108 -- Covert for Consumers?: Understanding Motivations for US Covert Action in Latin America

What was Cold War era covert intervention meant to accomplish for the United States? Was US covert action simply meant to address security concerns, or was there more to the story? Drawing from the expectations of post-Marxist theories, I form two hypotheses. First, that the US sought to maintain existing trade relationships under threat from leftist regimes, but failed due to the destabilization of targeted states both politically and economically. Second, that the US aimed to preserve the stability of capitalism in Latin America by bringing "modernizing" regimes to power through covert action. Using an OLS-PCSE model, I confirm both of my hypotheses. States targeted by US covert action saw a decrease in trade as a percentage of GDP, accompanied by a substantial increase in strike activity that serves as evidence of deepening economic instability. In regards to the US' second goal, modernization, I find that states targeted by covert action saw substantial decreases in agricultural employment that serve as evidence of a move towards industrial capital accumulation.