Successful Basing Agreements

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the successful basing negotiations that the United States conducted in Latin American countries in the 1990s, which resulted in the installation of the Manta Air Base, Ecuador and the installation and later renewal of the Comalapa Air Base, El Salvador. The chapter is the shortest of the empirical section of the book, since it looks quickly at the few cases where formal basing negotiations actually worked in the 1990s, as opposed to the failed negotiations in the 2000s that I seek to examine later. The chapter briefly surveys the current academic literature to describe the party system and the strength of the domestic opposition in both countries, and explores how domestic politics affected the ability of host governments to accept foreign military bases. The chapter then analyzes the opening of the Comalapa base in El Salvador, with a focus on the domestic political dynamics and the role of the opposition party, the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN), and the renewal of the base lease later. Similarly, the chapter continues with a discussion about the domestic political dynamics that allowed the installation of the US air base in Manta, Ecuador.