If you have the time, please watch this Disney short film Saludos Amigos. Not only does the film give insight into US Latin American foreign relations during WWII, but it is absolutely hilarious!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4idcVlo6XY
Walt Disney, among other famous American icons, played an integral role in the United States' "Good Neighbor Policy," a doctrine that promoted indirect intervention rather than military occupations of Latin American countries. The US government hired Disney to produce films which facilitated cultural exchange in the Americas in order to create a united American front during WWII.
In between scenes of animate airplanes and talking llamas, Saludos Amigos contains a covert message: The US is not so different from the rest of Latin America. After all we're all the "good guys" banding together to defeat the evil European fascists.
Yet, many of the United States' Latin American wartime allies lauded in the film were actually ruled by authoritarian regimes. In the US's attempt to distance itself from authoritarianism, the country neglected to condemn the undemocratic elements so prominent in the Western Hemisphere. While Saludos Amigos praises Brazilian culture, it overlooks the atrocities of Getulio Vargas' infamous Estado Novo.
Hopefully, this gives some historical context into why ensuring free and fair elections remains a challenge; not every individual, or government for that matter, sees the advantages of liberal democracy. Likewise, powerful alliances can impede international action on limiting the influence of authoritarian regimes.
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