Download Jessica Wang (D-Wash

Jessica Wang (D-Wash.)
Parsippany High School
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
U.S. Relations with Latin America
Ever since the nineteenth century, U.S. and Latin American relations have often
been strained. There has been a long history of the United States imposing hegemonic
influence over Latin American affairs. This began with the Monroe Doctrine, which
stated that the U.S. opposed European colonization in the Western Hemisphere and
would treat any further European colonization of the Americas as an attack on the U.S.
itself. Later moderations to this doctrine came in the form of the Roosevelt Corollary of
1904, which further enabled the U.S. to use military force to ensure stability in Latin
America. Such force was a demonstration of what Theodore Roosevelt described in his
policy as “international police power in ‘flagrant cases of…wrongdoing or impotence.
U.S. policy saw a shift with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor
Policy. This policy ushered in a brief period of U.S.-Latin American relations based on
peace and greater equality, but not before the U.S. had interfered heavily in the
Dominican Republic, Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Panama and Colombia. The Cold War
caused a resumption of U.S. wielding its power to control Latin American governments
through staged coups in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Chile, and many failed
attempts to topple Castro’s regime.
Overall, U.S.-Latin American relations have held a historical pattern of negativity
and U.S. dominance. The beginning of a new century allows us the opportunity to reverse
this historical trend and forge new, meaningful diplomatic relations with Latin American
countries. In order for such relations to be established, the U.S. needs to respect the
sovereignty and rights of Latin American countries by not interfering and instigating
revolts and coups such as the attempted overthrow of Hugo Chavez that was probably
supported by the Bush administration. Covert CIA operations have long occurred without
Congressional approval or oversight. Congress needs to assert its right to be informed of
such operations and have the power to reject such operations when Latin American
countries are involved.
A second crucial step to establishing better relations with Latin America is to
support an international community such as the Organization of American States. The $4
million put forward by the U.S. in 2005 is hardly enough to produce any significant
improvements in furthering democracy and education, protecting human rights, and
combating poverty. Greater funding and greater focus must be placed on the OAS. Socalled free trade agreements such as NAFTA are not a solution for two main reasons.
First, a majority of influential Latin American countries such as Venezuela oppose them.
Second, such agreements hark back to the Open Door policy of the McKinley
administration. Namely, they are a vehicle for assisting the business interests of U.S.
companies with few benefits for the citizenry of Latin American countries.
Finally, it is the responsibility of the U.S. to take the lead in denouncing human
rights violators. This includes the anti-leftist militants it once supported in El Salvador,
Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Public apologies and
compensation to the victims of such U.S.-sponsored violence would serve a great deal in
furthering the progress of U.S.-Latin American relations. Only after coming clean and
taking a definite stance can there be a new start for the United States and Latin America.
SOURCES
Roosevelt Corollary. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/gp/17660.htm>
Good Neighbor Policy. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/id/17341.htm>
The Democratic Party on Foreign Policy.
<http://ontheissues.org/Celeb/Democratic_Party_Foreign_Policy.htm>
“U.S. Support for ‘State Terror’ Mutes Us Now.”
<http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0714-01.htm>