Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, until the 1940s, Latin America was an economic "free zone" for the U.S., zealously guarded by the Monroe Doctrine, which was established in 1823, at a time when most Latin American nations were first tasting the freedom of their own statehood. The author points out that the determination of the U.S. to control commerce than the completion of the Panama Canal and the seizure of Panamanian lands to form a U.S. Canal Zone is the single most event to demonstrate American exploitation. The paper relates that "Dollar Diplomacy" still exists today; but, the first-third of this century saw a far more one-sided, brazen and opportunistic means of finding legal ways to get economic advantages because American businessmen, in combination with the State Department, looked upon Latin Americans as not trustworthy, not competent and certainly not the equal of the "democratic" Americans.

From the Paper:

"Central America became the domain of agricultural enterprises, such as United Fruit and Standard Fruit Company. They literally "owned" and "ran" Nicaragua and Guatemala. Despite uprisings- the most serious occurred in 1930, where" a dozen Standard Fruit employees were killed, including eight Americans,...and the company begged for American intervention." A naval ship was sent to the scene, but the rebels had already gone. As Uncle Sam has positioned himself as the bringer of democracy to Latin America, so the American companies have followed the diplomats (or even preceded them) in order to have "the whip hand in negotiations with local governments, and the resulting foreign investments have brought fewer and fewer benefits to the host country.""

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