Evening star., 1947-03-16

Peronist alternative to the hereto
fore powerful Argentine Industrial
Union, the equivalent OF the Ma
tional Association of Manufacturers
With Lagomarsino, Miranda is
linked through a series of reward
ing family relationships with Ricar-
do C. Guardo, president of the
Peron-controlled Chamber of Depu-
ties, and with Juan Carlos Picazo-
Elordy, Minister of Agriculture.
Through the ramifications of this
family group, he heads one Of the
most powerful nepotistic combina-
tions in the government.
Miranda Hard Trader.
A hard trader, Miranda has gone
about the business of buying out
the foreign owned railroads with
brusqueness and dispatch. When
the French haggled too long they
got less than his original offer. In
negotiating for the purchase OF the
British railways Miranda Of
fered them 2,0O0,000,0O0 pesos
which he said was a sentimental
figure" 1t took a great deal of
finagling on the part of the British
to get much more than that. At
the same time he announced that
he cleared 780,000,00O pesos on the
sale to Great Britain of linseed oil.
The latest scene of Argentine
economic pressure is none other
than Belgium. A Belgian mission
arrived in Buenos Aires month
ago to contract for the delivery of
100000 tons Of wheat At the same
time an Argentine mission went to
Brussels, presumably to do busi-
ness. Belgium has to arrange for
a food supply which is now sched-
uled to run out in mid-June. Al
though Belgium expects a supply
of Canadian wheat in the autumn,
right now they face hungry pros
pect unless Argentina, the only
country with a wheat surplus at
the present time, comes through.
Instead the Belgians assert that
"the Argentine government is grip
ping Belgium by the throat to wiring
an exorbitant price out of her"
Belgians say that their offer of 40
pesos (about $10) for 100 Kilograms
(22O.5 pounds, which is the price
Britain pays, has been refused. The
Argentines had asked up to 60
pesos. The average cost of Argen-
tine grain delivered in Antwerp
would be $6.43 for 100 pounds, COM
pared with the United States price
of S..
Financing the Plan.
What is happening is that Bel
gium is merely the latest and most
conspicuous example of Argentina s
efforts to raise the money necessary
for the financing of the fve-year
plan. Through the Argentine In
stitute for the Promotion of Trade,
which controls all exports and an
increasing number Of import items,
Miranda expects to be able to
finance good part of the five-year
plan. A killing in foreign deals
brings money in the Argentine
treasury. Miranda's economic pol
icy seems to be sailing along on
a great wave of Argentine pros
perity. Abroad it has been riding
the crest of sellers market In
those things people need most. The
world has been hungry, there have
been no surpluses from Canada or
the United States, and Argentina's
customers have had to pay high
for Argentine's preferred position
The result has been good business
for Peron, in the best tradition of
free enterprise. But what happens,
say, two years from now, when cal
ories 60 up all over the world? With
wheat plentiful once more vegetable
oils available in greater quantities,
the Peron regime will no longer be
able triumphantly to call the tune.
1t will have to come down in price.
With this reduction will 60 a great