Untitled Flashcard Set
make flash cards out of this info: make me some flash cards to study for my test using this info: 1. Good Neighbor Policy
Front (Term): Good Neighbor Policy
Back (Definition & Significance): Foreign policy initiative enacted by FDR in 1933 emphasizing non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin America. It marked a shift away from armed U.S. intervention, but was largely abandoned as Cold War security fears took priority after WWII.
2. United Fruit Company (UFCO)
Front (Term): United Fruit Company (UFCO)
Back (Definition & Significance): Powerful U.S. corporation that dominated Latin American agriculture (especially bananas) and infrastructure. When Guatemalan President Árbenz attempted land reform affecting UFCO’s uncultivated land, UFCO lobbied the U.S. government, directly prompting the 1954 CIA-led coup.
3. Guatemalan Coup (1954)
Front (Term): Guatemalan Coup (Operation PBSUCCESS)
Back (Definition & Significance): CIA-orchestrated overthrow of democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz after he implemented agrarian reform. Established a model for future U.S. Cold War covert operations in Latin America and installed a military dictatorship.
4. Cuban Revolution
Front (Term): Cuban Revolution (1953–1959)
Back (Definition & Significance): The successful armed revolt led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara that ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista. Established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere, inspiring revolutionary movements across Latin America and shifting U.S. foreign policy toward intense containment.
5. Bay of Pigs Invasion
Front (Term): Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)
Back (Definition & Significance): A failed U.S.-sponsored invasion of Cuba by CIA-trained Cuban exiles aimed at overthrowing Fidel Castro. The humiliating defeat pushed Castro closer to the Soviet Union and set the stage for the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
6. Operation Brother Sam
Front (Term): Operation Brother Sam (1964)
Back (Definition & Significance): A U.S. covert plan to provide logistics, fuel, and naval support to the Brazilian military during the coup that ousted President João Goulart. Demonstrated U.S. willingness to support right-wing authoritarian military regimes to prevent leftist governments in South America.
7. Salvador Allende
Front (Term): Salvador Allende
Back (Definition & Significance): Democratically elected socialist President of Chile (1970–1973). His nationalization of industries and economic reforms faced heavy U.S. covert opposition and economic sabotage, culminating in his death during General Augusto Pinochet's military coup on September 11, 1973.
8. Madres de Plaza de Mayo
Front (Term): Madres de Plaza de Mayo
Back (Definition & Significance): An association of Argentine mothers who protested the disappearance of their children during Argentina's Dirty War. Wearing white headscarves, they held weekly demonstrations in Buenos Aires, becoming an international symbol of human rights resistance against military dictatorships.
9. Dirty War
Front (Term): Dirty War (Guerra Sucia, 1976–1983)
Back (Definition & Significance): A period of state-sponsored terrorism in Argentina conducted by the military junta against political opponents, unionists, and dissidents. Resulted in an estimated 30,000 "disappeared" (desaparecidos) through illegal detention, torture, and death flights.
10. Liberation Theology
Front (Term): Liberation Theology
Back (Definition & Significance): A Catholic movement in Latin America during the 1960s–1980s that interpreted Christian teachings through the lens of social justice, standing with the poor against political oppression and economic exploitation. It was often targeted by right-wing regimes as "subversive."
11. Oscar Romero
Front (Term): Oscar Romero
Back (Definition & Significance): Archbishop of San Salvador who spoke out against poverty, social injustice, and state-sponsored violence during the prelude to the Salvadoran Civil War. He was assassinated in 1980 by a right-wing death squad while celebrating mass.
12. Sandinistas (FSLN)
Front (Term): Sandinistas (FSLN)
Back (Definition & Significance): Leftist revolutionary group in Nicaragua that overthrew the U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship in 1979. During the 1980s, the Sandinista government fought the U.S.-funded Contra rebels during the Nicaraguan civil war.
13. Salvadoran Civil War
Front (Term): Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992)
Back (Definition & Significance): A conflict between the military-led government of El Salvador and the leftist FMLN guerrilla coalition. The U.S. provided extensive financial and military backing to the Salvadoran government, despite widespread human rights abuses by government death squads.
14. Operation Condor
Front (Term): Operation Condor (1970s)
Back (Definition & Significance): A covert campaign of political repression and cross-border intelligence-sharing conducted by right-wing military dictatorships in South America (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil) to track down and assassinate political dissidents. The U.S. provided technical, intelligence, and communication support.
Essay Preparation Guide
Your test prompt will focus on one of three themes. Here is how to structure a strong essay response using evidence from your study list:
Essay Theme 1: Cold War Experience in Latin America
Thesis: The Cold War in Latin America was defined by intense political polarization, where domestic struggles for social justice were swept up into global superpower rivalry, resulting in widespread state repression and civil conflict.
Main Points to Include:
Social Mobilization & Reform: Popular demands for land reform and economic equity (e.g., Árbenz in Guatemala, Allende in Chile, Liberation Theology, and Oscar Romero).
Authoritarian Backlash: The rise of right-wing military regimes and state terror (e.g., Dirty War in Argentina, Operation Condor, Madres de Plaza de Mayo).
Revolutionary Conflicts: Prolonged civil wars sparked by ideological divides (e.g., Salvadoran Civil War, Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua).
Essay Theme 2: Methods and Goals of U.S. Intervention
Thesis: To prevent the expansion of communism and protect American economic and strategic interests, the U.S. utilized covert operations, economic pressure, and military aid to destabilize leftist governments and back military regimes.
Main Points to Include:
Covert Action & Coups: Overthrowing or undermining democratically elected leaders (e.g., 1954 Guatemalan Coup via CIA, opposition to Salvador Allende in Chile).
Support for Military Regimes & Dictators: Assisting anti-communist governments and intelligence networks (e.g., Operation Brother Sam in Brazil, Operation Condor in the Southern Cone).
Proxy Warfare & Military Assistance: Directly backing anti-leftist forces in civil conflicts (e.g., Bay of Pigs invasion, support for the Salvadoran government, Contras against Sandinistas).
Essay Theme 3: Influence of the Cuban Revolution
Thesis: The 1959 Cuban Revolution served as a watershed moment in Latin American history, inspiring armed leftist movements across the hemisphere while triggering an aggressive U.S. containment strategy that reshaped regional politics.
Main Points to Include:
Inspiration for Leftist Revolutions: Proved that armed guerrilla warfare could succeed against a dictatorship, inspiring groups like the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and the FMLN in El Salvador.
U.S. Security Shift & Interventions: Sparked direct U.S. attempts at regime change and containment (e.g., Bay of Pigs Invasion, shift from the Good Neighbor Policy to active counter-insurgency).
Rise of Anti-Communist Military Alliances: Accelerated U.S. training of Latin American militaries in counter-insurgency tactics, leading to the rise of right-wing national security states.