Latin America United States relations

The United States has always had a special conception of its relationship with the nations of Latin America.

In the Cold War era the U.S. establishment feared socialism and in some cases overthrew or undermined democratically elected governments perceived at the time as becoming left-wing or unfriendly to U.S. interests.[1] Examples include the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'tat, the 1973 Chilean coup d'tat and the support of the Nicaraguan Contras. The '70s and '80s saw a shift of power towards corporations, and a polarization of the political election systems of many of the Latin American nations.[citation needed] Recently several left-wing parties have gained power through elections and have not been attacked. In particular Venezuela has been critical of the U.S.. Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Ecuador currently have governments sometimes seen as aligned with Venezuela. Left-wing governments in nations such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are more moderate. Governments in Peru and Colombia have closer relations with the U.S..