ABSTRACT

The military question—that is, what role the armed forces will play in society—is arguably the oldest and most enduring issue in Latin American history. To define an ideal pattern of civil-military relations is the most all-inclusive political statement any Latin American can make. Since 1947 all of the Spanish-speaking nations of the hemisphere and Brazil have been linked to the United States in a functional military alliance known as the Rio Treaty. In countries like Argentina, the memory of military misrule is simply too recent and too painful; in El Salvador and Honduras, too much depends upon the goodwill of the US Congress; and in Mexico, the local political system retains the resources to deal with major shocks. In spite of continued formal alignment with Washington, most Latin American actors will increasingly strive for a posture of nonalignment.