Perestroika in the USSR: Ibero-American Perception

Abstract

The time of perestroika in the USSR is an ambiguous period, giving rise to numerous discussions both in Russia and abroad. The perception of Soviet perestroika on the part of Spain and the countries of Latin America has a special specificity. This specificity is due to the previous history of the development of relations between the Soviet Union and the Ibero-American countries, as well as the hopes and fears associated with the changes taking place in the USSR. On the one hand, this era witnessed the mutual growth of interest between the USSR and Spain, the intensive development of bilateral relations, cultural and scientific ties. On the other hand, representatives of Latin American countries, in their own way and sometimes painfully, perceived the changes taking place in the USSR. Of course, even here it was impossible to move away from the widespread enthusiasm for Gorbachev and his ideas that swept the world. But there were also many reasons for pessimistic views, first of all, they concerned the prospects for the socialist model of development. Among the negative aspects that influenced the image of perestroika that had taken shape in the Ibero-American countries were disillusionment with the USSR as a counterbalance to the United States, experiencing the economic consequences of Gorbachev's policy, and the idea of the collapse of the Soviet model of socialism. Among the positive ones are the end of the Cold War, new thinking and democratization, hopes for reformatting, but the preservation of the socialist model. At the same time, this period left a significant mark not only in the development of relations between the USSR and the Ibero-American countries, but also became a bright page in intercultural dialogue.