The literary and intellectual career of Erico Verissimo gradually and yet steadily encompassed Latin America. The most important landmarks along this path are the travelogue Mexico and the novel His Excellence, the Ambassador. This article analyzes how Verissimo's understanding about Latin America developed. I argue that in his interpretation of Latin America, the United States constantly appears as a counterpoint and a determinant factor, which can be associated with the contentious intellectual debate in the context of the Good Neighbor Policy and the Cold War. Also, I try to demonstrate that this ideological polarization, along with some fictional features of his novels, led Erico Verissimo to assume a relatively marginal position in the international cultural scene during the years of the Latin American literary boom.
Erico Verissimo; Latin America; cultural diplomacy