Communism In Latin America

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More than Communism
PBSUCCESS took place during the Cold War, a time of intense fear of Communism in the US. The threat that Communism existed in Latin America intensified these fears due to the threat existing in the United States’ “backyard.” The newly created Central Intelligence Agency’s operation to overthrow Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz was driven by more than just the threat of Communism. A "chain of errors" took place between 1952 and 1954 (SH, XXXII). Geopolitical power as well as economic interests, specifically the United Fruit Company (UFCO), were being threatened by the Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz, although he was implementing a democracy. Preserving this power was the original intention of US intervention which, …show more content…

UFCO lobbyist, Edward L. Bernays, created stream of anti-communist propaganda in US media by discussing Communist activities in Guatemala (SH, 16, 18). The increase of anti-communist paranoia that Bernays and other American propagandists created was unquestionably a driving force for CIA intervention in Latin America. For many of those involved, ideological motivations were the driving force for PBSUCCESS because of the atmosphere of fear created in the United States. However, these motivations were the result of UFCO interference and abuse of the tense Cold War fear of …show more content…

The Partido Guatemalteco del Trabajo (PGT) was a leftist workers party with communist members. However, it was not a strong party and "Arbenz did not appoint any Communists to the Cabinet" (SH, 21). Jose Manuel Fortuny, the leader of the PGT, did have a friendship with Arbenz and worked with Arbenz in the creation of Decree 900, which became suspicious to the United States. Communism in Latin America, however, was vastly different than Communism in the Soviet Union. Land reform was necessary to create a democracy in Guatemala, and although ideologically different, the two men recognized this. "The proposal aimed not to create Stalinist collectives..." but aimed to remove tyranny and allow the creation of capitalism to move forward in Guatemala (SH, 22). The lack of differentiating the PGT from the Soviet Union lead to anti-communism obsession without any real justification of communist threat. As PBSUCCESS ended, no evidence was found connecting Guatemala and the Soviet Union (SH, 108). The atmosphere of anti-communist obsession in the US was a motivator for the new Agency’s desire to succeed, but the lack of connection between Latin America revealed the CIA was quick to implement PBSUCCESS without much thought of the political situation in

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