Latin America and the League of Nations

Nine Latin American nations became charter members of the League of Nations when it was founded in 1919, and several others joined it in the decade that followed. Although only Brazil had any participation in World War I (and a minor role at that), these nations supported the idealistic principles of the League and felt it offered some measure of juridical protection from the interventionist policies of the United States in the period between the Spanish American War (1898) and the proclamation of the non-interventionist Good Neighbor Policy by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

The Latin American nations became increasingly disillusioned with the League in the 1920’s. This was partly due to the failure of the United States to join the League, and partly because the major powers in the League paid little attention to Latin America’s problems. The League did have some role in two conflicts in South America in the 1930’s: The Leticia dispute between Colombia and Peru, and the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay.

References

Tenenbaum, Barbara, ed., "Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture". New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996, 5 volumes), p. 395.

Walters, F. P., "A History of the League of Nations", Oxford University Press. 1952