The American Perceptions about US and South American Relations.

The scholars usually define the relations between US and Latin America as neglect or in several occasions as indifferent. For many years Latin America countries there had been great expectations about these relations, especially in late the 90s when the transformations in international system and new domestic politics in the region started an era of optimism. This optimistic view had reflected the economic interests between the United States and Latin American and initiated hemispheric collaboration in trade negotiations. However, ten years later, the positive environment disappeared and the US-Latin American relationship came back to indifference. The proposal of hemispheric integration did not advance for various reasons, but the domestic protectionism pressures in the United State and negative perception of the government officials on Latin American countries affected the negotiations. Moreover, the failure of the economic and social policies applied in the Latin American countries allowed populist politicians to win elections. Leftist parties won elections in Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, and Ecuador. The return to the left means some countries, like Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, with their strong ideological discourse opposite the United States and its free-market. The United States and South America relationship it was affected in the global, regional and domestic dimensions. This paper aims to analyze the South America relationship with the US and to understand the interrelation between systemic and domestic factors affecting the American governmental perceptions of South America. The region shows important internal chances and represents a new direction for other countries in the hemisphere.This project will analyze the American governments official thinking about the South America political process. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]