Divisive national elections in 1957, 1961, 1964, and 1968in Guyana assisted in shaping the boundaries of political and social life. Collectively, these elections served to sustain the ethnic divide amidst an increasingly weary population. By 1968, the ruling party in government, the PNC (Peoples National Congress) began to ‘make moves’ in the state and society designed to consolidate its position. In the event, the PNC, the more identifiably moderate of the two political parties, was deemed 'socialist' and the PPP held its image as a 'communist' organisation until the 1980s. For the American and British policymakers the matter of ideology was of utmost importance. Indeed, when the country enveloped into flames in three years of ethnic violence between Africans and Indians in 1962, 1963 and 1964, it was clear that in Guyana the issue of communism had assumed serious concerns.12 This was evident in the CIA's involvement in assisting the trade unions to undermine the PPP government. By the end of 1964 when the dust had settled, scores of people had been killed and injured. The intervention of the Americans and the British in these disturbances and the participation of local politicians in that division had the effect of driving a concurrent racial and ideological wedge in the society at large. Shortly after the American and British intervention that propelled critical changes in the electoral system, the PNC regime, facilitated by an alliance with the conservative United Force political party procured power in the 1964 elections13. New World Group The first open challenge to ‘formal politics’ was exemplified by the activities of the New World grouping in the early 1960s. Established in 1963, the New World group and estab... ... middle of paper ... ...ts revolutionary commitment to subversion of governments in Latin America and the Caribbean enabled Guyana to place itself in a radical posture without seeming unfriendly to the USA.18 This duality of good relations with Washington on the one hand, and with Cuba and the Third World, would be successfully 'balanced' by the Burnham regime right up to 1985. In short, despite the diplomatic radicalisation of the PNC's foreign policy in the 1970s, "Guyana-US relations never really took the form of outright confrontation nor reached the level of irretrievable breakdown -that is, with the exception of the Angola issue in 1976. The leadership's pragmatic sensitivity to the realities of the US's hemispheric presence provided, to a certain degree, a moderating influence in terms of the limits to which Guyana was prepared to go in avoiding a total breakdown in relations."19
When focusing on Nicaragua one will need to pay close attention to the rebel group called the Sandinistas who took over Nicaragua’s previous dictator, Anastasio Somoza in 1979, in which the United States Congress decided it would be best to provide them with aid that lasted till 1981.1 Nicaragua’s geographic location made it a big concern for President Reagan based on his philosophy that surrounded the Reagan Doctrine. At that point, President Reagan ended the aid deal and adamantly advised that support be sent to those who were trying to over throw the new socialized, Sandinista leadership.2 Furthermore, the Nicaraguan’s were dealing with some of the worst warfare ever, by the mass killings that took place, which were at the mercy of death squads.3 This gruesome realization allowed President Reaga...
All throughout the 20th century we can observe the marked presence of totalitarian regimes and governments in Latin America. Countries like Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic all suffered under the merciless rule of dictators and military leaders. Yet the latter country, the Dominican Republic, experienced a unique variation of these popular dictatorships, one that in the eyes of the world of those times was great, but in the eyes of the Dominicans, was nothing short of deadly.
In this regard, Cuba's alleged disavowal of its revolutionary commitment to subversion of governments in Latin America and the Caribbean enabled Guyana to place itself in a radical posture without seeming unfriendly to the USA. * This duality of good relations with Washington on the one hand, and with Cuba and the Third World, would be successfully 'balanced' by the Burnham regime right up to 1985. In short, despite the diplomatic radicalization of the PNC's foreign policy in the 1970s, it was true that Guyana’s United Nations voting record between “1966-69 was identical to the US position.”
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During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States was the most dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. European nations conceded to the United States their right of any intervention in the Western Hemisphere and allowed the United States to do whatever they wanted. The United States took this newly bestowed power and abused it. The United States intervened in many Latin American countries and imposed their policies on to these countries against their will. A perfect example of this aggression is what occurred in the Dominican Republic in 1904. The United States intervened in this sovereign nation and took control of their economy and custom houses. A memorandum from Francis B. Loomis, the United States Assistant Secretary of State, to the Secretary of States illustrates the United States’ goals, interests, attitudes and assumptions in the Dominican Republic and how the United States policy makers felt towards Latin America during this time period.
As unemployment and inflation strengthened poverty throughout the country, especially in the rural outskirts, in the city a new political movement, threatening the long established oligarch-military complex began to develop. When the radio began to announce that opposition’s, PDC candidate, Duarte was sweeping up votes, the radio was cut and when the transmission, the army government’s choice, Molina, was ahead. The blatant fraud encouraged liberal junior and jealous senior officers to stage a coup, attempting to place Duarte in power. After receiving help from forces in the Central American Defense Council (CONDECA), the which was formed in 1963 under the influence the United States to protect Cental America against “possible communist aggression,” and US military advisors, the senior military command put down the coup attempt. (___) The United States
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