After world War II until the 1980's, many Latin American leaders installed
reforms to deal with new demanding issues in their country. These new reforms were
frequently viewed by the United States as alarming due to the recent rise of communism
in the world. Following almost a century of alliance, Americans and Russians
disagreement came to the front line when in 1917 the Communists seized power, and
established the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union would come to declared war on the
capitalist nations of the West. The two countries put all this aside in their mutual hatred
for one another, and fought against Germany during World War II. This alliance would
come to an end between 1944-45, when Joseph Stalin looking to extend Soviet control
used the Soviet army to control much of Eastern Europe. This cold war rivalry, would
soon emerge into a contest to obtain allies. The U.S. foreign policy following World War
II confronted primarily in assisting the countries in Europe. The concentration of aid to
Europe was a immense concern to the countries of Latin America. Latin America
countries wanted the U.S. to stress economic development in the post war era. The U.S.
believed that it needed to promote postwar economic development in Latin America but
was unwilling to make a specific commitment for assistance. As a region Latin America
ranked low on the U.S. priority list; other area were seen as facing more immediate
Soviet threats. The lack of attention by the U.S. to the pressing social. political and
economic problems in Latin America would prove costly to the U.S. The cost would
come in the form of new political views emerging to deal with the problems at hand.
The U.S. would come to pay attention to Latin America, that it was supposed to at the
beginning of the cold war, and take action to stop the spread of communism.
One of the first situations faced by the U.S. was Guate...