How did the Cold War affect the political

development of Latin

American nations?

The Overthrow of

Salvador Allende in

Chile

The Impact of the Cuban Revolution

Success of Cuban Revolution energized the left throughout Latin America

To combat the germ of revolution, the Kennedy administration unveiled “Alliance for Progress” in 1961

Alianza para el Progreso

Under “Alliance for Progress,” American advisers gave aid and ideas on how to reform local land systems and how to teach the populace the benefits of liberal capitalism

Rejecting the “Band-Aid” solutions

To most Latin American radicals, “Alliance” did not offer real solutions

Inspired by the Cuban Revolution, citizens tried to take matters into their own hands

Peasants seized estates in Colombia and Venezuela

Argentinean workers occupied factories

A leftist alliance in Chile came to power in 1970

Reacting to the rising tide of revolutionary insurgency

Under the guidance of American advisers (organized by CIA), Latin American militaries were trained to root out radicalism

They learned that gaining support of civilians, usually the most indigent, was key to defeating guerrillas

By targeting civilians, rather than armed combatants, counterinsurgent forces could isolate and destroy guerrilla campaigns

The “Brazilian Solution”

1964 coup brought into Brazil a military government that used dictatorship, death squads to eliminate opposition, and tax and tariff policies to encourage industrialization through import substitution (policy that advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production)

Elements of this “Brazilian Solution” would be applied in Chile by the government of Augusto Pinochet and in Argentina after the military overthrew the existing governments

The Overthrow of Salvador Allende

The CIA and US policymakers aided General Augusto Pinochet's military coup against the Allende regime in 1973 and looked the other way while the junta eliminated political opponents.

Political prisoners in a stadium