Alliance for Progress

For a Peruvian political party, see Alliance for Progress (Peru).
U.S. President John F. Kennedy in December 1961 promoting the Alliance for Progress with Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt, who had invited Kennedy to this land redistribution ceremony in a Venezuelan village.[1] Kennedy's wife, Jacqueline, addressed the audience in Spanish. Video of this ceremony can be seen here.

The Alliance for Progress (Spanish: Alianza para el progreso) was an initiative launched by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, that aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marín of Puerto Rico was a close advisor on Latin American affairs to Kennedy, and one of his top administrators, Teodoro Moscoso, the architect of "Operation Bootstrap", was named the coordinator of the program by President Kennedy.

The Alliance for Progress was a 10-year plan proposed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to foster economic cooperation between North and South America, particularly aimed at countering the perceived communist threat from Cuba. The program was signed at an inter-American conference in Uruguay in August 1961. The main objectives of the Alliance for Progress included:[2]

  • Economic Development: The plan aimed to achieve an annual increase of 2.5 percent in per capita income in Latin American countries, with the goal of promoting economic growth and reducing poverty.
  • Democratic Governments: The charter called for the establishment and support of democratic governments in Latin America, promoting political stability and the protection of human rights.
  • Education and Literacy: One of the goals was to eliminate adult illiteracy in Latin America by 1970, recognizing education as a crucial factor for social and economic development.
  • Price Stability: The Alliance aimed to maintain price stability in the region, avoiding high inflation or deflation, which could hinder economic progress.
  • Income Distribution and Land Reform: The program sought to promote more equitable income distribution and land reform to address social and economic inequalities.
  • Economic and Social Planning: Latin American countries were expected to create comprehensive plans for national development, which would be reviewed and approved by an inter-American board of experts.
  • Financial Commitment: The participating Latin American countries pledged a capital investment of $80 billion over 10 years, while the United States would provide or guarantee $20 billion in aid.
  • Tax Reform: The tax codes in Latin American countries were to be revised to demand a greater contribution from the wealthier individuals and corporations, aiming for a fairer distribution of the tax burden.

The Alliance for Progress aimed to strengthen ties between the United States and Latin America, promoting economic growth, political stability, and social progress. However, the success of the program was limited due to various challenges, including political instability, corruption, and insufficient implementation of the proposed reforms.

  1. ^ Rabe, Stephen G. (1999). The Most Dangerous Area in the World: John F. Kennedy Confronts Communist Revolution in Latin America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina press. p. 101. ISBN 080784764X.
  2. ^ Richard Dean Burns, and Joseph M. Siracusa, Historical Dictionary of the Kennedy-Johnson Era (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) pp 33-34