Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
The purpose of this article is to analyze the evolution of economic relations between Latin America and the United States in the 1970s and to suggest the implications of this evolution. The central proposition is that a shift in relative strength took place during this period that created the potential for achieving a new balance of economic power. This shift also created tension in the old pattern of inter-American security links. The process of transforming potential power into real power had relevant implications for economic, political, and security interests.