Latin Rhythms

Americans have traditionally conceived of South America as a semi-dark continent, filled with languid Latins who occasionally excite themselves in unnecessary and harmless revolutions. With this attitude prevailing in the United States, Latin America has been for the most part ignored, the State Department bestirring itself only when European powers appear about to take over. Of late, American foreign policy has almost entirely been concerned with building a defense ring in Europe and Asia. This is an undeniably necessary project, but the probability of holding the Asian line is at most doubtful. Should much of our support in other hemispheres fail, the United States would have to fall back on its Southern neighbors as major allies.

Since Latin America is the United States' natural relative both in point of geography and because it provides this country with more trade than any other single region, the State Department's non-military attitude seems rather myopic. Latin America provides America with a large part of its oil, copper, lead, and bauxite, yet American foreign affairs experts have not instituted any long range plan to guard our interests.

The recent development of Latin American trade with the Soviet bloc has made the United States' apathy seem indeed alarming. The Soviets, less economically self-sufficient than the United States, are in some ways in a better position to trade with the Latins. There are many South American products, such as Cuban sugar and Argentine grain and meat, which this country cannot use but which Russia can.

The State Department can hardly create an American market for Argentine meat. Nor can American industries be expected to make products cheaply enough to competes with the Czechs. But inter-American relationships can be strengthened by a strong American interest and effective action in eliminating barriers to trade and in granting aid. United States exporters at present employ a conservative and intractable credit system, a strong deterrent to countries which already have trouble meeting our inflationary prices. Even more important, South American countries need capital and technical assistance to build the hydroelectric developments and highways which they vitally need. In 1953 Milton Eisenhower, after touring South America, made a number of specific suggestions: a stable and consistent trade policy, new tax laws encouraging investment in foreign countries, public loans, and technical help in economic planning. In three years, however, nothing has been done to carry out this program. Technical assistance to the twenty-one Latin American countries in 1953 amounted to only twenty-two million dollars. In 1957, it will still be only sixtyone million.

Increased economic assistance and more co-operative programs would, of course, be ideal, but the Latin American countries would be greatful for even less tangible signs of interest. Milton Eisenhower's one visit worked a remarkable change in South American attitude toward the United States. Argentina, for instance, turned overnight from hostility to equally fervid admiration. But, aside from the one Eisenhower bid, little has been done to increase mutual understanding. In spite of the Fulbright program and others, student, teacher, and labor leader exchange has been negligible. Technical assistance has been almost equally lacking. This is largely because neither the State Department nor the public in general seems to realize the growing importance of Latin America both as a supplier of non-military and strategic materials and as a future source of world power.