The Cold War and the military dictatorships in Latin America

Abstract

The Cold War, more than a political tension, military, economic and ideological between the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a sponsor of several conflicts, coups and even other wars, civil and / or military character around the planet. For his character, truly worldwide, and its duration, more than four decades, indirectly killed millions of people across the planet. Only in South America, it accounts for a total of approximately five hundred thousand victims dead or missing, which mostly were captured, kidnapped, tortured or killed by the dictatorial military regimes, which with the support of the United States ruled part of South American countries at the time,
and on behalf of the fear of communist expansion - as happened in Cuba in 1959 - masked by a pseudo national security, fostered a whole apparatus, based in particular in Operation Condor, to violently repress
any opposition of these schemes. We intend to discuss here, the story and some features - highlighting similarities and specificities - the authoritarian governments that ruled the country from South America in
the scenario of the Cold War, focusing on Brazil and the Southern Cone nations Analyzing the rise these schemes, the relationship between the different affinity of these dictatorial with the U.S. government at
different times governments.