Blog Contribution Week 6

US Interference in Latin America- Brazil edition

In keeping with this week's topic of military coups, I found an article discussing the role of the USA in the 1964 Brazilian coup. 

In 1964 the Brazilian military, backed by the US government, overthrew the government of President João Goulart, ushering in more than two decades of military rule. The reasons for and the extent of America’s involvement are hotly debated, something which Pereira recognises. He begins the article with a consideration of existing arguments for the US’s involvement and when this involvement began, but unlike previous authors, Pereira has the benefit of recently declassified CIA documents which confirm that the Kennedy administration did not decide to assist in efforts to stage a coup until 1963 (the coup was ultimately instigated during Lyndon B Johnson’s presidency following Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963). This coup, like many Latin American coup attempts that were supported by the US during the Cold War, was generally agreed to be a fight against the growing presence of communism in Brazilian politics. The US were initially in favour of allowing Goulart to carry out his full term, but the presence of left-wing politicians in his government and Brazil’s refusal to fully support the expulsion of Cuba from the Organisation of American States meant that Goulart was identified as a potential supporter of Communism- something which the US could simply not abide during the Cold War. 

I found this article to be really interesting, particularly given my lack of knowledge around Latin American politics. In terms of the relevance to POLS209, I think Pereira provides some really interesting insights into the attitude of the USA towards any country which had a different ideology to them, and potentially raises more issues with the idea that America is a state whose approach to international affairs should be seen as a positive. Foreign intervention and support for coup attempts also adds another aspect to thinking about what determines the longevity of a particular regime type. Although Goulart would likely have been eventually ousted from office without the involvement of the US, the idea of a large foreign power being able to step in and remove the government of a state which does not follow their preferred ideology raises some serious questions, particularly in relation to the increasing power of states in the modern era like China. 

Reference:

Pereira, Anthony W. 2016. “The US Role in the 1964 Coup in Brazil: A Reassessment.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 37 (1): 5–17.

 https://doi.org/10.1111/blar.12518.