ABSTRACT
The role of the East European allies of the Soviet Union in Latin America has undergone dramatic changes since the late 1970s. Since the Nicaraguan Revolution, and in conjunction to its own economic difficulties, Eastern Europe’s role has shifted decisively toward that of a simple surrogate of the USSR. Traditionally, the involvement of Eastern Europe has been treated as part of the Soviet Union’s geostrategic interests in the Western Hemisphere. Capital or equity participation in Third World ventures by East European state-owned companies are sometimes also presented as “aid,” as are commercial credits in nonconvertible currencies. Latin American relations with Eastern Europe for the most part mirrored their attitude toward the Soviet Union and communism in general, at least until the 1970s.
