Evening star., 1943-09-09
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Argentina Rebuffed

argentina KeDurfed
Secretary of State Hulls firm re-
fusal of Argentina's request for
American arms and other war ma
terials on lease-lend basis should
not have come as q surprise to any
one.
AS long ago as the spring of 1912
the State Department informed the
Argentine government that 1t would
be impossible for the United States
to supply Argentina with arms under
leaSe-lend while she continued un-
willing to assume her full share of
responsibility for hemisphere de-
tense. At the minimum, this Gov
ernment expected Argentina to
sever diplomatic relations with the
Axis, a step which the United States
contends would be in harmony with
the obligations assumed by Argen-
tina at the Rio de Janerio confer
ence.
For various reasons, however, the
Argentine government has not seen
mt to 60 all the way in standing with
the other countries of this hemis-
phere against the Axis. Fundament-
ally, this probably has been due to
the domestic political situation In
Argentina. The Radical and Socialist
parties, drawing their strength prin-
cipally from metropolitan Buenos
Aires, have had none too strong
hold on the Chamber of Deputies.
lower house Of the Argentine ma
tional legislature. This coalition has
favored q more vigorous anti-Axis
policy. But the Senate, controlled
by representatives from the strongly
Conservative rural provinces, has
strongly opposed such step, and
has been decisive influence in
shaping the policy of President Cas-
tillo and of the successor military
regime headed by General Ramirez.
initiating against these domestic
influences holding Argentina to a
safe middle course has been the
growing strength of her neighbor to
the North, Brazil. This largest of
the Latin American republics, under
the leadership Of President Vargas,
has been unreserved in its support
OF the Allied cause. And this has
had two significant results. One has
been the pronounced unification of
discordant elements within Brazil.
The other has been q marked in
crease in Brazils military strength
as a result OF the lease lend aid re-
ceived from the United States.
Understandably enough, these de-
yelopments have been viewed with
mounting concern In Argentina.
Whatever the future may bring, the
Argentine government cannot be
Indifferent to developments in Brazil,
which promise, relatively, to reduce
Argentina to the rank of a second
rate Latin American power In a
military and possibly in q political
sense.
Yet the hard fact remains that
this Is an inevitable consequence of
the choice, which Argentina has
made. Our policy under the lease
lend program-and 1t is the only
rational policy-has been to aid
those who are willing to assist us.
II Argentina, because of domestic
political considerations or for some
other reason, insists upon maintain
ing working relationship with the
Axis powers which is unquestionably
beneficial to them, 1t is not to be
expected that she should receive
from the United States the same
consideration In the matter of mill
tary assistance that is given to an
other country which has taken an
unequivocal stand with the United
Nations. If this involves undesirable
consequences for the future, which
one may hope will not be the case,
the responsibility rests with Buenos
Aires and not with WaShinpton