

Guerilla Movement

is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians (or "irregulars") use military tactics, like ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army, or strike a vulnerable target, and withdraw almost immediately.

Terrorism

use of violence, or threats of violence, against civilians to scare people and governments into- changing their politics, their ideology, or their religion.

Unitary

characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is held by one central authority.

Federal

characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is divided between on central and several regional authorities.

Confederation

voluntary associations of independent states, to secure some common purpose, agree to certain limitations on their freedom of action and establish some joint machinery of consultation or deliberation.

Autocracy

government in which one person possesses unlimited power and the citizen has little if any role in the government.

Oligarchy

government by the few, sometimes in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes; citizen has a very limited role.

Presidential Democracy

a system of government in which the president is constitutionally independent of the legislature.

Parliamentary Democracy

a system of government having the real executive power vested in a cabinet composed of members of the legislature who are individually and collectively responsible to legislature; may have a Prime Minister elected by the legislature.