Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Weinberg, Eyal
Abstract
This thesis analyses the foreign economic policies of the Eisenhower and Kennedy administration toward Venezuela from 1957 to 1963. By examining material from U.S. diplomatic document collections, my research intervenes in the historiography of the Alliance for Progress by demonstrating the failures of U.S. policy in Venezuela during the Latin American Cold War. Although the United States supported the democratic government of Rómulo Betancourt politically, it hamstrung his government economically. The Kennedy administration at first provided loans for economic development to Venezuela, though they quickly eliminated this aid and began prioritizing military assistance as the most efficient way of supporting Betancourt’s government. More importantly, by continually limiting imports of Venezuelan oil into the United States, both the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations hurt Venezuela’s economy and caused Betancourt to face a crisis of legitimacy as his capacity to manage the nation’s natural wealth came into question.
Extent
142 p.
Recommended Citation
Aristeguieta, Leandro Simón Pirela, "FORGING THE ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS: VENEZUELA, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE BOUNTY OF OIL, 1957-1963" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present. 1421.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general/1421
Identifier
FA00014368
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2024.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.