Soviet Political Uses of Trade with Latin America

Abstract

This Essay examines Soviet uses of economic trade for political and diplomatic purposes in Latin America. Recent events in Central America and the Caribbean have generated a great number of analyses of Soviet goals and tactics in the Western Hemisphere (Duncan, 1984; Leiken, 1984; Rothenberg, 1984; Varas, 1984; Valenta, 1982). Direct Soviet military aid to Nicaragua, and to Grenada prior to the U.S. invasion in 1983, has suggested a more forward Soviet role in the region. On the other hand, Soviet arms shipments to Latin America, excepting those to Cuba, are a relatively recent response to revolutionary developments that may prove to be ephemeral, or which may encounter stiff U.S. resistance. Given geopolitical realities of the area, the Soviet military option certainly is less viable in Latin America than elsewhere in the developing world. In contrast, trade and aid – and Soviet aid is given chiefly in the form of trade credits – are a long-established, politically safe tactical alternative.