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Americas Backyard
The United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror
Grace Livingstone
Zed Books
London & New York.
Americas Backyard: The United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror was first published in 2009 by Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London N1 9JF, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA, in association with Latin America Bureau, 57b Tresco Road, London SE15 3PY, UK.
This ebook edition was first published in 2013
www.zedbooks.co.uk
www.latinamericabureau.org
Copyright Grace Livingstone, 2009
The right of Grace Livingstone to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988
All reasonable efforts have been made by the publishers to contact the copyright holders of the work reproduced in this volume.
Designed and typeset by Long House Publishing Services
Cover designed by Andrew Corbett
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data available
ISBN 978 1 84813 611 3
Contents
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to the following people who granted me interviews or sent me material: Adam Isacson; Victor Bulmer Thomas; Ronald H. Chilcote; Richard Gott; Jens Eric Gould; Peter Hakim; Pien Metaal; Csar Navarro MP; Oscar Olivera; Augusto Montiel Medina MP; Michael Reid; Daniel Samper Pizano; Michael Shifter; Peter H. Smith; Juan Gabriel Tokatlian; Carlos M. Vilas and Daisy Zamora. I would particularly like to thank Greg Wilpert for allowing me to read chapters of his book before publication: Changing Venezuela by Taking Power: The History and Policies of the Chvez Government, Verso Books, 2006.
I would like to give my grateful thanks to three US non-governmental organizations whose work I have found invaluable: the National Security Archive, the Center for International Policy and the Washington Office on Latin America. None of the above is responsible for the contents of this book.
I would like to thank Jean McNeil for her calm and assured editing; Ellen McKinlay for her well-informed advice; Pat Harper for her astute copy-editing; Kate Kirkwood for typesetting and design; Anne Rodford for proof-reading; Daniele Och for his production skills; and Sue Branford, who was a reassuring presence throughout the whole project. A big thank you also to Alex McHallam, Elizabeth Mistry and Kelly Walker for reading parts of the manuscript.
Lastly, I would like to give love and thanks to Dinah Livingstone, Francis McDonagh and Josh Cedar.
The research, writing and publication of Americas Backyard have been supported by funds from Oxfam GB. The views and opinions expressed in this book are mine alone and not necessarily endorsed by Oxfam GB. Support for Americas Backyard is undertaken as part of Oxfam GBs contribution to research and debate on issues in development and humanitarian relief.
This book was also written with support from the Authors Foundation, for which I am very grateful.
The author and Zed Books gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce the 1940 survey of US views of Latin Americans Princeton University Press, A.H. Cantril, Public Opinion 19351946 , Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1951.
The author and Zed Books gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce an excerpt of the poem Asimilao by Tato Laviera T. Laviera, AmeRcan , Houston, Arte Pblico Press, 1985.
The author and Zed Books gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce the poem The US Congress Approves Contra Aid by Ernesto Cardenal Katabasis, first published in E. Cardenal, Nicaraguan New Time , London, Journeyman, 1988
The author and Zed Books gratefully acknowledge permission of Sandra Mara Esteves to reproduce the poem Not Neither first published in S.M. Esteves, Tropical Rain: A Bilingual Downpour, New York, African Caribbean Poetry Theater, 1984
The author and Zed Books gratefully acknowledge permission of Joan Jara and the Vctor Jara Foundation to reproduce the song Unfinished Song by Vctor Jara, first published in J. Jara, Victor: An Unfinished Song , London, Jonathan Cape, 1983
The author and Zed Books gratefully acknowledge permission of the Fundacin Pablo Neruda to reproduce a translation of the poem The United Fruit Co by Pablo Neruda, first published in P. Neruda, Canto General , Mexico City, Talleres Grficos de la Nacin, 1950.
Introduction
The United States standing in the world was never so low as during the presidency of George Walker Bush (20019). The goodwill and sympathy extended to the US after the attacks of 11 September 2001 were squandered. More than at any time in history, the outlook of US leaders was at odds with global opinion. This disjuncture, this divergence of views, was acutely felt in the Americas. Latin America was pulsing with revolt against US-imposed neoliberal economics. The drumbeat of street protest sounded from Brazil to Guatemala against privatization, spending cuts, job losses, free trade: the agenda of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and big corporations. At its apex, the swell of popular protest was so great that presidents were forced to flee ignominiously from Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador. A pink tide of progressive governments swept the Americas, promising to reverse decades of miserable poverty and entrenched privilege.
While Latin America swung left, the US was governed by hardline right-wing ideologues. Even conservatives in Latin America felt alienated by an administration whose gaze was fixed on the Middle East and which, after 9/11, paid little attention to Latin America, except to paint it as a haven for criminals, drug smugglers and extremists ready to snake across the border at any time. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld warned a Summit of the Americas in 2004 of the
terrorists, drug traffickers, hostage takers and criminal gangs [who] find shelter in border regions or areas beyond the effective reach of government They watch, they probe looking for areas of vulnerability, for weakness and for seams in our collective security.
Meanwhile General John Craddock, Commander of all US forces in South and Central America, spoke of under-governed sovereign territory and porous borders creating an environment conducive to threats such as narco terrorism, illicit trafficking, urban gangs [and] organized crime.
