U.s. Policy Toward Latin America: From Regionalism to Globalism by Harold Molineu

Author:Harold Molineu [Molineu, Harold]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Latin America, General
ISBN: 9780813302720
Google: JGFqAAAAMAAJ
Goodreads: 4626612
Publisher: Westview Press
Published: 1986-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

The Dilemma

For U.S. policymakers dealing with Latin America, a recurring dilemma has been how to promote democracy and refrain from intervention. Certainly, the United States is criticized for its tendency to intervene on the side of nondemocratic forces in order to maintain a friendly status quo. And yet, the pursuit of democracy may also require interference in another country's domestic politics. For many in Latin America, U.S. intervention for any reason is unacceptable. A critical question therefore, in assessing U.S. policy, is whether the United States should act as aggressively to change a military government {such as Augusto Pinochet's in Chile) as it did to undermine an elected one (Allende's) in the same country? Or, if policymakers decide that intervention to save a nondemocratic government is unwise and unjust, should the same considerations apply when the United States is confronted with the possibility of intervening to defend a democratic government?

Resolving this dilemma is not easy. This chapter demonstrates the problems and contradictions that emerge when the U.S. government does decide to act in its foreign policy according to the principles of democracy. Three cases will be examined: Wilson's attempt to depose a nondemocratic leader in Mexico, Kennedy's policy to promote political reforms, and Carter's campaign on behalf of human rights. In none of the cases was the United States successful in achieving its stated goals. The implications of this outcome vary, but they suggest that either the pursuit of democratic principles was too difficult a task in Latin America or the U.S. government was not sufficiently committed to achieving them. In any event, these principles remain a component of an understanding of U.S.-Latin American relations.

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