US Foreign Policy and Latin America During the Cold War
The Alliance for progress was a multi billion dollar aid program that was devised by the Kennedy administration to foster economic relations with Latin America and also thwart the growth of communism in the region in the aftermath of the cold war. The Alliance for Progress was a result of the cold war between the USSR and the US, the Cuban revolution and the US fear that communism could take root in a region that was poor, unstable and economically underdeveloped. Latin America was largely colonized by the Europeans and the relation between the US and the continent was minimal for a long time, except for a miniscule amount of trade and relations with Mexico. This however changed during the World Wars, especially during WWII when the Latin American countries supplied price controlled commodities to the allied cause and accumulated 3.4 billions in credit. However the US raised prices on capital goods export. This essentially meant that although the Latin American countries had given an interest free loan of 3 billion dollars, they could not even get back the principal. Around this time, the US came up with the Marshall plan for rebuilding Europe after the War. Along with financial aid the plan also meant that these countries could not lay claim on their former colonies. This ended up making the Latin America a de facto protectorate of the US. The financial aid given to Latin America was peanuts compared to the aid given to Europe. Even though Latin American leaders requested the US for more aid, the region was not important to the US. This however, changed when the USSR became a threat to the US and it was forced to halt the spread of communism.With the Cuban revolution, Latin America became an important arena in the cold war politics. The Alliance for Progress was conceived around this time under the Kennedy regime to make the Latin American countries their allies. 20 Billion dollars was promised over a ten year period in forms of grant, loans and investment from the government and private sector. Thus the alliance was an ally building strategy employed by the US to contain the spread of communism.
Cold war politics and the race for global dominance in terms of economy and ideology formed the historical basis for the formation of the alliance for progress. Both the superpowers needed more allies and sought to have an active presence in the Latin American region. Latin America was also considered the backyard of the US owing to its proximity and the result of the Marshall plan. The idea of the alliance was to make the Latin American region less susceptible to communist influence by making them economically self sufficient and stable. Vibrant democracies and an economy where the government played an important role were considered to be important for the countries. Social reform, price stability, increasing per capita income, diversification of trade, social reform, land reform and enhanced stability were some of the characteristics of the Alliance for Progress. The economists who came up with the plan “fashioned Alliance for Progress on contemporary social science theories, espoused by intellectuals, which included Ambassador Gordon and presidential assistant Walt W. Rostow.” The plan was devised in such a way that the US investments would give the Latin American countries an initial boost from which they would continue to grow. The plan was based on the model of the US itself with an advanced democracy and established institutions being the norm. Also the policy makers assumed that most of the third world countries were similar and that the same policy would apply to all. This was one of the reasons the Alliance for progress was a failure and did not achieve the desired results.
The Alliance of Progress was received with mixed responses in the Latin American region. “During the Cold War the United States covertly aided military officers in their seizure of power and then publicly supported them with weapons and counterinsurgency training. In the pursuit of Cold War, the United States destabilized governments in Argentina, Brazil, British Guiana, Bolivia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Uruguay. Contrary to the idea of a stable government and democracy in the countries, there were numerous coups and military dictatorships. IN order to have a leader who was sympathetic to the capitalist cause, the US turned a blind eye to the excesses of the military dictatorships in the country. The aid that these countries received from the US were also spent on short term plans that would be politically advantageous and were not aimed at economic growth the way the advisors had envisioned. However not all was bad with the Alliance for Progress. It did have some good effects in some countries such as Venezuela. Schools and hospitals were built in the country and more people in the region had access to clean, potable water. Venezuela especially received aid to the tune of 200 million dollars in the early 1960’s with which it financed public works projects and public housing. President Rómulo Betancourt and his successor, Raúl Leoni (1964–1969), worked hard towards improving the life of the poor, resettling thousands of people who had lost their land, and allocated a large portion of the budget towards education and health. They also took measures to bring down the level of unemployment. However none of the countries including Venezuela hit the growth targets set by the US. In the case of Venezuela it was because of its dependency on oil. When the price of oil fell drastically, the economy of Venezuela took a hit.
Jeffrey. F. Taffet in his book, Foreign Aid as Foreign Policy: The Alliance for Progress in Latin America, says that “there was a perception of [U.S.] condescension” throughout the hemisphere, “which Kennedy was trying to change.” “and Latin Americans took him seriously because they sensed that he really meant it.” Although Kennedy took the Alliance seriously and sent millions of dollars in aid, the Alliance for Progress did not achieve its desired goals. Rather than foster democracy and economic growth, it spawned many dictators in the region and did not make the countries economically stronger. The dictators propped up by the US also carried out a series of executions in their countries which have left thousands searching for their loved ones. The cold war did not spare any region in the world and the Latin American region was no exception. The cold war had far reaching consequences on the region the effects of which are felt to this day. During the Cold War the Latin American region and its political and economic interests were subsumed by the conflict between the US and the USSR so much so that it wasn’t until the end of the war that they could see the reality of their situation. The legacy of the Cold War on Latin America has been mixed. New democratic regimes were elected after the fall of the dictatorships and most leaned to the left. Leaders who were imprisoned and tortured during the cold war era dictatorships came to power in countries like Brazil, Nicaragua and Argentina. The continent is a mixture of socialist and capitalist economies and most of the left leaning countries are anti US. Caught between two ideologies during the cold war era, the societies and economies of many countries were in shambles. Most countries are still resource dependant economies and have not managed to build economies that can be sustained without natural resources. Argentina and Brazil, the big economies in the region still continue their search for loved ones killed during the era without getting any concrete answers. On the positive side, the region has formed trade relations with countries from Asia and Africa, especially China and is moving away from the shadow of the US.
Bibliography
Smith. H. Peter. Talons of the Eagle: Latin America, the United States and the World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Rabe. G. Stephen. “Alliance for Progress”, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History, (2016), 6, assessed January 19, 2017. Latinamericanhistory.oxfordre.com.
Rabe. G. Stephen. “Cold War Memories: Latin America Versus the United States”, Analisis Politico, 9 (2013), 7.
Jeffrey. F. Taffet. Foreign Aid as Foreign Policy: The Alliance for Progress in Latin America. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2007.
Falcoff, Mark, “Latin America After the Cold War”, Ashbrook, accessed January 19, 2017, http://ashbrook.org/publications/latin-america/
