The history of the Cold War in Latin America in the 1970s is commonly split into two episodes: the establishment of anticommunist dictatorships and the ensuing repression across the Southern Cone in the early and middle decade, and the Nicaraguan Revolution and the eruption of violent conflicts across Central America at its close. By exploring the Chilean and Argentine response to the Nicaraguan Revolution, this article brings these two episodes together, demonstrating how they were understood to belong to one and the same ideological conflict. In doing so, it highlights the importance of the revolution in the Chilean and Argentine perception of the Cold War and explores how the Sandinista triumph directly shaped Southern Cone ideas about US power and the communist threat, also prompting reflection on their own ‘models’ for anticommunist governance. Both regimes responded by increasing their support for anticommunist forces in Guatemala and El Salvador, often conducting this aid through a wider transnational and clandestine network. This article contributes to new understandings of the nature of Latin American anticommunism in this period, challenges traditional understandings of external involvement in Central America, and demonstrates the need to understand events in Latin America in this period in their full regional context.

This article examines the relationship between international commercial banks and military regimes in South America. The focus is on how military regimes in the Southern Cone of Latin America and Brazil in the 1970s became heavily dependent on foreign capital provided by international banks based in Britain and France. It makes use of previously unavailable archival evidence to examine the interactions between international banks and South American governments, showing how these interactions intensified once military rule was established. It shows that international capital was used for a wide variety of purposes, including arms imports. When global banks cut loans once the debt crisis erupted in 1982, they aggravated the economic crisis but also fostered democratic change.

We present an assessment of the Southern Paraguayan Grasslands using Important Bird Areas (IBAs) located in a grassland landscape mosaic. Eleven IBAs in southern Paraguay were evaluated 10 years after their designation, using the BirdLife International method to assess the state, pressure, and response of these areas, during 2017 and 2018. Overall, the Pressure from ecosystem modifications led by fire, and fire suppression, agricultural expansion, and intensification due to farming and grazing have been identified as the major threats to IBAs. Regarding the State, 64% of the IBAs presented Very poor habitat quality to support grassland bird communities. The level of conservation Response was mostly negligible when considering conservation designation, management planning and conservation actions for the trigger species. Our results provide useful information to partners to reconsider these areas as IBAs as most of them no longer fulfill international requirements, we also highlight the importance of strengthening national policies to adequately protect natural grasslands.