ABSTRACT
In 1966, Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, a prominent Venezuelan intellectual and founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), reminded Latin Americans of the powerful lesson the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser gave to the region. In contrast, by the 1950s fears of a communist expansion had put an end to the social changes that had taken place across the Latin America in the last decade. Neiva Moreiva argued that Nasserism might not be an unknown phenomenon in Latin America because the region had been governed by the military throughout history, with civilian rule being the exception. Over the years, Panamanian nationalism turned against the American presence and against American influence over local and international politics, its control of the labor market in the most important economic sector of the country, the expansion of Anglo-Saxon culture in the Canal Zone, and its monopoly over the canal and the business infrastructure that supported its activities.
