Cold War 1

The Co ld War Begins
“Well if we don’t look out, we will wake up

some morning and read in the newspapers
that there happened in South America the
same kind of thing that happened in China in
1949.”
J.F. Dulles
A new era:
Bipolar
Ideological
Global
“I believe it must be the policy of the

United States to support free peoples who
are resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside pressures.”
-- Harry Truman
“The great battleground for the defense
and expansion of freedom today is in the
southern half of the globe….the lands of
the rising people.”
--JF Kennedy
“We have simply forgotten about Latin America.”
--Adolf Berle
Post war NSC memo: “Communism in the

Americas is a potential danger, but that, with a
few possible exceptions, it is not seriously
dangerous at the present time.”
Democratic surge in Latin America at and of WWII
Rise of “progressive,” reformist political

parties
Rise in participation of the political left

Including the communists
Mobilization of labor
Victory of democracy over fascism

The Cold War heats up
1950
$50 million in direct military aid to Latin America:
“U.S. security is synonymous with Hemispheric

security.”
Rio Pact (1945) and charter of the Organization of
American States (1948) opposed unilateral action
Collective decision making

Non-intervention
Different interpretations
George Kennan’s (aka X) vision of U.S. policy
toward Latin America:
1. The protection of our [sic] raw materials
6.The prevention of military exploitation of Latin

America by the enemy
8.The prevention of the psychological

mobilization of Latin America against us.
“The final answer might be an unpleasant
one, but….we should not hesitate before
police repression by the local government.
This is not shameful since the communists
are essentially traitors….it is better to have a
strong regime in power than a liberal one.”
--George Kennan
“Orderly political and economic development”
Late 1940s: shift back to authoritarian rule in Latin

America
By 1954 only 4 democracies left

Granted to the following dictators:
Odria of Peru
Perez Jimenez of Venezuela
Somoza of Nicaragua
“Do not offend the dictators, they are the only

people we can depend upon.”
--J.F. Dulles
3 –Part Crusade:
4.Eliminate Latin American communist parties
7.Assert state control over labor movements
10.Diplomatically exclude Soviet Union from

Western Hemisphere
Juan Jose Arevalo 1945- Jacobo Arbenz 1951-1954
1950
The Ten years of Spring

The only period of peace and democracy in
Guatemala’s history
Arbenz v. “La Frutera”
(United Fruit Company)
UFCO owned a lot of land in Guatemala

85% unused

Had undervalued and on tax returns
Guatemalan Govt. offered $627,672

The Dulles Boys
John Foster, Secretary of State and Alan, director of the CIA
Both were members of the law firm representing the United

Fruit Company.
State Dept. countered Guatemalan offer of $627,672 with one of

$15,854, 849.00
The battle of the Western Hemisphere has
begun…..We enter upon a new era in our
history. We face, for the first time, the prospect
of continuous struggle against Communism on a
hemispheric scale.”
--Daniel James, The New Leader
OAS meeting,1954:
Attempted resolution by J.F. Dulles: “The domination

of control of the political institutions of any American
state by the international communist movement….
would constitute a threat, [and require] appropriate
action in accordance with existing treaties.”
Arbenz ousted by Gen. Castillo
Armas, with help from CIA.
Ended “10 years of Spring”

1958: V.P. Nixon’s Tour
of Latin America
Things went smoothly at

first. Then, protests in
Peru
“The Communist high command in South
America had made a high-level decision to
regain the ground they lost in Lima by
mounting a massive pay-off demonstration in
Caracas.”
--V.P. Nixon
Quite a ruckus in Caracas
“The spit was flying so fast that the driver turned on
his windshield wipers…..I felt as though I had come
as close as anyone could get, and still remain alive,
to a firsthand demonstration of the ruthlessness,
fanaticism and determination of the enemy we face
in the world struggle.”
Nixon’s suggested new policy: “A formal handshake

for dictators; an embraso [sic] for leaders of
freedom.”
(the word is abrazo, not embrazo)
OAS members severed ties
with Trujillo of Dominican
Republic
Eisenhower tried to
convince him to step down
When considering granting military
assistance, we must ask: “Is the country on
our side?”
-Christian Hertler, Secretary of State
Ideologiacally: Democracy was

preferable but not absolutely required
Economically:
“We must develop and economic program for Latin

America which is distinctively its own….There must
be a new program for economic progress for the
hemisphere.”
--V.P. Nixon
Inter-American Development Bank
1960 Social Progress Trust Fund

$500 million for health, education,
housing, and land reform
Two-pronged Policy:
1954 Declaration of Caracas, renouncing Marxism

+ at least rhetorical support for
democratic leaders
1960 Act of Bogotá to reduce poverty and

underdevelopment
Elimination of roots and expression of communism

“As you know, the reaction throughout Latin America
has been bad. Intervention is considered a worse
evil than communism, especially since the
intervention is never applied to foster a democratic
cause.”
--Jose Figueres, former president of Costa Rica

Cold War 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cold War 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cold War 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Co ld War Begins

“Well if we don’t look out, we will wake up

“I believe it must be the policy of the

Post war NSC memo: “Communism in the

Rise of “progressive,” reformist political

Rise in participation of the political left

Victory of democracy over fascism

“U.S. security is synonymous with Hemispheric

Collective decision making

1. The protection of our [sic] raw materials

6.The prevention of military exploitation of Latin

8.The prevention of the psychological

Late 1940s: shift back to authoritarian rule in Latin

By 1954 only 4 democracies left

“Do not offend the dictators, they are the only

4.Eliminate Latin American communist parties

7.Assert state control over labor movements

10.Diplomatically exclude Soviet Union from

The Ten years of Spring

UFCO owned a lot of land in Guatemala

Guatemalan Govt. offered $627,672

Both were members of the law firm representing the United

State Dept. countered Guatemalan offer of $627,672 with one of

Attempted resolution by J.F. Dulles: “The domination

Ended “10 years of Spring”

Things went smoothly at

Nixon’s suggested new policy: “A formal handshake

Ideologiacally: Democracy was

“We must develop and economic program for Latin

Inter-American Development Bank

1960 Social Progress Trust Fund

1954 Declaration of Caracas, renouncing Marxism

1960 Act of Bogotá to reduce poverty and

Elimination of roots and expression of communism

--Jose Figueres, former president of Costa Rica

You might also like