How did the Cold War affect Latin America? Why did the United States get involved?

During the Cold War the USSR or Soviet Union and the United States were global powers and
asked each nation to pick if they were communist or not. If the answer was yes you had the
support of the USSR and if the answer was no you had the support of the United States. The
United States continually intervened in communist areas such as Cuba, Guatemala and others.
If you were communist that meant evil to the US.

What is the difference between left and right wing? And why is it confusing?
Left and right wing refers to people with opposing political views. Left wing government are
liberals and believe that more people need to take part in their government to give a bigger
voice. They also thought that the government should support citizens through programs. Right
wing are those who want a smaller government, when little people make decision. This would
be called conservatives. Conservatives thinks the government should have less of a role in
helping people. There can be problems in each wing and neither is necessarily better. Left is
what communist tend to do and right is what noncommunist tend to go for.
Why did the United States get involved in Cuba?
The United States was very involved in Cubas economy and they controlled the sugar
production which was the main crop. Cubans were very poor because the money either went to
the US or the government. Then Fulgencia Batista overthrew the government and then six years
later Fidel Castro overthrew it. Castro was a communist so instantly Cuba became an enemy.
The US refused to trade with Cuba and still most US citizens are not allowed to go there. Castro
is still the leader there today and many Cubans have risked their lives to escape from the strict
rule.
Whats a banana republic?
This is when a republic country has a powerless government and instead of a government it is
run by a company for the purpose of producing a good and then exporting it. Guatemala was a
prime example of this in the early twentieth century. American-owned the United Fruit
Company which controlled many and major parts. Government officials were ordered what to
do and they followed.
How did the CIA get involved in Guatemala?
In the 1950s militant dictators had control of Guatemala and a dictator names Jacobo Arbenz
Guzman started land reforms that followed communist rule and as we know the United States
was very strongly non-communist. The CIA overthrew him in 1954 and this was followed by
violence under rule of military junta and many blame the United States for starting this violence
but it just recently in 1996 started to have a democratic rule.

What is the other infamous September 11th?

In Chile in the 1970s a socialist leader named Salvador Allende took control. Then on
September 11th 1973 Agusto Pinochet otherthrew the government with the United States by its
side. Under Pinochet there was harsh rule and many people suffered from human rights
violations. By 1990 Pinochet gave up power to a democratic rule. Pinochet died before he had
to pay the price of the many human rights violations that were charged against him.
Who were the disappeared in Argentina?
After World War II the Great Depression occurred and Argentina went into authoritarian rule.
Juan Peron was the one who took power. Eva Peron, his wife, was very popular with the poor
and was sort of a distraction from the abuses that occurred behind the scenes of her husbands
rule. People who opposed the government would be taken off the streets or from their homes
and since no one ever knew where they went or what happened to them they were called the
disappeared. It was assumed that the government killed them and there was a total of
around 30,000 people who opposed the government. Then finally, in 1983 a civilian
government was placed.
Why was it controversial when the United States intervened in Nicaragua?
This was considered to be the most controversial United States intervention that happened in
Nicaragua. The Somoza family held control until 1979 and that year Sandinistas revolted against
the government. They were connected to Cuba and the USSR and they helped supply their
weapons. Since the United States were very anti-communist they held a group called the
Contras which fought against the Sandinistas for power. Soon, Congress said that the US could
not support the contras anymore by sending weapons to Iran who then shipped them over to
them. This became known as the Iran-Contra affair because it was during the Iran-Irag War.
Soon in 1987 both groups reached a peace treaty and there has been a moderate government
since then.
What violence occurred in Brazil and El Salvador?
In the Great Depression, Brazil turned to dictatorship. The dictator was Getulio Vargas although
he didnt start out as a dictator but soon led into one and turned Brazil into a fascist state which
is the most extreme conservative government. Then when he was overthrown, Brazil slowly but
surely turned back into a democratic rule. During the civil war in El Salvador, 75,000 people had
been killed because of the left and right wing guerilla fighters (US supported right wing). Then
in 1992, both the left and right wing signed a peace treaty.