The United States and Chile: Coming In From the Cold (review)

The United States and Chile: Coming In From the Cold. By David R. Mares and Francisco Rojas Aravena (Great Britain: Routledge, 2001). 145 pp. $17.95.

Relations between the United States and Chile have never been better—far improved from the tension between the two countries during Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship. In recent years, both countries have sought to improve economic growth, and the two governments have generally worked effectively toward pursuing shared interests—a far cry from the days when the United States undermined Salvador Allende's administration. And each side maintains a desire to resolve Chile's lingering human rights questions. In their book The United States and Chile: Coming In From the Cold, David R. Mares and Francisco Rojas Aravena provide a strong, broad-based explanation for the positive changes to this relationship.

The fundamental premise underlying this book is that relations between the United States and Chile changed dramatically in the 1990s, resulting specifically from the end of the Cold War, Chile's shift from an authoritarian to a democratic regime, and its subsequent change toward market reforms. These radical changes allowed the United States to reevaluate its policy in Chile, and vice versa. Mares and Aravena explore this transformation by considering the effects on three issues in the two countries: the importance of Chile and the United States in the international arena, each country's domestic politics, and the impact of transnational nonstate actors. After developing this frame of reference, they examine the administrations of Patricio Aylwin, Eduardo Frei, and Ricardo Lagos to illustrate the improvements in the bilateral relationship.

They begin by detailing how Chile and the United States have never had extremely close ties. Though the countries' political interests have at times been aligned, some important divergences occurred. Chile was slow to break relations with the Axis powers in World War II, only doing so after extensive U.S. pressure. Following the war, Chile (and the rest of Latin America) sought aid similar to the Marshall Plan, and was frustrated not to receive comparable economic assistance. However, both governments battled against communism, especially after leftist Salvador Allende's near victory in the 1958 presidential election. When Allende finally won the presidency in 1970, the United States made every effort to weaken his standing, including issuing economic sanctions and covertly supporting subversive activities. In 1973, the Chilean military staged a coup, with Augusto Pinochet ultimately seizing power. U.S.-Chilean relations quickly improved, but deteriorated to their nadir after news that the Pinochet regime's large-scale human rights violations exceeded anything the United States might tolerate. Chile has since struggled to come back into the fold.

In an effort to seem more democratic, Pinochet rewrote the constitution in 1980. This change required a plebiscite in 1988 to reaffirm Pinochet's leadership. Though designed to be a formality, an enterprising opposition organized a "Vote No" campaign that refused to ratify his leadership, eventually forcing Pinochet from office. Since the dictatorship, two major issues have dominated Chilean politics: strengthening the economy and coping with the aftermath of the Pinochet era.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Chile was on track to become the fourth member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—joining shortly after Mexico's accession. However, the U.S. Congress's failure to renew presidential fast-track negotiating authority in 1991 hindered future trade agreement negotiations. President Clinton struggled to secure the accord with Mexico in 1994, and the ensuing domestic tumult effectively prevented any further extensions of the trading zone, especially for a relatively minor trading partner such as Chile.

Though the Chilean government supports a more formal trading relationship, such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas, it has used its bilateral relationships effectively. Foreign direct investment has risen sharply, food and retail franchises such as Domino's Pizza now have an extended presence throughout the area, and the number of...