Intimate Ties, Bitter Struggles: The United States and Latin America Since 1945

by Alan McPherson

Overview

Over the last sixty years, the relationship between the United States and Latin America has been marred by ideological conflict, imbalances of power, and economic disparity. The U.S.-sponsored coup in Guatemala, the near lynching of Vice President Richard Nixon in Venezuela, and the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion are a few reminders of the sometimes dramatic confrontations between North and South. Yet this relationship has also been characterized by accelerating economic and cultural interdependence that is significantly altering the old paradigm of U.S. hegemony and Latin American resistance. Alan McPherson uses multinational sources to survey and analyze the history of this relationship. Intimate Ties, Bitter Struggles reflects the most up-to-date research on state-to-state interactions and recognizes the influence of culture and non-state actors on international relations. Major topics include the debate over economic dependency, the U.S. response to revolutions in Latin America during the Cold War, military interventions and covert operations, human rights, migration, the North American Free Trade Agreement and economic integration, the Iran-Contra affair, the war on drugs, and Latinos in the United States. The author’s concise narrative and selection of primary–source documents offer an ideal introduction to U.S.–Latin American relations for students and for anyone with an interest in understanding the dynamic interplay between these hemispheric neighbors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781574888751
Publisher:	Potomac Books
Publication date:	01/31/2006
Series:	Issues in the History of American Foreign Relations
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alan McPherson is an associate professor of history at Howard University and the author of Yankee No! Anti-Americanism in U.S.–Latin American Relations. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	ix
	Series Editor's Note	xi
	Acknowledgments	xiii
	Introduction: Unequal Interdependence	1
Chapter 1	Chills: Cold War, Dictatorship, and Rising Expectations, 1945-58	17
Chapter 2	Blowbacks: Anti-U.S. Sentiment, Socialism, and U.S. Gunboats, 1959-69	45
Chapter 3	Dirty Wars: Industrialization, Human Rights, and the Violence of Poverty, 1970-80	69
Chapter 4	Wreckages: Proxy Wars, Debt, and Defiant Strongmen, 1981-90	89
Chapter 5	Transnationalisms: Neoliberalism, Drugs, and Latina America, 1991-2005	111
	Conclusion: Food for Thought	141
	Appendix of Documents
1	Spruille Braden and the State Department: The Blue Book on Argentina, 1946	147
2	Roy R. Rubottom Jr.: Communism in the Americas, 1958	148
3	Juscelino Kubitschek: Operation Pan-America, 1958	149
4	John F. Kennedy: Announcing the Alliance for Progress, 1961	150
5	Alberto Lleras: Report on the Alliance for Progress, 1963	152
6	Thomas Mann: Against an Invasion of Cuba, 1961	153
7	John F. Kennedy and Advisors: Discussing Options Against Missiles in Cuba, October 16, 1962	154
8	Fidel Castro to Nikita Khrushchev: Warning of a U.S. Invasion, October 26, 1962	156
9	Nikita Khrushchev to Fidel Castro: Remaining Calm Against U.S. Aggression, October 28, 1962	157
10	Senator William Fulbright: Criticizing the U.S. Intervention in the Dominican Crisis, 1965	158
11	Henry Kissinger and Cesar Augusto Guzzetti: Advising the Argentine Military on Dealing With Dissent, 1976	159
12	Nelson Rockefeller: Reporting on the Americas, 1969	161
13	Jimmy Carter: Loosening Tensions With Cuba, 1977	162
14	Gustavo Guiterrez: Liberation Theology, 1971	163
15	Daniel Ortega: The Sandinistas' Relationship With the United States, Interview, 1997	165
16	John Negroponte: Soviet Intervention in Central America, Interview, 1997	166
17	The Santa Fe Commission: Renewing the Cold War in Latin America, 1980	167
18	CIA: Secret Cable on a Guatemalan Massacre, 1981	168
19	Iran-Contra Report: Findings, Indictments, and Pardons, 1993	169
20	Clinton White House: Answering Critics of NAFTA, 1993	171
21	Rigoberta Menchu: Indigenous Activism and Guatemala, Interview, 1992	172
22	Foreign Ministers of the Americas: Diversity and Civil Society in the FTAA, 2003	174
23	Jean-Bertrand Aristide: Democracy, Poverty, and Women's Activism, 1996	176
	Notes	179
	Index	197
	About the Author	208

Editorial Reviews

McPherson offers a concise and up-to-date account, accessibly presented. Students will no doubt find this a valuable introduction.”—The Journal of Cold War Studies, Volume 10, Issue 1

". . . .this book is highly recommended for individuals who have an incomplete background in U.S.–Latin American relations. It is accessible to non-specialists and would be a very good text for an upper-division course. . . .It would also be a good text for graduate students who need a quick background reead on the subject before tackling its complexity."—Political Science Quarterly

"Intimate Ties, Bitter Struggles offers a superb introduction to the major issues in the often turbulent history of U.S. relations with Latin America since the end of World War II. The book is well-organized, well-written, and goes beyond most textbook surveys by probing the ‘inner history’ of inter-American relations and the undervalued intimate ties between the United States and its southern neighbors. It is essential reading for anyone wanting an up-to-date portrait of inter-American relations."—Lester D. Langley, professor emeritus of history, University of Georgia, and author of The Americas in the Modern Age

"Alan McPherson has written a succinct, balanced, and lively history of recent U.S.-Latin American relations that provides an excellent basis for understanding current hemispheric issues and tensions. With its lucid prose and well-selected primary documents, the book should be popular in the classroom and with general readers."—Judith Ewell, Newton Professor of History Emerita, College of William and Mary

"Very highly recommended to all students of foreign relations, ecology, diplomacy, and historical understandings and occurrences between America and its relationship with its southern neighbors."—Midwest Book Review

"Any college-level collection strong in Latin American history will want to include Intimate Ties, Bitter Struggles on their acquisition list."—California Bookwatch

"The unbalanced interdependence of the United States and Latin America is one of the more difficult relationships in today's world, and it is bound to grow even more difficult in the future. Hence, a history of the relationship since its distortion under the impact of the cold war, analyzed by Alan McPherson with admirable clarity and conciseness, is an indispensable guide for understanding where the relationship is heading and why. . . . Recommended as good introductory reading."—Vojtech Mastny, National Security Archive, in History: Review of New Books

From the Publisher