AK 24-2 LATIN AMERICA, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE WORLD

SETTING THE SCENE “The duty of every revolutionary is to make revolution.” –Fidel Castro, Cuban dictator (1962) Communism was an ever growing threat during the Cold War Latin America and the United States’ policy was heavily influenced by communism

COMMUNISM IN CUBA Cuba won independence from Spain After Spanish-American war Platt Amendment U.S. controlled Cuba until 1935 Cuba’s sugar was very valuable to the U.S. U.S. bought many Cuban plantations and mills Supported military dictators

CASTRO 1959-Fidel Castro led a tiny guerrilla army to victory This army was opposed to the Batista regime Castro turned Cuba into a communist state Nationalized foreign-owned sugar plantations and other businesses Land was put under Gov. control and distributed to peasant farmers 1960s- Gave health care to everyone Promoted equality for women Increased nation’s literacy rate Communist dictatorship angered middle-class Cubans Critics were thrown in jail Hundreds of thousands fled to the U.S.

COLD WAR TENSIONS Cuban Revolution surprised the U.S. especially when Castro turned to the Soviet Union for help Bay of Pigs, United Sates backed Anti- Castro exiles in a plan to over throw Castro U.S. imposed an embargo on Cuba after the over throwing failed Castro let Soviets build nuclear missile bases in Cuba (Just 90 miles away from Florida) This outraged the U.S. and sparked a dangerous crisis

COLD WAR TENSIONS 1962-President John Kennedy declared naval blockade of Cuba Soviets were given the order to remove their weapons Known as the Cuban Missile Crisis- superpowers were on the brink of a nuclear war Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, eventually backed down and removed the missiles from Cuba Over the next decades, Castro encouraged a revolution in other Latin American nations Sent troops to Africa to help Angola’s Socialist Gov. Soviets provided economic and military aid to Cuba while the U.S. continued efforts to isolate Cuba and remove Castro

RECENT TRENDS Cuba lost their main ally and trading partner in the early 1990’s due to the collapse of the Soviet Union Cuba’s economy suffered without their help In return to a ruined economy, Castro encouraged tourism, a market economy, and foreign investment However, he remained loyal to his belief and preservation of communism Even though the United Nations and Latin America claimed that Cuba wasn’t a threat anymore, the U.S. refused to negotiate with them

THE UNITED STATE AND LATIN AMERICA U.S. was influenced by smaller neighboring states Latin America relied on the U.S. for trades and investments The U.S.’s profits flowed from Latin America to the north But cultural influences drifted both north and south U.S. saw themselves as a defender of democracy and capitalism and the source of humanitarian aid

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INTERVENTION The U.S. repeatedly interceded in Latin America This was to prevent the spread of communism They backed anti-communist dictators and trained their soldiers to fight rebel rebellions They even helped defeat leftist leaders 1954-U.S. helped Guatemalan soldiers overthrow Jacobo Arbenz, the Guatemalan president Arbenz had enacted land reforms that threatened U.S. businesses Richard Nixon lent its support to a Chile to overthrow the socialist president, Salvador Allende

INTERVENTIONS U.S. forces invaded Panama and put an end to the government of General Manuel Noriega Noriega was tried, convicted, and imprisoned for drug trafficking U.S. used economic pressure to remove military rulers from power in Haiti The U.S.’ economic and military interventions were opposed by various Latin Americans Their political, economic, and cultural influence was often disliked

REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Despite differences, Latin America and the U.S. still worked together OAS (Organization of American States) was formed in 1948 Promoted democracy, economic cooperation, and human rights U.S. often dominated the OAS, but the Latin Americans did pursue and independent line at times Alliance for Progress in Castro revolution and multiple Cold War tensions led President Kennedy to start this program Offered billions in loans and investments In return, Latin American Gov. were to pass genuine reforms to promote education, land reform, reduce inequality and poverty, weaken dictatorships, and help countries avoid revolutions However, this did not result in positive progress The U.S. provided aid to Latin America, but not to the extent of Kennedy’s proposal

REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ISSUES Latin American had reduced their dependence on the U.S. By the end of the Cold War, but remained a key trading partners They were tied to the global economy Venezuela was rich in oil and joined Arab nations in OPEC. While Brazil worked with Africa in exporting coffee Food or minerals were often exported to Asian nations as trade and cultural links were formed Japanese investments in Brazil especially rose rapidly

REGIONAL TIES 1990s- Regional trading became important Trade barriers were lowered among neighboring countries to create larger markets Mexico linked economies with the U.S. and Canada through NAFTA 1995-Mercosur, a new South American trading block increased trade In Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay The hope was to create a hemisphere-wide-free-trade zone would expand European Union

THE DRUG WARS Indian in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia grew cocaine for their own uses Drug cartels began producing and exporting huge quantities 1970s- drug lords were rolling in the profit used this money to bribe Government officials Hired assassins to kill the people that spoke out against them 1980s- U.S. declared a “war on drugs” Pressed governments in Colombia, Peru, etc. to destroy cocaine crops Many Latin Americans argued that the real problem was the ever growing demand for illegal drugs, and not the supply of drugs

DEVELOPMENT VERSUS THE ENVIRONMENT Nations said that in order to have economic growth, land needed to be exploited Most widely publicized issue was the destruction of the Amazon Rain Forest Occupies more than a million acres in Brazil During the s the forest was being turned into land for farms, cattle ranches, highways, and cities Environmentalists said that this had enormous costs Called it “The lungs of the world” Said that rapid development would cause problems for native peoples Native American forest dwellers were angered

MIGRATION 1970s- Latin American immigration increased Many people moved to the U.S. to get away from poverty, civil war, and repressive gov. 2000s- Latin Americans were the largest immigrant group to the U.S. Many entered legally and became citizens, However, many also entered unlawfully, Illegal Immigrants After 9/11, the U.S. moved to strengthen border controls

IDENTIFY Bay of Pigs United Sates backed Anti-Castro exiles in a plan to over throw Castro Cuban Missile Crisis- Cuba and U.S. were on the brink of a nuclear war OAS- Organization of United States Promoted democracy, economic cooperation, and human rights NAFTA- North American Free Trade Association Alliance for Progress - Castro revolution and multiple Cold War tensions led President Kennedy to start this program in 1961 Drug Cartel- Criminal gangs that sold drugs and used the large profit to bribe Gov. officials

IDENTIFY Fidel Castro- Cuban Dictator Manuel Noriega- General in Panama that was hung for drug trafficking Mercosur- a new South American trading block Embargo-ban on trade Literacy rate- percentage of population that can read and write