What is the 'Washington Consensus' and how does it affect US policy towards Latin America?

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Recommended: American foreign policy since the cold war

American financial institutions such as the government, banks and nonprofit organizations have had a long history of giving economic aid to developing nations to prevent large-scale economic collapse and for reconstruction after disasters. This is especially the case after World War II and the Bretton Woods Conference, which was the foreground for what today is the World Bank. The United States has failed to improve nations at times when providing aid to other countries and regions, especially in regions such as Latin America. A prime example of this type of failure was the development and implementation of an economic aid system, named the Washington Consensus. Countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico suffered greatly for many years because, “what had been sold in the early 1980s as a foolproof ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution was shown to be very uneven”(Dunkerly 2008 310). Flawed developmental policy such as this, created a terrible economic collapse for nearly all of Latin America, which is still changing policy to recover from the 1980s crisis today. Similarly, when Central and South America’s economy declined, US foreign policy also began to change to reflect the problems being caused between the two regions. Overall, this paper will define what the Washington Consensus is and how it affected American foreign policy concerning Latin America in areas such as developmental aid models, immigration and illegal drugs. By looking back at such failures we are able to change the way aid is distributed in a more positive and effective way.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a shift in American political ideology when it came to the international market place, economic policy and providing aid to developing countries...

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...fairs. 10 (2), p245-256.

Loayza, N. & Raddatz, C. (2006). The Composition of Growth Matters for Poverty Alleviation. Available: http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/ XTPROGRAMS/EXTMACROECO/0,,contentMDK:21499207~menuPK:42634 7~pagePK:64168182~piPK:64168060~theSitePK:477872,00.html#Featured_Re earch. Last accessed June 8 2010.

Riesco, M. (2009). Latin America: a new developmental welfare state model in

the making? International Journal of Social Welfare. 18, pS22-S36.

Rochlin, J. (2007). Latin America’s Left Turn and the New Strategic Landscape: the case of Bolivia. Third World Quarterly. 28 (7), p1327 – 1342.

Rodrik, D. (2006). Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion?

A Review of the World Bank’s Economic Growth in the 1990s: Learning from a Decade of Reform. Journal of Economic Literature. 44, p973-987.

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