A pretext for power : the United States, anti-communism and the democrats of Latin America, 1933-1965

Abstract

This thesis offers a revisionist interpretation of the anti-communist pretext that justified US interference in Latin America to the detriment of social democratic leaders between 1933 and 1965. It posits that the Latin American social democratic ideology of 'nationalism, socialism and anti-imperialism', adopted in Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Cuba, Colombia, Guatemala and Costa Rica, posed a systematic threat to the established Latin American oligarchies and their North American supporters. This ideology sought to transform the political and economic structures of those individual Latin American nations in order to increase the quality of life for the majority of the population. Yet the social democrats emerged during the transition between World War II and the Cold War, when progressive politics were viewed with caution. This placed their nationalist movements within the broader context of the global Cold War. While the Latin American social democrats distanced themselves from the small Latin American communist movement, Washington characterised their economic policies as within 'the communist line'. Despite their lack of evidence, US policy makers directly contributed to the downfall of several social democratic governments between 1948 and 1965 under the pretext of anti-communism. This pretext effectively ended the movement for Latin American social democracy. Significant 'blowback' then occurred in the form of the radicalisation of the democratic left, the implantation of a communist regime in Cuba and the destabilisation of the region in its aftermath. By revising the contextual and ideological origins of the anti-communist pretext as a mechanism to thwart social democracy in Latin America, this thesis will contribute to the literature regarding the political, military and economic machinations of the US in Latin America during the Cold War.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	English