ABSTRACT
A rarely questioned political axiom in the United States is that democracy is the best form of government, not just for Americans, but for everyone. Until the last decade of the twentieth century, there was no consensus among Americans as to how and when to promote elections or how to relate them to other US interests. To a great extent, US policy on democracy in Latin America has ricocheted between different interpretations of America's proper role abroad and Latin America's pendulous swings between weak democracies and militant dictatorships. Democracy suffered numerous setbacks in the 1930s, but Roosevelt was revered by Latin democrats for his commitment to non-intervention, his willingness to distance US policy from US businesses in the region, his leadership in the struggle for social justice, and his struggle against fascism. The pendulum began to move toward democracy with free elections in Ecuador, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, but the process was not always straightforward.
