Dismantaling the confederation of Latin American workers during the Cold War (1943-1953)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Confederation of Latin American Workers (CTAL) was a very influential organization among workers’ confederations in the region, especially between 1938 and 1953. However, because of its political and union agenda, CTAL became a threat to the anticommunist politics of the United States government around 1943. During the presidency of Harry S. Truman, the organization was infiltrated by leaders of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) who intervened in the internal politics of the continent’s governments in order to limit their democratic rights. Their actions deeply affected the proletariat and their organizations and provoked internal conflicts among the leaders of CTAL’s Central Committee due to their commitment to Soviet policies. What followed was dissent and the rupture of the region’s national workers’ confederations, as well as the persecution of workers by national governments. In 1953, CTAL began to break down; the conflict between capitalism and communism had permeated its militants and new directions for unionism appeared in the region, all set on a stage where the workers’ movement was adapting itself to a bipolar world