Also, Latin America's revolutionary wars were long and bloody. 425,000 people died in Mexico's War for Independence. And they didn't always lead to stability. Venezuela, for instance, experienced war for much of the 19th century, leading to as many as a million deaths. And it's important to note that fighting for freedom doesn't always lead to freedom. The past two centuries in Latin America have seen many military dictatorships that protect private property at the expense of egalitarian governance. Freedom, independence, and autonomy are complicated terms that mean different things to different people at different times.