Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, commonly referred to as the Rio Treaty, is a collective security agreement established in 1947 among countries in the Americas, inspired by the experiences of World War II. This treaty emerged from the desire for multilateral military cooperation in the Western Hemisphere and marked a shift from the historically unilateral approach of the United States, as expressed in the Monroe Doctrine. Under the treaty, an attack against one member is considered an attack against all, promoting solidarity among signatory nations. However, it also allowed for individual member nations to take defensive measures without needing prior approval from the United Nations, a provision that raised concerns about potential U.S. dominance in regional affairs.
The treaty sought to uphold democratic ideals and prevent the spread of communism, which was perceived as a growing threat during the early Cold War era. Despite its intentions, the implementation of the Rio Treaty often reinforced U.S. influence in Latin America, leading to resentment among some Latin American countries. The treaty has been a contentious topic, especially as it has been seen as a tool for U.S. foreign policy objectives rather than a genuine partnership among equals. Consequently, no Latin American nations that gained independence after 1947 chose to sign the treaty, reflecting the complex and sometimes strained relationships between the U.S. and its southern neighbors.
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
The Treaty Collective security pact, signed by the United States, twenty Latin American nations, and Canada in 1947, to provide for a common defense against foreign aggression and settle inter-American disputes peacefully
Also Known As Rio Treaty; Rio Pact
Date Adopted on September 2, 1947
The Rio Treaty enshrined the Monroe Doctrine into international law, placing the Western Hemisphere under American military protection at a particularly perilous moment, when the U.S. government believed that the Americas were threatened by the Soviet Union at the start of the Cold War.
The Monroe Doctrine, promulgated in 1823, declared the Western Hemisphere to be off-limits to further European colonization and also reserved for the United States the right to keep foreign powers out of the Americas. Since that date, the U.S. government had sought to formalize this proclamation in a written treaty, much to the chagrin of the Latin American countries.
Hemispheric Cooperation
The experience of World War II, with the declaration of war against the Axis powers by all Latin American countries except Uruguay, as well as Latin American military assistance in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, afforded the United States the opportunity to sign a collective security pact with its Latin American neighbors, plus Canada, on the principle that an attack against one was an aggression against all. Contrary to the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine, however, unilateral U.S. protection over the hemisphere was to be replaced with multilateral military cooperation. The fear of many Latin American countries that the United States would use such an agreement to interfere in their internal affairs was assuaged by the promise by the administration of Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) that no signatory nation would be compelled to utilize military force against its will.
The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, ratified in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1947, and hence popularly known as the Rio Treaty or the Rio Pact, was a legacy of World War II, but with the souring of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, a wartime ally, it soon evolved into a weapon for the American government to wield in the emerging Cold War between the two victorious superpowers. The growth of communist parties in Latin America during the 1940’s, particularly in Cuba and Brazil, was deemed extremely dangerous by the U.S. Department of State, and it strengthened Washington’s resolve to stop the spread of communism inside the hemisphere.
Provisions of the Treaty
Negotiations for the treaty began in 1945, and its principle clauses were first outlined at the Inter-American Conference of War and Peace in Mexico City that year. The conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1947 declared that provisions of the treaty were in keeping with the purposes and principles of the United Nations (U.N.), formed in 1945, but also established an Inter-American Peace System to prevent and repel foreign aggression against any and all nations in the Western Hemisphere. The mere threat of an attack, and not simply aggressive action, was sufficient to trigger a response from all member states, whereas disputes between the American nations had to be resolved peacefully. In keeping with the anticommunist spirit of the Cold War, the Rio Treaty preamble declared that the pact was dedicated not solely to mutual defense but also to upholding democratic ideals and the fulfillment of peace—a jab at the Soviet Union and its communist allies in Latin America.
Although the treaty required a two-thirds majority vote and the approval of the United Nations before collective action against aggression could be undertaken, two clauses in the treaty made it clear that the United States reserved for itself the right to command hemispheric defense. First, a single member might take measures against the threat or use of force, and afterwards submit justification to the other signatories. Second, for the sake of self-defense, a member nation could take military action without prior approval by the United Nations. In practice, because the United States saw local communist parties and other radicals as pawns of the Soviets, the Rio Treaty provided the underpinning for closer cooperation between U.S. and Latin American armed forces in combating internal subversion and ridding the region of regimes designated as insufficiently anticommunist, such as that of President Juan Perón of Argentina.
Impact
During the late 1940’s, the United States had the military strength and diplomatic clout to bend the Rio Treaty to suit its purposes in pursuing the Cold War against the Soviet Union in Latin America. What was supposed to be a pact for mutual military collaboration, philosophically repudiating the Monroe Doctrine, in fact wound up reinforcing that unilateral declaration, detested by many Latin American nations. Ironically, the agreement bolstered the political clout of anti-American politicians from Cuba to Argentina, and no Latin American nation that became independent after 1947 signed the Rio Treaty.
Bibliography
Atkins, G. Pope. Encyclopedia of the Inter-American System. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997. Exhaustive reference work on all aspects of U.S.-Latin American diplomatic relations from the era of Latin American independence to the end of the Cold War.
Brewer, Stewart, with foreword by Michael LaRosa. Borders and Bridges: A History of U.S.-Latin American Relations. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Security International, 2006. Perceptive history of how the United States has employed the concept of hemispheric security and the purported threat of foreign aggression to impinge on Latin American sovereignty.
Connell-Smith, Gordon. The Inter-American System. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966. Based on both primary sources and interviews with diplomats, this seminal work explores the failure to create a viable system of collaboration between the United States and Latin America, with discussion of the Rio Treaty.
García-Amador, F. V., ed. The Inter-American System: Treaties, Conventions and Other Documents. New York: Oceana, 1983. A collection of primary documents on inter-American relations. Places the Rio Treaty in historical context.
Smith, Peter H. Talons of the Eagle: Dynamics of U.S.-Latin American Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Explores the history of U.S.-Latin American relations, including the forging of military alliances such as the Rio Treaty, by examining the ideological motives of United States foreign policy.