Complete Thesis_double spaced abstract.pdf

President Kennedy addressed Latin American Diplomats and the United States Congress in
March of 1961 to describe the goals of the Alliance for Progress. He acknowledged the problems
in Latin and Central America were “staggering in their dimensions” and the United States
response to these “daily degradations of hunger and poverty” would have to be “equally bold” in
order to “complete the revolution of the Americas, to build a hemisphere where all men can hope
for a suitable standard of living and all can live out their lives in dignity and freedom” (The
Department of State Bulletin, XLIV, 471-474). President Kennedy further stated that “to achieve
this goal political freedom must accompany material progress” (The Department of State
Bulletin, XLIV, 471-474). He set out ten goals and strategies for Central and Latin America
during this period, (1) all goals were to be accomplished during the decade of democratic
progress, (2) goals would be accomplished by using an alliance of states and organizations, (3)
the U.S. Congress would be asked to approve a US$500 million appropriation bill to address
illiteracy, disease, education and infrastructure projects in the region, (4) increasing economic
integration between “fragmented” states, (5) addressing the volatility in the commodities markets
that plagued Central and Latin American states, (6) increasing the use of food distribution
programs, (7) increasing science and technology programs in the region, (8) increasing education
throughout the region, (9) defending the independence of states in the region through collective
institutions such as the OAS, and (10) increasing exchange programs between the United States
and Central and Latin America (The Department of State Bulletin, XLIV, 471-474).
Approximately one month later the United States commenced the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs
invasion in Cuba, leaving President Kennedy’s stated goals and strategies for the Alliance for
Progress somewhat contradictory to actual U.S. actions during this period. During the 1960s and
1970s the United States would intervene repeatedly in Central and Latin America states to topple
or prevent the election of left-wing candidates, in certain states, Brazil, Dominican Republic,
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