ABSTRACT
In the first decades of the twenty-first century, Latin American countries became even more connected with the global economy as a result of neoliberal economic policies. By the start of the twenty-first century, a new generation of left-leaning nationalist and populist political leaders began gaining power in Latin America, a development many observers called the 'pink tide'. The absence of perceived security threats kept US-Latin American relations comparatively calm. The changed environment also helped repair historical animosities, though progress was slow in the case of US-Cuban relations. In the 1990s, the fall of the Soviet Union had a devastating impact on the Cuban economy as its most important trading partner disappeared. In some US communities, Spanish has become the dominant language, and people of Latin American ancestry proudly and publicly maintain cultural traditions from their homelands. The Latin Americanization of the United States, and responses to it, raises an interesting connection to ideas from earlier periods.
