Anti-Imperialist Racial Solidarity before the Cold War

Abstract

This chapter analyses Latin American nations’ efforts to create inter-American solidarity against U.S. military occupations in Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic from the 1910s to the 1930s. In their diplomacy, anti-occupation activists from these three nations were joined primarily by Cubans, Mexicans, and Uruguayans. It traces transnational outreach to three constituencies, in ascending order of success—the League of Nations, other Latin American governments, and Latin Americans in the United States. The question it asks is: What factors brought success or failure in these transnational anti-imperialist efforts in the early 20th century? Among the factors for success were cultural affinity among Latin Americans, direct diplomacy, fear of occupation, and racial solidarity. Among the factors contributing to failure were U.S. hegemony, poverty, and racial division. This chapter explains why anti-imperialism could be effective yet remained limited, and it allows comparison and contrast to Cold War-era solidarity.