ABSTRACT
The Soviet Union’s approach to Argentina and Brazil has been characterized in recent years by a gradual consolidation of those pragmatic features which aim to generate the highest possible economic and diplomatic returns in exchange for low political and economic investments. External factors, such as the evolution of the relationship between East and West and the US role in the Western Hemisphere have broadened or narrowed their options with respect to the USSR. This chapter analyzes the process by which Soviet relations with Argentina and Brazil evolved from hostility to cooperation. It highlights the domestic political and economic changes in countries, the changing Soviet attitude, the transformation of the international environment, the Cuban role, and the changing behavior of the local Communist parties as the main factors which affected the development of cooperative bilateral relations. The chapter assesses the characteristics of the current Soviet foreign policy approach to these countries at the economic, diplomatic, political, and party-to-party levels.
