Evening star., 1933-04-02
BY GASTON NERyAL.


the South American capitals
4 report that talk of customs
~ unions or multilateral trade
agreements among various of
the Latin American countries is being
revived by the governments Of Chile
and Argentina.
one of the first acts of President
AleSsandri of Chile, after being inaugu-
rated in Office last December, was his
announcement that he would continue
the efforts, begun nearly two years
ago by former Minister of Foreign At
fairs Planet, to induce the South
American nations to get together in
the discussion of plans for the estab-
lishment of an economic bloc. The
Planet project failed because of in
ternal political unheavals in Chile.
Soon after this announcement came
from the Palacio de Ia Moneda that
Official spokesmen for the governments
of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in
dorsed the idea. Conversations began
almost Immediately between the Ar
gentina and Chilean ministers of for
eign affairs and finances. And. only
few weeks ago, in the conferences
of Mendoza, the first foundations of
reciprocal trade pact between the two
southernmost Latin republics were laid
down.
idea 20 Years Old.
The Forthcoming meeting of the
presidents of Argentina and Brazil.
Gen. Justo and Senior Vargas, is also
expected to take up similar arrange
ments concerning Argentine Brazilian
trade, and thus add one more link to
the ambitious plan of southern eco
nomic bloc.
The idea of regional economic unions
among countries of the New World
was first mentioned some 20 years ago
by the noted Argentine statistician,
Alexandra Bunge. His project of a
Southern Customs Union, which would
include five South American republics,
was further developed by the Chilean
economists, Eliodoro YaneZ and Gull
lermo Subercasaux, and not long ago
revived and brought up to date by
Senor Bunge himself, with corrected
statistics.
Senor Bunge's plan involves the re-
publics of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia,
Paraguay and Uruguay. These five
countries together have an area of
6,015, 900 square kilometers and pop
ulation close to 22,000,000. AS a geo.
graphic unity, such a union could well
compare with the United States, or a
United Europe, as proposed by M. Bri-
and. Senor Bunge feels that if the
non-productive land areas are dis
counted, the three groups may be con-
sidered as of equal area.
| He also estimates that the popula-
i ton of the United States will reach a
comparative standstin around the 200,-
coo, 900 figure, and that the South
American union in two generations
would reach the population of the
| United States today-that is, 12o 900,
900. He bases this prediction on pres
ent birth and death rates of the coun-
tries involved.
| Variety Of Production
| This South American economic en-
tity would have the advantage of de-
cided photographic diversity, running
over a greater variety of climates than
the other two unions mentioned. This
means greater variety of production
There Is no raw material of any i'm
portance, be it either mineral or agri-
cultural, which Is not or cannot be pro-
duced within the boundaries of this
vast territorial area formed by the five
countries mentioned.
Here are minerals such as copper
iron, tin, coal; forest products, includ-
ing rubber; coffee, wheat and other
grains; petroleum, nitrate, water re-
sources, etc.
The various regions of this proposed
| Southern Economic Union would COM
plement each other perfectly. Accord
ing to Senor Bunge, the fertile Argen-
tine and Uruguayan pampas could pro-
duce food for population of more
than 100,000 COO inhabitants; the min
eral deposits of the Andes and the Bo-
livian antiplano are almost inexhaust-
ible; the cold products of the Patagonia
| and TERRA del Fuego are numerous
and so are the valuable products which
| could be raised on large scale in the
torrid zones of Bolivia and Paraguay
Not cnly would this union solve the
| problem of iron and fuel supply fo-
the five countries involved-the second
one in complete way, for it includes
| besides coal, oil and water power in
abundance-but it would place those
| countries in privileged position with
! respect to the rest of the world. with
| almost monopoly of several raw ma
terials essential to world economics.
Senor Bunge'S Southern Economic
Union would possess third of the
worlds f1aXseed one-hah of the world's
corn, 80 pei cent of the worlds wheat,
! % per cent of the tin and II per cent
of the copper production of the world,
| 40 per cent of the worlds drugs, and so
on. 1t would possess the largest boraX
| deposits in the world. and complete
monopoly of nitrate, iodine, tannin and
other products.
Fifth Place in Trade.
| The foreign trade of the proposed
! Southern union would amount to nearly
! two and a half billion dollars, under
normal conditions, and thus command
! fifth place in the world The small
value of the commercial interchange
among the countries of the union"
themselves-not over As million dollars
a year in pre-depression times-shows
the practicability of the customs union
proposed. which would not injure in any
serious degree the customs revenues OF
any one of the five republics.
I The Southern Economic Union would
/ possess live stock equal to that of the
: United States, and only second to those
of Russia and rdia in the world. As
for the financial potentialities of the
union, it would have gold stock su-
perior to that of Great Britain. and
only second to those of the United
States and France. With this gold re-
serve on hand. a uniform monetary
unit with gold standard could be
! established for the five South American
republics involved.
| The method advised by Senior Bunge