Democracy and Development. An approach to the Alliance for Progress in Venezuela, 1961-1969

Abstract

This paper analyzes the reception and influence of the Alliance for Progress in Venezuela during the 1960s (1961-1969). The US assistance program financed various social projects in Latin American countries, with the aim of promoting local development, and at the same time counteracting the impact of the Cuban Revolution (1959). Methodologically, the research was nurtured from primary sources, official Venezuelan and American documents, and contemporary press review. In sum, it is evident that although the economic resources sent to Venezuela were inferior to other nations, the political support of the United States was fundamental for the consolidation of the young Venezuelan democracy.