After the conquistadors defeated the Incan and Aztec Empires, settlers began immigrating to the New World to set up societies. While the Native Americans were being ravaged by disease, the Europeans and their descendants were organizing governments and colonies. Just like the colonists in North America, the people in Latin America began to question rule from abroad. By the mid-1800s, the Latin American countries were independent from Europe. And for the next 200 years, Latin America would struggle with how to handle the power. When they succeeded, they would flourish; when they failed, millions of citizens would suffer. This tug-of-war was a time known as the postcolonial era, simply meaning "after colonialism." Which of the following best symbolizes the postcolonial era?

A
a downhill slide

B
a rollercoaster

C
an uphill climb

D
a flat course