1. Cold War in Latin America
The Cuban Revolution
Civil War in El Salvador
Coup in Guatemala
Coup against Salvador Allende –
Chile
The Nicaraguan Revolution
Coup against Bosch –
Dominican Republic

2. Dictators kept order so that the elite and the US / Western
Why did peasants support revolutions in Cuba, Nicaragua and El Salvador? Socialist reforms in Chile?
Dictatorships
Dictators kept order so that the
elite and the US / Western
businesses could make profits (What
constitutes “order” in this scenario?
Uneven distribution of wealth
Small elite> landowners
US businesses>
landowners
Peasants>landless; seasonally employed
How did monocultural economies affect peasants?
Monocultural economies
tobacco
sugar
coffee

3. Cuba U.S. = support for Fulgencio Batista (dictator)
Cuban elite and US businesses held most of the wealth
Majority of Cubans >> poverty / illiteracy
Democratic government on paper only>> in reality Batista and other rulers> Dictators
Fidel Castro led revolution vs. Batista (1956 – 1959)
Attack on Moncada, 1952 “History Will Absolve Me”
Castro initiated reforms
Improved economy
Literacy
Health care
Gender equality
Nationalization – land, banks and industries
To enforce reforms, Castro
Suspended elections
Targeted opponents
Imposed censorship press

4. Castro, U.S. and Soviets Castro nationalized land, banks & industries
Trade embargo by U.S. on Cuba
Bay of Pigs invasion – US defeated
1962 – Castro declared himself a Communist
( see “Second Declaration of Havana”)
Nikita Khrushchev used opportunity to assemble Soviet nuclear sites in Cuba >> Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis subsided with agreement between Kennedy and Khrushchev
What role did Cuba play in ending the Cuban Missile Crisis? What did that show about the role of “developing” nations in the Cold War?

6. The Nicaraguan Revolution: 1979
Causes:
19th century conditions
1920s / 30s – Augusto Cesar Sandino > killed after attempted reform movement
Dictatorship under Anastasio Somoza deprived Nicaraguans of basic human rights
Somoza was supported by the US because of Somoza’s / elite’s support for foreign investment and anti-communism
Daniel Ortega led Sandinista’s in a Revolution in 1979

7. Why did the US see Daniel Ortega & the Sandinistas as a threat?
Sandinista reforms:
Mass education
Land reform
Healthcare
Public works
Nationalization of banks, businesses & land
To enforce these reforms, the Sandinistas:
Censored the press
Put off elections
Got support from Cuba & USSR
How would the US most likely react
To the Sandinista reforms?

8. Cold War-sponsored civil war in Nicaragua
How would the US support for the Contra’s affect the Sandinista reforms?
Cold War-sponsored civil war in Nicaragua

9. More Cold War Conflicts in Latin America
El Salvador: Civil War in 1980s
Chile: Coup ‘etat against Salvador Allende
1980s – Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation waged a guerilla war against the right-wing military government
US intervened for the military gov’t.
Resolution: peace negotiations for democracy / civilian rule
80,000 killed
Election resulted in Salvador Allende as President
Allende’s socialist democratic policies were not favored by rich Chilean elites nor by US (Film: Machuca)
CIA and elites>> coup against Allende >> Augusto Pinochet >> military dictatorship >> torture, deaths, disappearances of thousands

10. Answer these questions:
How did imperialism in the 19th century affect the Cold War conflicts in Latin America in the 20th century?
How were the situations in Cuba and Nicaragua similar? Different?
How were the problems of El Salvador similar to Nicaragua? Different?
Was Allende a Communist? Why or why not?