In a special address to the US Congress two months into his administration, President John F. Kennedy announced a bold new vision for US – Latin American relations, the Alliance for Progress. At meetings with Latin American leaders in Uruguay later that year, the United States promised to provide $20 billion in aid over the next ten years. Despite high expectations, “the program was not a success” (p. 5). As Chilean president Eduardo Frei would put it, “the Alliance lost its way.” For Jeffrey F. Taffet, this great undertaking foundered on the “inherent conflict between lofty humanitarian goals and a desire to fight the Cold War” (p. 5).

In the wake of the Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution, Kennedy feared that Latin America would be the next arena of US-Soviet confrontation. However, Kennedy believed that communism could not take root in nations with healthy economies and a strong middle class. Kennedy’s...

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