Evening star., 1948-07-04

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will lack practical application for
years to come. Latin America, its
students generally agree, is still the
of the aristocratic criollos.
and to some extent, in more progress
sive lands, of the growing middle
class. These two groups have at
least a generation more in which to
advance social justice by their own !.
before the Indians will be
literate enough to throw their weight
in government, for or against
In a few republics, the gathering
pressure of the Indian multitudes
has had some effect, as
in the leftist reforms Of Mexico.
Ia others, the Indian rebellion
threatens just below the surface, as
within the APRA Party of Peru.
In most lands. the influence of the
race which was here before Colum.
bus still is years from being felt.
Then If we can discount COM
as an immediate direction
of Latin America, what is the fact
behind all the restlessness and
revolt?
The basic fact seems to be .
peculiarly Latin American fact, a
fact which exists independently Of
good will work from Washington or
crusading from Moscow; popular
pressures are forcing change.
In some republics change already
has made headlines. For North
Americans. the most striking feature
of the change perhaps is this: While
our southern neighbors do not seem
to be moving toward communism.
the same evidence indicates that
nevertheless they are moving away
from capitalism as we understand
the word.
Nominally. each of the 20 repub-
lies between Texas and the South
Pole tolerates private capital Some
still actively encourage its growth.
Others admit investments on their
terms. More and more republics,
however. are resorting to public
planning and some kind of directed
economy AS this directed economy
takes shape, state financing or So
cialism seems likely to pay the bills.
Mexico's Example
Mexico gives an example of a
shift away from straight capitalism.
Our nearest neighbor upset our
financial and Government circles
years ago by expropriating foreign
holdings. The storm is over now,
but the thunder fingers. Today she
admits any foreign investor who
will supply her with a heavy indus
try or a factory to make consume
ers' items. But foreign money comes
to Mexico hat in hand. New restric-
tions on foreign oil investment, for
example, have kept most North
American oil firms out of Mexico up
to the present. Yet they want the
oil and Mexico wants their skill. The
two sides simply do not agree on
how the petroleum is to be divided.
Mexico today regards oil, and all
her other potential wealth, as pri-
marily the property of the nation.
This attitude contrasts with the
colonial" days when Latin America
was glad for foreign payrolls and
asked no questions.
At the other end of the hemi-
sphere. foreign capital still more
clearly is in retreat. British inyes-
tors, who built most of Argentina's
railroads and some of her biggest
meat-packing plants, are pulling out.
The immediate reason is financial
trouble at home. But few British
or Argentines predict the return of
the foreign money.
A third Latin American giant.
Brazil. has relied generously on
United States know-how in building
her big new steel works of Volta
Redonda. Yet Volta Reoonda re-
mains in state hands, and now the
nation is acquiring affiliated coal
mines and power installations.
Symptoms of Change
We have said that this new modi-
fication of capitalism in Latin
America is what first interests
North Americans. But the trends
toward collective bargaining and in
some cases toward modified state
ownership are only symptoms OF a
ceeper. organic charge-the indus
trialization of many Latin republics
and the creation of a middle class.
The clash between the new wage
earners and the aristocrats of the
villas and haciendas is the basic
theme of Latin American activity
in the middle of the Goth century.
The old demand for order" and
conservatism comes up against the
new demand for a bigger national
income through industry and q
wider sharing.
Why cannot change come peace.
fully? Some Latin Americans an
swer that their nations lack the
widespread base OF education and
popular income that makes a coun-
try stahle. Tensions arise, govern
ments change in a furry of shouts
and sometimes shots-and who in
North America can say that Latin
America is slipping" from a
democracy she never had attained?
No single revolution, peaceful or
bloody, that makes the headlines,
can be defined automatically as
popular. Instead 1t may be aimed
at controlling" the unrest. Or 1t
may be neither right nor left, but
simply temporary turn In local
politics.
Yet a car running in reverse or
forward is powered by the same
motor. In the same way, changes
and upsets In Latin America TODAY