U.S. foreign policy and intervention in Latin America, 1898–1990

Kein and Haynes (2008) draw on the vigor and power of popular social movements in regulating social inequities that happened in the various times of history therefore propelling movement of history onwards between the various social periods.

In turn, the characterization of these regulations and the way they played out were shaped by historical incidents as seen below.

The era of intervention 1898-1933

The USA practiced an interventionist stance dedicated to protecting and defending its interest in the area from European interference. The whole was particularized by Roosevelt's maxim of his 'big stick' approach. The U.S.A. signed the Platt Amendment in 1902 with Cuba, which allowed the U.S.A. To intervene in Cuban affairs when the U.S.A. thought necessary. In Colombia, the U.S.A. proceeded with building a canal across the isthmus despite Columbian opposition, by backing a Panama insurrection and the new nation permitting construction of the canal. The U.S.A. perpetrated various other interventions in the area up until roughly 1933 and mostly for the excuse of defending their political and commercial interests. These became known as the "Banana Wars." The greatest political intervention, however, may have been U.S. involvement in the Mexican Revolution.

The Cold War 1945-90

The peace in certain parts f Latin America (particularly Cuba) was severed by tendency of parts of Latin America to incline towards communism, which the U.S.A. thoroughly abhorred. The Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro succeeded in toppling Batista government in 1959. Castro adopted a socialist-characterized series of reform, which alienated the Eisenhower administration, severed diplomatic relations between the U.S.A. And Cuba, with the U.S.A. freezing Cuban assets and placing an embargo on the country. The Kennedy administration proceeded in supporting the invasion of Cuba that promptly failed but succeed in sharpening the gap between Cuba and the U.S.A. with Cuba overly allying itself with the Soviet Union. The threat of intercontinental ballistic missiles in Cuba precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. USA intervention in the rest of the county resulted in various insurrections through the country by different political groups (mostly military dictatorships) vying for power.

The post cold-war 1990 to the present.

There is growing criticism on U.S. involvement in the area, particularly sparked by the Washington Consensus which was an economic reform package promoted for developing nations during the 1980s and 1990s. Some Latin American countries have campaigned for polices contrary to the Consensus and neoliberal politics in both U.S. And Mexico have protested against U.S. interference in their national sovereignty. This has been reinforced left-wing political party rising to power that declare themselves socialists, Latin Americans, or anti-imperialists. There is ongoing debate about constraints upon the state and the expanding role of the free market.