In its most positive light, Costa Rica has had a long and impressive history as a pacifist state. This history finds its roots in the colonial period, starting with Columbus’ fourth and final voyage in 1502. The Spaniards called the present-day area the “Rich Coast,” but Costa Rica possessed little gold or other valuable minerals, and lacked a large and centralized indigenous population to be exploited. As a result, the area grew largely isolated from the other, more resource-rich colonies (mainly extracting ore and employing forced labor) and developed relatively autonomously from the rest of the Spanish Captain Generalship of Guatemala, as an egalitarian and family-oriented agrarian society. Perhaps for the better, Costa Rica generally evaded the typical genocidal struggles against “new world” colonialism.

Independence for Central America

News of Central America’s independence, declared on September 15th, 1821, did not reach Costa Rica until the end of the year. After being annexed by Mexico, a short civil war severed their ties and the country joined the United Provinces of Central America (which would become the Federal Republic of Central America), remaining a member for nearly 20 years. The fact that Costa Rica’s first elected president, Juan Mora Fernandez, was an elementary school teacher by trade can be looked back upon as an indication of the country’s future commitments to programs of social welfare that have long served as the backbone of the country. In 1877, Costa Rica became the third country in the world to abolish the death penalty, after Venezuela (1863) and San Marino (1865). …Continue Reading »

“[It is] important to keep before ourselves and the Latin American peoples at all times the reality of the thesis that we are a great power; that we are by and large much less in need of them than they are in need of us; that we are entirely prepared to leave to themselves those who evince no particular desire for the forms of collaboration that we have to offer […]”

Latin America as Viewed from the U.S.

In 1950, the highly regarded U.S. diplomat at the time, George F. Kennan, spoke the words above referring to John Quincy Adams’ 1821 speech concerning U.S.-Latin American relations: “[Latin American governments] are not likely to promote the spirit of freedom or other by their example […] I had little expectation of any beneficial result to this country from any future connection with them, political or commercial”. While Adams’ dichotomy of Latin America was one strand of the United States’ perception of the region, it was far from the entire story. As Jorge I Dominguez pointed out in his 1999 study “The Future of Inter-American Relations,” there has been a clear evolution in Inter-American relations since then and that the dynamics have undoubtedly changed since the relationship has had time to mature. Each Latin American country has shifted positions according to its relative interests. While Adams and Kennan are to be found in the more realist standpoint in the political spectrum regarding inter-state integration, policy-making dynamics also have altered giving room for new political approaches. As U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton confirmed during her latest Latin American tour, the region has changed its disposition of carrying out international relations. Now, it cannot be said that realism has been replaced by liberalism, but rather that such interests have been overshadowed by the preeminence of ideology and politics that can be analyzed from a post-modern view. Thus it can be asserted that the latest manifestations of Latin American interests can be found in the creation of relatively new regimes and multilateral institutions, such as Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR) and Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas (ALBA). …Continue Reading »

• Obama administration grievously disappoints Latin America and U.S. Latin Americanists by insisting on politicizing U.S.-Cuban and regional policy

• Commencement of the Clinton-Valenzuela era delivers a shattering blow to rational and coherent U.S. strategy towards Havana


Washington severed relations with Cuba on January 3, 1961 and launched its economic embargo against Havana the following year. Its intended target was to transform Cuba’s political system from being sympathetic to Moscow’s brand of Communism to one more harmonious with the Cold War ideology being proselytized by the White House. However, most regional specialists now dealing with the embargo issue, after forty-eight years in operation, agree that it has not been particularly effective in persuading the island leaders to take steps toward the democratization of the country. Instead, it only has served to damage Washington’s economic, diplomatic and national-security interests affecting Cuba as well as the remainder of the region. …Continue Reading »

With colorful and scandalous flourishes, in a nation where the bizarre is often normal, Brazil’s Carnaval kicked off throughout the country on February 12th. The celebration is especially exotic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second largest city, where the samba dancers’ elaborate talents draw millions of tourists each year. Given the huge influx of foreign revelers and the importance of tourist dollars to the Brazilian economy, the government must make very significant investments to provide for the safety and security of these visitors. However, the button-down country that most tourists experience is markedly different from the harsh everyday reality and the entirely routine violence encountered by many ordinary Brazilians. The day before Carnaval began, Rio de Janeiro’s military police clashed with alleged gang members involved in the drug trade in the Jacarezinho slum in Northern Rio. In the skirmish, the police shot and killed seven suspects while one police captain was killed. This type of violence has become a tedious certainty in Brazil’s slums.

As the country prepares to host the two largest sporting events in the world, the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympic Games in 2016, the international community’s scrutiny has pushed Brazil’s poverty, crime, and police brutality issues into the center of the public arena. …Continue Reading »