JFK: Alliance For Progress

The dawning of the sixties erupted with John F. Kennedy as President, the beginning of an anti-war movement, and the fear of communism. It was a new decade and called for many changes, domestic and foreign. New policies were initiated in the hopes for a better economy and relations with other countries. In 1961, President Kennedy called for the establishment of the Alliance for Progress. The program was aimed towards promoting the social and economic development of Latin America.

Kennedy proposed this cooperative program to replace prior failing efforts of the United States to aid Latin America. The intended alliance marked a shift toward a policy of expanded U.S. economic assistance to Latin America in the wake of Fidel Castro’s successful Communist revolution in Cuba. The United States was fearful of a communism spread due to the poverty and social inequities of the Latin American nations. The U.S. felt that the southern continent was ripe for violent radical political upheaval, which would eventually bring forth the spread of communism.

The Alliance for Progress program was initially met with open arms by most Latin Americans leaders and immediately boosted U.S. relations throughout the hemisphere.1 The alliance’s charter was signed by all members of the organization except for Cuba at a special meeting at Punta del Este, Uruguay, on August 17, 1961.2 The drafters of the charter emphasized that the twin goals of economic development and social injustice should be pursued simultaneously and that both should be paralleled by efforts to expand political freedom in the hemisphere. One of the most important factors of the program was the promotion of self-help. Under the alliance’s charter, the participating Latin American countries would provide eighty percent of the funding and the remaining twenty would be pledged by external sources, which would be furnished by the United states, other wealthy countries, and a variety of public and private groups. Though created to ensure the improvement of Latin America, there were many dilemmas within the Alliance for Progress. The program was not really an alliance and it did not progress satisfactorily.

The wealthy naturally wanted to remain in the position in society and were blind to the fact that it was hastening a Communist takeover. Contributions to the destitute countries of Latin America often found its way into the wallets of the wealthy instead of profiting the poor. The initiator of the Alliance for Progress was the elected 35th president, John F.