Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-10-07
SAYS Latin America
Fuvors Democracy
But Teacher Argues
That U. S. Help
Is Necessary
By Enriaue s. de L0zada,


Professor of Political Science, williams College.
The people of the United States sud-
denly have realized that the battle of
Latin America may follow rapidly upon
the battle of Britain, that they may
have but very short time in which to
devise a policy that will mean victory
or defeat in their first and most i'm
portant struggle with Nazi imperialism.
If the British blockade is broken
Germany will turn to Latin America for
| the raw materials she needs the
| German government, to judge from its
| previous actions, will try to gain political
and military supremacy, both to safe
guard its supplies and to provide base
| for attack on its remaining rival, the
United States. Nazi propaganda, Nazi
| political and trade penetration are
already very well organized in the Latin
American republics. COuntermeaSureS
| from the United States have been almost
| nonresident. This much Americans are
beginning to learn from their news
papers. They still know very little about
! the Latin American background. how
ever, and there is a grave risk that in
their present zeal to do something
Americans may follow a mistaken policy
I should like to criticize some of the
measures which are being advocated, TO
indicate the completely of the problem,
and to outline what I, as a South Amer
lean, think to be a satisfactory solution.
The so-called "quarter-sphere" theory
is at present receiving much attention.
It's proponents claim that the United
States cannot defend the greater part
of South America Therefore the United
States should confine itself to dominat-
ing the northern coast of South America.
the West Indies. Mexico and Central
America. This is purely a strategic
calculation, ignoring political factors, as
we'll as the immense value to European
imperialiSt power Of the resources
it could gain from the abandoned
quarter sphere" Even as strategic
calculation it ignores important factors.
The Nazis have already obtained COM
mercially worthless airlineS in the
interior of South America. have built
airports and explored the military
possibilities of the country. United States
bases to the North would be under the
threat of attack from these. Dominating
the richest and most advanced parts of
South America the Nazis would be given
an entirely unnecessary advantage The
quarter-sphere scheme is a defeatist
theory: if the United States adopts it,
Latin America will be lost.
A few Americans call for a more
grandiose imperialist policy. Since the
Latin American countries are too weak
to defend themselves against invasion.
say they, the United States should take
military control over them to protect
them from the Nazis. But such a step
would lose this country its most valuable
allieS-the pro-democratic Latin Ameri-
can peoples. Few Americans realize
that their country is still feared for its
overwhelming strength by the republics
to the south, while there is a belief
carefully fostered by the Nazis, that
Germany is too distant to be a real
menace. If the United States should send
its armed forces to parts of Latin
America, even with the consent of the
governments concerned it would be
doing great service to Nazi propaganda,
and its troops might be faced with guer-
rilla warfare from the native peoples.
The cartel scheme was thoroughly
publicized before the Havana Conference.
In its original form it has been dropped,
but it is likely to reappear under various
guises. The very efficient Nazi organiza-
ton of trade could probably render such
plan ineffective. but if it worked at all
1t would have disastrous effect on
Latin American economy. Most of the
countries concerned depend for their
very existence on the export of a few
raw materials which they do not con-
sumo themselves. In this way coffee
dominates Brazil wheat and beef
Argentina, tin Bolivia and oil Venezuela.
This position keeps them in state Of
servitude to their markets. 1t made
Germans post-depression barter agree
ments very attractive to them. Coun-
tries whose one product had suddenly
become unstable were only too glad
to exchange it directly for the
manufactured goods they required. The
war has made their position even more
Lie CdI Vel NOulu lluCCu
guarantee them markets for these raw
materials, but it would make them very
conscious that change in the foreign
policies of the United States could leave
them with their European markets lost
and their products unstable.
The Latin American states need to
diversity their production, to end their
economic dependence on one or two
export goods Above all, they need proc
essng industries, so that they may be
free of the advanced countries which
can turn their raw materials into
manufactured goods. If the various
states could process their own products
| lie. refine their oil, smelt their metals,
turn their agricultural products into
food-Latin America as a whole would
become partially self-sufficient. At the
same time, through the greater pros
perity of her peoples and the increased
need for machinery, she would become
a better market for the United States.
Unfortunately there are powerful inter-
ests in the United States which are