Evening star., 1932-07-10

I
| treatment from their white and mestizo
| brothers. who have monopolized the
government since the Spanish con-
| quistadores first landed in America.
The aboriginal Indians still form a
large part Of the population of Bolivia,
Peru and Ecuador. and the slowly and
| subtle, but tenacious, way in which red
| agitators are gaining them TO their
cause with the promise Of a re-dtstribu-
tion Of land, is causing great alarm TO
the authorities of those countries.
! In Peru the problem has taken more
| definite form. There is an organized
Communist group And there is an
other supposedly non-Communist en-
/ tity, the Apra party which, while de-
nouncing the Moscow tactics and deny
ing any connection with Soviet plans.
breaches a philosophy and follows a
program almost equally radical The
| AprtstaS made an impressive showing
in the last presidential elections and
since then have seen their prestige in
creased by the difficulties the Sanchez
Cerro government has encountered in
weathering the economic crisis Last
Nav a radical uprising started in
Callao, the chief Peruvian port, the
paternity of which was attributed alter
natively to Communists and Apristas.
| Geographical proximity and the CO.
operation long existing between Chilean
and Peruvian radical leaders strengthen
now the likelihood of new disturbances.
Colombia has been one of the very
| few Latin American countries to escape
the, wave Of revolutionary fever which
has swept that continent in recent
months. That, however does not mean
that the Colombian authorities do not
have Communist problem to deal
with. Press dispatches have reported
raids OF Communists on small towns in
the interior of the country. where they
attempted to establish their own form
Of government Although these en-
deavors did not meet with much sue
cess. they have been sufficient to prove
the growth Of radical theories among
native population.
North Of Panama, Communist ele-
ments have lately caused trouble for
several of the Central American govern
mentS. With the exception of Mica
ragua, where the presence of United
States Marines may have had some in
fuence in discouraging them. they have
appeared at one time or another in all
the other States of Central America.
And even in Nicaragua. If the unpopular
resistance of President Moncada to the
candidacy Of the liberal leader, DR.. Sa-
casa, finally results in a new civil war,
as it is feared the Communists across
the border may find splendid oppor-
tunity to step into Nicaragua and profit
by the convulsion.
1t is in Ell Salvador that Communists
agitators have so far proven more sue
ceSSful in Central America. Under the
regime Of President Araujo they were
not seriously opposed, for they. them
selves, had lent support to Araujo's elec-
ton. However, when President Araujo
was forced to flee the country by q
military coup d'etat and Vice President
Martinez became head of the govern
ment. Salvadorian Communists intensi-
fled their subversive activities until
they finally succeeded in starting an
uprising of considerable proportions. We
all know how much blood and ma
terial losses that uprising, only few
months ago, meant. British and Ameri-
can warships stood by, while it lasted,
ready to take of foreigners in danger.
Only the energy and promptness with
which the Salvadorian authorities pro-
ceeded, and the overwhelming support
they received from all social and
political sectors to put down the Com
munists revolt, prevented its propagation
to the rest of the country. The peril,
however, has not disappeared entirely,
and Salvadorians claim that it will last,
and grow worse, so long as the State
Department refuses to extend recogni-
tion to the constitutional government Of
President Martinez.
Communists in Guatemala have been
the object of an intensive roundup by
the authorities. Sixty-dve Of the agita-
tors were arrested within fortnight,
following the Salvadorian imbroglo.
And from time to time the cable brings
reports Of new red plots discovered by
: the Guatemalan police.
Outbreak In Costa Rica.
1r-4.1 -1oo.kt,, r,--to ro{oo ,,,, 4, ~, o,,1I,t
to be immune to the advances OF radical
propagandists. The very liberal and
democratic institutions of the little but
progressive republic were considered a
barrier to the dissemination OF doc
trines of discomfort and violent change.
Two weeks ago, however, the first Com
munist riot took place in San Jose, the
capital, after meeting of the General
Union of Workmen and Communists"
Fifty-eight manifestants were arrested
after their leader had Solemnly an
nounced, This episode opens the Com
munists' fight in Costa Rica, and We
will win or die"
In the latest Honduran uprising and
even in the various Cuban riots intend
ed to overthrow President Machado.
Communists hands have been found at
work. 1t is only natural that radical
leaders encourage and take advantage
of any internal political conflict, to
make gains during the storm.
In Mexico where the first seeds Of
Latin American radicalism were sown,
a revival of the Communist spirit has
lately made itself felt in certain r gions
of the country. Here, however, the
| problem is rather different. as it Is the
| authorities Of some Mexican states and
not the people who are leading the
trend to the left. The States of Hidal-
! go and Vera Cruz recently passed al
most confiscatory laws against large
foreign industrial interests, "in the
benefit of the community" Though
the action Of the federal government at
Mexico City prevented a conflict with
| foreign interests, the popularity of such
| radical measures seems to be increas-
ing tns the neighbOring republic along
with the progress of the economic
crisis.
In contrast with these dark reports
! from all over the continent. a dis
! patch from Santo Domingo printed a
few days ago in the metropolitan pa
pers. announces that the position Of
President Trujillo's government is every
day stronger In the Dominican Republic
| and that domestic unrest has disap-
peared in the island The dispatch
| adds that governmental finances in the
Dominican Republic are sound and
| that, when most of the Latin American
nations have been forced to suspend
payments on their debts, that country
has until now faithfully kept its for
eign obligations and. stranger still,
maintained balanced budget.
Which goes to show, as have many
times said in these columns, that in
ternal political unrest and government
al finances are closely interrelated
terms in Latin America.
Copyright, 1922