1958

The Pan American Operation (OPA), was a Brazilian foreign policy initiative, under the government of President Juscelino Kubitschek aimed at uniting all countries of the American continent around a common goal to foster social and economic development across the continent.  The initiative sought to reduce poverty, underdevelopment and other deficiencies common to all the American nations.

President Kubitschek sent a letter to U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, describing his proposal to foster a new relationship among all American countries, in the form of a multilateral program of economic development that would also constitute a defense strategy of the continent.

The first concrete result was the creation of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), consisting of 20 member countries in the Americas, with an initial capital of one billion dollars for development finance and technical assistance to member countries. Another initiative was the creation in 1960 of the Latin American Free Trade Association, with the signing of the Treaty of Montevideo by Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.