Between Domination and Negotiation in the Andes: A Tale of Cold War Transnational Agency

United States -- South American relations during the Cold War constitutes one of the more understudied areas of the histories of both regions. Previous histories of United States-South American relations have focused on U.S. control, or even “domination” of South America. However, my project stresses that the relationship between South America and the United States is a two-way street: transnational agency on the part of the South Americans, who aim, with some success, to preserve their autonomy and culture.
Three Andes nations provide fascinating case studies of transnational agency: Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. Although the Bolivian revolutionaries, the Moviemiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, who took power in 1952, largely accommodated themselves to U.S. officials in order to obtain assistance, Bolivian officials in 1971 severed the U.S. Peace Corps’s contract because a compelling movie falsely accused the Corps of sterilizing Indian women. More broadly, Bolivians’ fears of the influence of U.S. culture (transmitted through Peace Corps volunteers) on Bolivian culture drove Bolivia’s policy towards the United States, changing the contours of U.S.—Bolivian relations.
In neighboring Peru, small guerrilla movements alarmed Washington officials. Playing upon the specter of potentially strong communist movements, pro-United States Peruvian officials wrung increased assistance from the United States. Moreover, Peruvian officials, against Washington’s wishes, purchased Soviet weaponry in the 1960s and 1970s. As Peru strengthened its negotiating hand, Washington tacitly accepted Peru’s increased influence by accommodating Peru’s expropriation of United States-owned companies.  
Finally, Colombia’s key role in inter-American forums—in particular the Organization of American States, increased its bargaining power with the United States. An examination of how these three South American nations exerted agency in their relationship with the United States is instructive with regard to understanding the contours of United States-Third World relations.