The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
If American policy towards Europe in the postwar years had been a conspicuous success, and towards Asia a disappointing balance between success and failure, it could be said that the most conspicuous thing about relations with Latin America was the absence of any policy. Franklin Roosevelt, to be sure, had launched a “Good Neighbour” policy, but being a good neighbor was, it seemed, a negative rather than a positive affair, a matter of keeping hands off, of making the Monroe Doctrine, in the form at least, multilateral.
All through the postwar years, the states of Latin America - - Mexico and Chile were partial exceptions - were in the throes of major economic and social crises. The population was growing faster than in any other part of the globe, without a comparable increase in wealth or productivity; the gap between the poor and the rich was widening; and as the rich and powerful turned to the military for the preservation of order and privilege, the poor turned to revolution. Deeply involved in other quarters of the globe, the United States paid little attention to the fortunes or misfortunes of her neighbors to the south, and when she did intervene, it appeared to be on the side of order and the status quo rather than on the side of reform.
So frightened was the United States of “Communism” in Latin America that it preferred military dictatorship to reformers who might drift too far to the “left”, and sustained a Batista in Cuba, a Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, a Peron in Argentina, and a Jimenez in Venezuela. In his last two years, President Eisenhower had tried to mend his Latin American fences. Though rejecting a Brazilian proposal of a Marshall Plan for Latin America, he did take the initiative in setting up an InterAmerican Development Bank with a capital of one billion dollars, almost half of it supplied by the United States. Other government investments in Latin America ran to some four million dollars, while private investments exceeded nine billion.
Yet though to most Americans, all this seemed a form of economic aid, many Latin Americans regarded it as economic imperialism. In September 1960, came a cooperative plan that could not be regarded as other than enlightened: the Act of Bogota, which authorized a grant of half a billion dollars to subsidize not only economic but social and educational progress in Latin America. “We are not saints”, said President Eisenhower when he visited Santiago de Chile, “We know we make mistakes, but our heart is in the right place”.
But was it? President Kennedy was confronted by the same dilemma that had perplexed his predecessors. Clearly, it was essential to provide large-scale aid to the countries south of Rio Grande, but should this aid go to bolster up established regimes and thus help maintain the status quo, or should it be used to speed up social reforms, even at the risk of revolt? As early as 1958, the then-Senator Kennedy had asserted that “the objective of our aid program in Latin America should not be to purchase allies, but to consolidate a free and democratic Western Hemisphere, alleviating those conditions which might foster opportunities for communistic infiltration and uniting our peoples on the basis of constantly increasing living standards”.
This conviction that raising the standards of living was the best method of checking Communism now inspired President Kennedy's bold proposal for the creation of the alliance for progress - - a ten-year plan designed to do for Latin America what Marshall Plan had done for Western Europe. It was to be “a peaceful revolution on a hemispheric scale, a vast co-operative effort, unparalleled in magnitude and nobility of purpose, to satisfy the basic needs of the American people for homes, work, land, health, and schools. “To achieve this, the United States pleaded an initial grant of one billion dollars, with the promise of additional billions for the future.
Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 2
Try yourself:Following World War II, which problem was the United States most concerned with regarding Latin America?
Explanation
According to the passage, following World War II, the United States was most concerned with economic stability regarding Latin America. The passage states that all through the postwar years, the states of Latin America, except for Mexico and Chile, were in the throes of major economic and social crises. The population was growing faster than in any other part of the globe, without a comparable increase in wealth or productivity, and the gap between the poor and the rich was widening. The passage also mentions that the United States paid little attention to the fortunes or misfortunes of her neighbors to the south, and when she did intervene, it appeared to be on the side of order and the status quo rather than on the side of reform. Therefore, the most appropriate answer to the question is (b) Economic stability.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 2
Try yourself:A key reason why Latin America rejected the Inter-American Development Bank was that
Explanation
The passage suggests that many Latin Americans perceived the Inter-American Development Bank as a form of economic imperialism. It states that "Though to most Americans, all this seemed a form of economic aid, many Latin Americans regarded it as economic imperialism." This sentiment is further reinforced by the passage when it says "many Latin Americans regarded it as economic imperialism" and also in the Act of Bogota, which authorized a grant of half a billion dollars to subsidize not only economic but social and educational progress in Latin America, and not for specific performance projects or for social reform subsidies as options a and b suggests. The passage does not indicate that it was an extension of the Marshall plan into Latin America( option c).
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 2
Try yourself:Which of the following is most closely associated with the concept of a Marshall Plan for Latin America?
Explanation
The answer to this question can be found in the last paragraph of the passage. It talks of a ten year plan which was to be “a peaceful revolution on a hemispheric scale, a vast cooperative effort, unparalleled in magnitude and nobility of purpose, to satisfy the basic needs of the American people for homes, work, land, health and schools.” This was launched by President Kennedy as the Alliance for Progress, which is stated in option (a). Hence it is the right answer.
Option (b) is mentioned but not in context to the Marshall Plan, hence it is not correct.
Option (c) and (d) too are not stated with reference to the Marshall Plan for Latin America. Hence both are ruled out.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 2
Try yourself:Which of the following statements is not true?
Explanation
The passage does not mention that President Eisenhower continued in practice the theory that economic aid was the best defense against communist incursion into Latin America. In fact, it states that President Eisenhower rejected a Brazilian proposal of a Marshall Plan for Latin America and that the United States preferred military dictatorship to reformers who might drift too far to the “left”.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 2
Try yourself:According to the passage, the fundamental change in U.S. foreign policy directed towards Latin America
Explanation
According to the passage, the fundamental change in U.S. foreign policy directed towards Latin America recognized that economic aid alone would prevent social revolutions. This is evident in the passage when it states, “President Kennedy was confronted by the same dilemma that had perplexed his predecessors. Clearly, it was essential to provide large-scale aid to the countries south of Rio Grande, but should this aid go to bolster up established regimes and thus help maintain the status quo, or should it be used to speed up social reforms, even at the risk of revolt?”
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