The Effects of the Cold War on La n America
BY BRADLEY DISILVESTRE Post WW2 Adjustments (Ideology) The United States rose in the West as a democra c superpower The USSR rose in the East as a communis c superpower
USSR a empted to spread communism with post-war influence US a empted to limit the expansion, leading to indirect conflicts
“the war had been won by a coali on whose principal members were already at war - ideologically and geopoli cally if not militarily - with one another.” 6 Gaddis Post WW2 Adjustments (La n America) La n American countries con nued developing with import subs tu on industrializa on, crea ng more factories as to limit import reliance
US opened trade with La n America, many were afraid the trade would destabilize or slow the growth of their economies
Many in La n America saw the new superpowers as a way to upheave the current systems US La n America Policies Containment Policy Focuses on stopping the growth/spread of the USSR through economic, diploma c, and military power
Implemented primarily by the US, first applied in Truman doctrine but used repeatedly by various presidents
The applica on is reminiscent of Ta ’s Dollar Diplomacy in how money was distributed to greatly further interna onal influence/rela ons Truman Doctrine March 12, 1947 President Truman declared immediate economic/military (400mil) assistance to Greece and Turkey to protect from Soviet expansion in their area
Massive outreach is supported by Truman’s Domino Theory where the fall of one Na on into communism would cause a cascade of revolu on in the surrounding areas, so communism must be stopped before it is firmly established
Set precedent for predecessors Truman Doctrine OPCVL h p://www.history.com/speeches/the-truman-doctrine
Origin and Purpose O) March 12, 1947 speech from United States President Harry Truman about his 400 million dollar doctrine of aid for Greece and Turkey
P) To give ra onale for his doctrine as to convince congress and inform the American people “Confusion and disorder might well spread throughout the en re Middle-East. Should we fail to aid Greece and Turkey in this faithful hour the effect will be far reaching to the west as well as to the east.” Value and Limita ons V) Supports the idea that US presidents will go to great lengths to contain and suppress the USSR “I therefore ask the congress to provide us authority for assistance to Greece and Turkey in the amount of 400 million dollars for the period ending June 30th, 1938.”
L) Posi on may have been supported to curry favor from the red-fearing populace. True beliefs may be diluted when put before a congressional audience, prohibi ng unabridged ideas. Eisenhower Doctrine Very similar to the Truman doctrine in that it promised aid to protect from Soviet expansion, but this me to Middle Eastern countries
S ll developing containment and showing that the US intends to interfere wherever Communism is involved Kennedy Doctrine Also a con nua on of containment but not focusing on the Mediterranean or the Middle East, but on the less developed countries below the equator
Gave more a en on to La n American countries through organiza ons Alliance for Progress- Program between US and 22 La n American Countries for aid in reform and growth
Brought US into Cuban affairs
What’s up with Cuba?? Pre-Revolu on In 1933 Fulgencio Ba sta came into power in Cuba, he con nued the local tradi ons of corrup on and disparity
Numerous issues like: ØHuge wage gap ØHigh unemployment ØLack of public services ØNo distribu on of poli cal power Fidel Castro Cuban Revolu onary that became the face of Communism in La n America
Born August 13, 1926, Castro a ended Catholic boarding and high school before studying law in university
In school he did poli cs and par cipated in violent groups and riots before a emp ng to do poli cs officially
When this failed, he con nued a emp ng revolts with varying degrees of failure Revolu on! A er being released from prison, Castro retreated to gather forces in Mexico before directly opposing the Ba sta regime in December 1956
Using guerilla and psychological warfare with a miniscule force of 800, Castro frightened and wore down the Cuban military before seizing Cuba on January 1st 1959 Communist A ermath A er Castro concluded the revolu on the Communist Party of Cuba was in power
Changes: ØEliminated Capitalism and na onalized industries ØBegan working with the USSR ØDeveloped similarly to other Communist satellites in Europe US Response US was like “no man that’s not cool” Because Cuba seized hundreds of millions in US property/business and because THERE IS A COMMUNIST COUNTRY LIKE RIGHT THERE
Many US congressmen denounced Castro and President Eisenhower set up a trade embargo on everything except food and medicine Bay of Pigs Invasion Later on, the US a empted to remove Castro from power by funding and facilita ng an uprising
1,500 armed Cuban exiles landed on the “Bay of Pigs” in April 1961
This didn’t work out causing many insurgents to be captured, the US/CIA to be indicated, and later it was revealed that people from the wrong fac ons were selected for the plan anyways Cuban Missile Crisis Another incident occurred when the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962 that could hit much of the US
In response, president Kennedy decided to set up a naval blockade to prevent further shipments
Kennedy and Khrushchev nego ated that the USSR would rescind the missiles and the US would not invade Cuba, in addi on to rescinding missiles in Turkey
Castro got angry that the USSR backed down and nego ated and would no longer associate with them Cuba Summary vA empts at US interference in La n America have varied results vThe presence of a Communist country did not cause the Domino Effect vUS would con nue to enforce containment and the Monroe Doctrine vTension between the US and the USSR rose What is non-Alignment? Movement where a country does not become aligned with a geopoli cal/military structure
The requirements include beliefs such as: ØRespect for fundamental human rights ØRecogni on of movements for na onal independence ØRefraining from acts of aggression against the integrity/independence of any country
La n-American Members Include but not limited to: ØCuba - 1961 ØChile - 1973 ØPeru - 1973 ØBelize - 1976 ØPanama - 1976 Impact of CIA on La n American Poli cs Guatemalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala Guatemala is a good example of how the CIA interfered with the poli cal atmosphere
Jacobo Arbenz was elected Guatemalan president in 1950, He made an Agrarian Reform bill which let the Government buy land off of planta ons (like eminent domain) Planta on owners and workers were upset at the loss of land
Communists were encouraging uprisings but Arbenz wouldn’t stop them because they helped him come to power United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (UFC) was the largest conglomerate in Guatemala, worked in farming and controlled the Puerto Barrios port that was integral for Guatemalan involvement with interna onal trade.
Under prior leaders they received some tax exemp ons but the new reforms hurt them in par cular because the company severely undervalued their land to avoid remaining taxes
United Fruit Company The UFC was known to bribe/manipulate their opposi on and poli cians to stay powerful, was influenced by foreign donators like the US
When the government a empted to buy UFC land for $600,000 the UFC responded by asking for $15,000,000 instead (20x counter offer) This offer would not be accepted work so the UFC and its US supporters for upset US Media Response US correspondents got in contact with media specialists and had them vilify the Arbenz administra on, making every ac on look bad to the public
They claimed the Arbenz administra on was dangerously an -American compared to his predecessor and Communis c for keeping Communist officials
Glass Half-Empty When the Arbez administra on was concerned and afraid of uprising they purchased weapons from Czechoslovakia
Media specialists spun this as a clear connec on to the USSR because of the Czech’s Communist leader
Through applica on of the Containment beliefs, Domino Theory, and the Monroe doctrine the US now had jus fica on to interfere with the suspected USSR meddling Enter: Opera on PBSUCCESS The CIA ini ated an opera on to remove Arbenz from power Opera on PBSUCCESS included: ØSpecially training 150 exiles for insurgency ØEstablishing communica on lines and jamming for radio ØAggressively using psychological warfare through the radio ØOrchestra ng an overthrow and installing a more “coopera ve” leader
Guatemalan Revolu on CIA selected Cas llo Armas to lead the rebellion because he was of small stature, humble in temperament, and stupid
While receiving orders from the CIA, Armas led a small force against the Guatemalan troops Rebels only won a few ba les but the US used radio to give them informa on and to demoralize the opposi on
President Arbenz quit and was replaced by Colonel Diaz who faced similar propaganda and guerilla warfare un l defeat A ermath of Guatemala Cas llo Armas became provisional and then full- me president, then he established an -Communist laws and incrementally took power and rights from the people (burned books, abolished par es)
With Guatemala now facing a dictator and the UFC never returning to prosperity, US interven on destabilized yet another country to oust Communism America’s Involvement with Allende and Chile In Chile a Socialist party a empted to run for presidency with candidate Salvador Allende Gossens
The US, fearing another Cuba, leaped into ac on with President Nixon trying to influence the elec ons and organize a coup
Unlike in Guatemala, these plans did not succeed and Allende won the Elec on in 1970 A ermath of Chile When Allende came into power he implemented new economic policies and was a emp ng to stop plumme ng copper prices
The USSR saw the chaos and decided to wait for a be er me to take them under their wing
This hesitance backfired when in 1973 a different rebel army overthrew Allende and established an authoritarian regime Summary vDemocra c US vs Communis c USSR vContain the USSR by throwing money around vTry to stop every Communist domino vMany na ons went unaligned vFrequent US interven on frequently caused problems Works Cited
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h ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Doctrine
h ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement