U.S Armed Intervention in Latin America



U.S Armed Intervention in Latin America

Introduction

Military participation in politics can constantly be found or traced throughout Latin American history. The influence of the military in Latin America has been so pervasive for several different reasons. All the reasons culminated into an extraordinary opportunity for the military to penetrate not only politics but much of the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the countries of Latin America. Though only one military regime currently rules in Latin America, the military has played a significant and sometimes controlling role in the region for most of its existence. By the mid 1970s, over half of the Latin American republics got controlled by military dictators, and in most of the countries, the military was so close to the surface of power as to make the line between civilian and military all but indistinguishable.

Discussion

The armed forces that took power in the 1960s came from military academies and war colleges. In these institutions, they got trained in the fundamentals of the National Security Doctrine, which encompassed any methods necessary to insure the security of the state. These graduates were also highly trained professionals in areas such as administration, development schemes, management, financial affairs, and international trade and relations. Such skills made them well-suited to run state governments, and with the poor performance of most Latin American civilian regimes, most countries were ripe for the military apparatus to come in as saviors just as they had at independence (Menjivar & Rodriguez, 2005). However, the military failed at solving Latin America's economic ills. Pressing economic situations and the increasing failure of military rule in other areas led to civilian unrest in many Latin American countries. As unrest grew, the military used more and more repression to quell the rising opposition. The intense armed ...