Latin America and Europe during the Cold War

Europe and Latin America share a long and intimate history that is the basis for the relationship between them today. Political, economic, religious, military and cultural ideas have flowed between both regions for centuries. During the Cold War, Latin Americans of all political persuasions looked to Europe (East and West) for support and financial backing. Europeans also travelled to Latin America, found inspiration in the region and drew lessons from what they found there. Improvements in transportation, communication and intelligence techniques also spurred new transatlantic exchanges between governments, political parties and non-state actors.

It is therefore astonishing how little we know about the connections between Latin America, the Soviet Bloc and Western Europe in the late twentieth century. To a large extent, this has been the consequence of an exclusionary regional approach to history whereby twentieth century Europeanists have focused on the history of Europe and, even more so, Latin Americanists on Latin America.

Until recently, it was also the result of limited access to archival sources. However, in the last decade, thousands of documents on the Cold War relationship between Latin America and Europe have been declassified. Scholars are therefore beginning to explore the different facets of the interactions and linkages that existed between both regions.

To explore new scholarship on Europe and Latin America during the Cold War, together with the potential for new research that now exists in both regions, the LSE sponsored a symposium at the AHILA conference in Berlin on 10 September 2014. Coordinated by Dr Tanya Harmer, the symposium brought together 15 historians from around the world in 4 panels to examine the relations between Latin America, the Soviet bloc and Western Europe. On one level, it focused on the formal relations between governments and political parties. On another level, it aimed to investigate the transnational networks and contacts that emerged between both regions as a result of solidarity movements, youth groups, academic exchanges and travel. Beyond showcasing new research, the aim of the symposium was to lay the foundations of a new international network aimed at understanding, and disseminating sources on, the relationship between Europe and Latin America during the Cold War.

9.00-10.30: Cuba, the Soviet bloc & Cold War

Chair: Jim Hershberg (GWU)

Presenters: James Mark (University of Exeter) and Balint Tolmar (Central European University, Budapest): “Encountering Latin America in State Socialist Eastern Europe: The Case of Cuba in Hungary 1950s-1989”

Carlos Alzugaray (University of Havana, Cuba): “The Cuban-Bulgarian relationship during the Cold War: an example of the mutual benefits of two Soviet allies”

Albert Manke (University of Cologne, Germany): “Una nueva alianza estratégica en la Guerra Fría: Cuba y Checoslovaquia”

11.00-12.30: Brazil, Europe & the Cold War

Chair: Tanya Harmer (LSE)

Presenters: Jim Hershberg (GWU, USA): “Brazil, Cuba, and the Soviet bloc, 1961-62”

Iwa Nawrocki (Princeton, USA): “Cold War Catholic Transnationalism: Brazilian-Polish Intellectual Exchanges, 1978-1989”

Carlo Patti (Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil): “Nuclear cooperation between West Germany and Brazil”

14.30-16.00: The Soviet Bloc, Intelligence, Latin America & the Cold War

Chair: Anita Prazmowska (LSE)

Presenters: Jadwiga Pieper (University of Arizona, USA): “La Federacion Democratica Internacional de Mujeres (FDIM): Frente Sovietica o Organismo de Empoderamiento Politico de Mujeres en la Guerra Fria?”

Michal Zourek (VŠTE, České Budějovice, Czech Republic): “Las actividades de los servicios secretos de Checoslovaquia en los países del Cono Sur.”

Kaeten Mistry (UEA, UK): “American Exile: Philip Agee between Latin America and Europe during the Cold War”

16.30-18.00: West Europe, Latin America and the Cold War

Chair: Tanya Harmer (LSE)

Presenters: Raffaele Nocera (Università di Napoli “L'Orientale,” Italy): “Entre La Habana y Washington: Italia durante la crisis de los mísiles”

Olga Ulianova (USACH-IDEA): “La Democracia Cristiana chilena y el mundo político europeo 1973-1989”

Fernando Camacho (USACH-IDEA): “La proyección del partido socialdemócrata sueco hacia Latinoamérica durante las decadas de los años sesenta y setenta”