U.S. Stake in Latin America

Abstract

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE|Dr. Lowenthal is a professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, was the founding director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and director of studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He is the author of "The Dominican Intervention" and editor of several other works and he wrote often for the Washington Post, New York Times, and other newspapers.

SUMMARY| Thesis: Times have changed, more than most realize or politicians acknowledge. The military, Pan-American "community", and economic reasons for our approach to Latin America have declined importantly. 1) we have little security problem; the bases are insignificant except as psychological warfare. Very little current need for the region's strategic materials and our tankers and carrier-centered naval groups cannot use the Canal. 2) The Pan-American community is a myth; only Grenada agreed with the US in the US last year more than half the time. 3) Investment and imports from the region account for only about 13% of our total.