Evening star., 1934-12-16
MEXICO'S SX-YEAR PLAN
ATTEMPTS COMPROMISE
Experiment Seeks to Reconcile Social.
ism With Gradual Collectivism of
Nations Resources.

signal for action In this connection
when he declared. long before the
presidential election Of last July. that
it was imperative to draft "a detailed
plan of activities to cover the six
years of the coming presidential term;
plan that should be based on esti-
mates, on statistics, and on the les
sons of experience" always keeping
in mind the possibilities Of the exist
ing budget and the physical resources
at hand.
The National Revolutionary party
set out at once to draft such plan
in order that it might become both
the electoral platform Of the organ
ization In the presidential election and,
after the practically assured victory
at the polls, the program of action of
the new administration for the follow
ing six years. The plan, officially
adopted at the party's convention a
year ago. proposes to carry forward
the distribution of lands, to establish
minimum wage, to raise the stand
ard of living, to encourage a con-
trolled system of industrialization, to
speed up the modern educational
methods and to improve relations with
foreign governments. These aims are
embodied in a comprehensive and
detailed scheme divided into 272 num-
bered paragraphs.
Seeks Planned Economy.
The main thesis of the six-year plan
now intrusted to the Cardenas admin
istration, which was inaugurated in
Office a few weeks ago, is that the
Mexican state shall assume and main
tain policy regulative of the economic
activities of the nation. In the words
of the party's spokesmen, the state
should be IAN active agent moving
and controlling the vital processes Of
the country" not alone a custodian
Of the national integrity and OF public
peace and order.
This thesis is, obviously, in accord
with the tenets of the Mexican revolu-
ton and with the present political law
of the country, because the consti-
tuition Of f917 took away from the
state the nature Of purely political
institution and directed it toward
activities regulatory of the more vital
factors in the life Of the nation. The
1917 constitution, however, maintained
respect for individual rights and
private initiative, so as not to estab-
lish a regime of complete ABSORPTION
and notification of the individual
by the state, and the six-year plan
carefully avoids any tranSgresSion
upon these rights.
If, nevertheless, in the interpreta-
ton and application Of the plan, any
conflict with private interests arises, 1t
will probably be confronted with the
criterion expressed by the National
Revolutionary party when submitting
the six-year plan: '"The system Of
property should be conditioned, max
ing it available to the greatest num-
ber, controlling its acquisition and
holding in order to suppress the ex-
isting cornerings and avoid them in
the future, and preventing private
property Of the means of production
from becoming a definite instrument
for the exploitation of the many by
the few; inasmuch as this transitory
but inevitable stage in the develop
ment of social reforms is bearable for
mankind only in so far as 1t makes
for collective prosperity"
It Is in this sense, in the extent to
which this first Mexican attempt at q
managed economy succeeds in har-
moniously submerging individual in
terests to the collective good, that the
results of the six-year plan eventually
will be measured.
(Copyright. 1e34.A --l-