US foreign policy in South America: Strategies and shifts

US foreign policy in South America Strategies and shifts
Credit: Nakamura / Reuters

Scholarly research on US foreign policy in South America typically highlights the country’s neglect of the region in the wake of 9/11. By examining US regional security policies, I hope to cast doubt on this claim. As a result, I take into account information about arms transfers, military and economic support, SOUTHCOM’s attitude on its region of responsibility, official documents, and diplomatic cables. It is concluded that, even while the region was not a top priority, there was also no indication of a decline in US activity or a period of policy neglect. Historically speaking, the region has never received much attention, but to preserve US control, a specialist bureaucracy operates there. Therefore, the analysis shows that rather than US indifference, the rise of leftist regimes and the desire for autonomy, along with Chinese and Russian participation in South America, were the main causes of South American assertiveness in the 2000s. The introduction and concluding remarks are among the six elements that make up the article. 

Economic partnerships and US foreign policy in South America

A little over two years ago, there was cautious hope that the Biden administration’s inauguration might change Washington’s relationship with South America. In many parts of the region, there was optimism that a new wave of left-wing governments, known as the “pink tide,” would be able to handle the difficulties of recovering from the economic, social, and political effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the drastically shifting dynamics of global geopolitics and the global economy, the moment seemed all the more significant. The time never came. The promise of early 2021 has been surpassed by developments in the United States, South America, and around the world. US alliances in South America’s political landscape are more unstable, complicated, and difficult than they have ever been, and it is yet uncertain if the region will fully realize the enormous potential for economic change and closer integration into global markets. As Washington attends to urgent national and international issues and South American governments are preoccupied with internal issues and actively seek multi-alignment, the United States’ relationship with several nations seems to be becoming increasingly strained.

The war on drugs and US foreign policy in South America

Long-standing concerns about whether US enemies in South America would ever be more than an afterthought to other US policy priorities have been exacerbated by the nationalistic focus of the departing Trump administration. Questions were raised about the effectiveness of democracy in the region due to years of poor growth, increased corruption, the rise of illiberal democracies, widening inequality, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were many predictions that South America would experience a lost decade of progress. However, 2021 saw many noteworthy developments that presented the US and the region with fresh opportunities. The argument for nearshoring production in South America gained more significance due to the shortcomings of global supply chains. With climate change once again on Washington’s radar and significant investments in energy transition taking place globally, the region’s rainforests, hydrocarbon and renewable energy resources, and supplies of vital minerals were becoming increasingly important. 

Human rights advocacy and diplomacy

A US administration with a declared aim to deal with the area as a partner and a readiness to interact with the new South American leaders was also promised at President Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. The strong political shift that started with the wins of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico and Alberto Fernandez in Argentina in 2018 and 2019 was solidified by left-wing governments elected in 2020 and 2021 in Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Honduras. In 2022, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from Brazil and Gustavo Petro from Colombia would join them. Even if many longtime South Americanists were quietly concerned about unsuccessful attempts at this in the past, the conditions appeared to be right for the region and its relations with the United States to undergo a revival. The course of events was not exactly what was expected. The changes that many South American voters anticipated were not brought about by the election of left-of-center governments. Regional politics, which have an impact on governance, economics, and reforms, resisted simple generalizations.

Conclusion of US foreign policy in South America

Concerns about China, the Ukrainian crisis, and significant domestic projects like the Inflation Reduction Act took up policy attention and resources in the United States. As recently stated by CIA Director William Burns, “Priorities aren’t real unless budgets follow them.” Even taking into account the demands of the European conflict, the region’s FY 2023 request was $2.4 billion, while Ukraine received $75 billion in just over a year. It was inevitable that other foreign policy priorities would be partially relegated, but in the case of South America, this was made worse by Washington’s generally unimpressed assessment of the new governments in the region and domestic worries about the influx of irregular migrants diverting attention from pursuing a more creative hemisphere agenda.

Author

  • NYCFPA Editorial

    The New York Center for Foreign Policy Affairs (NYCFPA) is a policy, research, and educational organization headquartered in New York State with an office in Washington D.C. NYCFPA is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, institution devoted to conducting in-depth research and analysis on every aspect of American foreign policy and its impact around the world. The organization is funded by individual donors. The organization receives no corporate or government donations.

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