ABSTRACT
Following President John F. Kennedy’s introduction of the Alliance for Progress, U.S. policymakers had to figure out the best way to implement the program. There were major problems in doing this. Within the United States, creating a nimble and effective bureaucracy proved difficult, as did securing support from Congress for the massive appropriations necessary to fund loans and grants. Another challenge involved developing partnerships with Latin American governments. Latin Americans needed to see the program as a new beginning in inter-American relations and an alliance among equals. It would be a new kind of imperialism if the United States simply told Latin Americans that they needed to change their societies. At the same time, because Washington was providing the funds, aid had to reflect U.S. political interests. The Kennedy administration could not allow the Latin Americans to control spending. This undercut the idea of a partnership. Each of these issues made getting the program under way difficult and forced the U.S. government to develop a considerable marketing effort to sell the program at home and in Latin America.
