The Central American Crisis

Cuba “held an economical potential that attracted American business interests and a strategic significance for any Central American canal” (Goldfield, Abbott and Anderson, p 638). Cuban rebellion “erupted again in 1895 in a classic guerrilla war… [and] American economic interests were seriously affected” (book pg638). The Spaniards started confining the locals to concentration camps “where tens of thousands died of starvation and disease” (book pg 638). This gained a lot of publicity throughout America as journalist’s were reporting the harsh treatment, which helped persuade our nation to intervene. Furthermore, this led to growing tension between Spain and

Central America Central America, just south of Mexico and North of Panama, consists of just six countries; Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Of those six, all share a distinct common history except for Belize. Belize for one is incredibly small, and while Spanish is the official language of other Central American countries, in Belize English is spoken. So throughout this paper as I carelessly say 'Central American' I am not including Belize whose history and development was far different than the others. Although Central America is located close to the United States in relation to the Eastern Hemisphere, our ways of life are indescribably different.

Labor laws in the 20th century played a major role in the lives Mexicans and caused massive deportations as well as economic concerns with congress and Anglo-Americans in the United States. Labor laws were crucial part of the immigration waves through the 20th century and made an impact to voting patterns in the U.S. Natalia Molina discuss how, “Employers

When Christopher Columbus discovered the coast of Venezuela, he thought he had encountered an earthly paradise, today that grace land is ravaged by famine, inflation, scarcity, violence, social and political conflicts; “social implosion [being] driven by economic collapse, caused by shockingly self-destructive policy making” (Toro, 1). Venezuela’s antidemocratic government and its lack of foresight has created a severe economic crisis crumbling health care system and a lack of basic necessities and is jailing innocent people who object.

After World War II, the Eastern and Western Allies started to grow apart. The Eastern Bloc was led by the Soviet Union and promoted communism, while the Western Bloc was led by the United States and promoted capitalism, through democracy. Both wanted their country’s ideals to spread throughout the world, and at the same time, prevent the opposing superpower from taking over. In an attempt to stop the spread of communism, the United States created NATO and the Truman Doctrine, while the Soviet Union tried to stop democracy by creating the Warsaw Pact. At this point, the world was divided, and most third world countries became pawns in the fight of communism versus capitalism.

In his essay “The Country Just over the Fence,” Paul Theroux describes his trip to Nogales, Mexico. He begins his essay by illustrating the physical appearance of the wall separating Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. He calls it “an unintentional masterpiece”. Theroux feels the wall is somewhat informal. He discovers that crossing the border into Mexico is not too difficult itself. He marvels over the appearance of the wall and also the underlying call to action it places on a person, “Do you go through, or stay home?” Theroux decided he needed to see for himself. After deciding to cross the border, he met many different people. They told him about the celebrations that used to be held between the two neighboring towns which are now divided by the wall. Theroux also met people who had attempted to cross the border illegally into America only to get sent back to Mexico. On his adventure, Theroux also learned about all the medical tourists who travel to the country for cheaper treatments, specifically dentistry. I am interested in discussing Theroux’s presentation of the his decision to cross the border, the people he met, and the medical tourism Nogales, Mexico draws in.

US interventionism in Latin America started a long time ago with the Monroe Doctrine, in 1823. A policy which stated that any intervention by external power for example from Europe is the Americas is a hostile act against the US. In simpler words, America is for the Americas. From the 1900’s till the beginning of the Cold War, the United States started the military intervention mostly in the Caribbean and Central American regions. This has started a long history of the United States intervening on Latin America issues.

While the Cold War does not mark a significant distinction from US involvement in Latin America pre-Cold War, the inclusion of ideology in US foreign policy decisions did mark a change in attitudes and focus. While US policy can be described as rational to a certain point, the Cuban dilemma caused an irrational fear in US foreign policy makers to avoid a second-Cuba. The fear of a “second Cuba” can be seen in the various interventions by the US in Latin America during this period.

The United States and the Soviet Union competed against each other during the Cold War in the second half of the 20th Century like a chess game, with the world as their chessboard and countries as pawns in their game. For the Russians, a critical part of the chessboard was Cuba and Latin America. The Russians believed that if they could align themselves with countries in the western hemisphere, America’s “backyard”, it would help the Soviet Union counter the strong political influence and military presence America had in Europe, which made the Russians feel threatened. The Soviet Union tried to align itself politically, militarily, and economically with as many Latin American countries as it could. In

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States was the most dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. European nations conceded to the United States their right of any intervention in the Western Hemisphere and allowed the United States to do whatever they wanted. The United States took this newly bestowed power and abused it. The United States intervened in many Latin American countries and imposed their policies on to these countries against their will. A perfect example of this aggression is what occurred in the Dominican Republic in 1904. The United States intervened in this sovereign nation and took control of their economy and custom houses. A memorandum from Francis B. Loomis, the United States Assistant

During the Cold War, the US invaded Latin America, Asia, and partly Europe. They used sneaky methods and propaganda to achieve their goals. At this time, in the Cold War, they were very devious and tactical in their mission. The US foreign Policy at that time was all about defeating Communism and keeping the balance of power in it’s favor but most importantly, for US’s own economic interest.

What comes across your mind when you think of Latin America? Latin America consists of many different cultures, people with ethnic backgrounds; Mexico, Central America, South America. Latin America has the diversity in its people, and succession has brought along what makes Latin America what it is in modern times. In the article “Latin America: Myth and Reality,” the author mentions that “stereotypes spring from ignorance and bias,” which I think is significantly appropriate to bring up in this conversation (“Latin America” 3). Latin America is united by their differences, and I think most of the stereotypes are disappearing, while people are becoming more educated. But to comprehend what lies behind the mask, we all must disregard labels, and instead appreciate Latin America for who they all are. To mention a few, let’s dive into the article to understand some common stereotypes that someone might have.

Located on the Pacific Coastline, El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and the most populated. The United States of America foreign policy on El Salvador is best explained by President Obama’s approach on Latin America where the United States is focused on economic growth and equality, energy and climate control, and regional and citizen security (Foreign Policy, 2012). This is best explained using the international level of analysis and neo-liberalism where the global structure and economic interdependence provides the foundation of America’s foreign policy. To ensure that one can see the transparency in United States methodology I will provide the history of El Salvador, the creation of United States interest in El

After World War II, many Latin American politicians want to improve their country by industrializing because of this it caused many social changes and mainly the economics problems for many nations. During the Cold War, The United States afraid of the spread of communism in its neighboring states led by some dictators who claimed to be anti-communist. The downfall of Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War compelled to find a solution to their problems. As the Cold War could have a huge effect on the nation of Chile.

In Latin America, only 8 countries have unemployment insurance, the most economically and socially developed. The purpose of this insurance is to keep part of the wages of workers during a recession or economic cycle. But in Cuba, predominant unemployment is not cyclical, but structural or chronic (or underemployment), so these programs would benefit only an exiguous minority of the workforce. Cuba unemployment rate is 3.8% Ranked 98th while the United States unemployment rate is 8.1% Ranked 47th. 2 times more than Cuba ("The United States Unemployment Rate | 1948-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar,"). Although, Cuba unemployment rate it seems lower than the U.S, lack comparable unemployed subsidies. More than half their wage labor force, not including