An Aspect of United States Policy in Latin America: The Latin American Diplomats’ View

In Latin America, the military has always stood as a ready alternative to political parties and the normal electoral processes for the effective mobilization of political power. Between 1935 and 1960, there were forty-five successful changes of government by extra-constitutional means among the Latin American states.1 Since the early 196os there have been at least fourteen successful major military coups d'etat in that region; and recent history suggests no apparent change in the trend. There have been numerous threats of coups, several abortive coups and even some successful but minor and short-lived military interventions (such as those in the Dominican Republic on January