La Poli­tica del Buen Amigo: Mexican-Latin American Relations during the Presidency of Lazaro Cardenas, 1934-1940

Abstract

Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940) did more than any other president to fulfill the goals of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, by nationalizing the oil industry, establishing rural schools, distributing an unprecedented amount of land to peasants, and encouraging the organization of workers. To gain international support for this domestic reform programme, the Cardenas government promoted these accomplishments to other Latin American nations. I argue that Cardenas attempted to attain a leadership position in inter-American relations by virtue of his pursuit of social and economic justice in domestic and foreign policy. I investigate the Cardenas government's projection of a Revolutionary image of Mexico and evaluate its reception in Latin America. In doing so, this dissertation expands the analysis of foreign policy to show that Mexico's relations with its Latin American neighbours were instrumental in shaping its foreign relations. I argue that the intersections between culture and diplomacy were central to this process.