#130 US-Latin American Relations: Shifts in Economic Power and Implications for the Future
By Sergio Bitar
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of economic relations between Latin America and the United States in the 1970s and to suggest the implications of this evolution. The central proposition is that a shift in relative strength took place during this period, which created the potential for achieving a new balance of economic power. Such a shift also created tension with the old pattern of inter-American security links. The process of transforming potential power into real power had relevant implications for economic, political, and security interests. However, Latin America has not been able to effectively utilize its potential leverage. Future inter-American relations will depend on Latin America's ability to achieve a redistribution of power with the United States.
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Explore More
Browse Insights & Analysis
Latin American Program Working Paper Series (101-150)
360° View of How Southeast Asia Can Attract More FDI in Chips and AI
