EXTERNAL POWERS IN THE LATIN AMERICAN ARENA

1
EXTERNAL POWERS IN THE LATIN AMERICAN ARENA

• Latin American International Relations

2
Caribbean Basin as a Historic Arena for Fighting
European Conflict Seventeen Nineteenth Century

• France loses and regains Haiti in the French and
  Indian War
• French naval victor in West Indies paves the way
  for the independence of the United States
• English navy critical in preventing
  re-colonization of Latin America

3
CARIBBEAN BASIN
4
Caribbean Basin European Intervention
Twentieth Century

• Turning Point European military intervention in
  Caribbean Basin was British-German-Italian
  blockade of Venezuela in 1902-03
• U.S. lake until the Cold War
• Cuban missile crisis
• Nicaraguas Sandinista revolution

5
Becoming a United States Lake

• 1901 Hay-Pauncefote Treaty allowed the U.S. to
  build and exclusively control an inter-oceanic
  canal (replaced Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850).
• 1902-03 Great Britain dissolves its Caribbean
  fleet

6
Between the World Wars

• Britain retains great economic influence
• French influence large limited to cultural
  matters
• Germanys influence greatest where there are
  substantial numbers of German colonists
• Significant numbers of Spanish and Italian
  colonists in most capital cities

7
Immediate Aftermath of World War II

• United States hegemony throughout the hemisphere
  is unprecedented
• Soviet Union views LA states as vassals of
  Washington
• Activist orientation in LA seen as critical for
  victory in the Cold War

8
Immediate Aftermath of World War II Economic
Dimension

• United States economy untouched by war
• Europe is devastated
• Political and moral authority undermined
• Economic is in shambles and depends of assistance
  from the United States
• Focus is on reconstruction
• United States attempts to win the hearts and
  minds of the Latin Americans with a massive
  foreign aid program The Alliance for Progress

9
EUROPEAN INFLUENCE REVIVES IN THE 1970S

• European takes up its traditional role as a
  extra-regional presence in Latin America
• Industrial plant has been rebuilt
• Common market leads to economic growth
• Immigrants with ties to Europe have a preference
  for their country of origin
• Vietnam war cools admiration for the United
  States
• Latin Americans search for alternatives to
  Washington

10
Great Britain in Latin America Political

• British decline after 1945 was greatest because
  its influence had been so great
• Argentina from almost colony to protagonist
• Upper class tied to British market for
  agricultural products
• Peron nationalizes British investments
• Decline capped by Malvinas (Falkland)War (1982)
• Partial decline in Caribbean with withdrawal
  from Belize and Guyana

11
Great Britain in Latin America Economic

• 14 of Latin American market on the eve of World
  War II
• 5 by 1980, and continues at this level
• Fourth most important investor at present

12
France in Latin America Slow to Regain Influence

• Prior to World War II not a major trading partner
  but cultural influence remained strong
• Upper classes in many countries spoke French
  among themselves
• Paris the first choice for foreign travel
• Since 1960s accounts for between 3/4 of
  Latin Americas foreign trade
• De Gaulle tour in 1964 little success

13
France in Latin America Most Important Success
in Military Sales

• Peru
• Brazil
• Argentina

14
Japan in Latin America

• Traditional goal of trade with the region
  access to resources
• Eve of World War II accounted for 2 of Latin
  Americas trade with the rest of the world
• Japanese absent in Latin America after its defeat
  in World War II

15
Japan in Latin America

• Surpassed Britain as the regions third largest
  trading partner in 1970 (7 total trade)
• One quarter of Japans total overseas investment
  is in Latin America (as opposed to 19 in
  Southeast Asia

16
Japan in Latin America The Present

• Brazils significant population of Japanese
  ancestry has led to increasing ties between the
  two countries
• Peru Fujimori presidency
• Japan has begun to invest in Mexico in order to
  gain access to U.S. market through NAFTA

17
Germany in Latin America

• Provided 18 of Latin Americas imports in 1938
• Since 1960s Germany is Latin Americas second
  most important trading partner
• West Germany pursued the Hallstein Doctrine
• Would break diplomatic relations if country
  recognized E. Germany
• Salvador Allende recognized E. Germany in 1971
• Nazi immigrants in commerce and industry
• Social Democrats and Christian Democrat political
  parties have sponsored self help projects in many
  Latin American countries

18
Spain in Latin America

• Cultural influence from beginning of European
  presence
• Decline in influence
• Independence
• Spain Sick man of Europe

19
Spain in Latin America

• Entry into Common Market provided economic muscle
  to increase Madrids presence in Latin America
• Since 1985 growing economic presence
• Banking
• Telecommunications

20
Russia in Latin America

• During Soviet years influence exerted through
  local communist political parties
• Generation of the regions communist party
  leaders trained in Moscow
• Assassination of Leon Trotsky in Mexico City
• Subservience to Soviet Union undermined influence
  of the local communist parties
• Greatest Soviet presence in Cuba
• Cuban missile crisis
• Window into the United States during the Cold War

21
In Conclusion

• Non-Hemispheric powers have significant economic
  influence in Latin America
• Political influence of non-hemispheric powers is
  less than their economic influence
• Influence of non-hemispheric power is greatest in
  South America
• Caribbean Basin has remained a U.S. lake since
  early in the twentieth century