South Africa's Policy Towards Latin America (document)
[Note: the following analysis, marked "confidential" in the original, appeared in the December 1968 issue of Background, a monthly bulletin published in Johannesburg by the South...
...I held discussions with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, with Ministers of Trade and Industry, with the Ministers of Agriculture and with . . . Presidents of the Reserve Banks of those countries . . . we discussed a great number of spheres in which we have common interests...
...Muller concluded that as a result of his visit "a very strong trade mission" was coming to the Republic from Brazil...
...Z The naval visits continue, and 1969 saw the first visit in decades of a Portuguese Premier to Brazil...
...Although the talk is of the South Atlantic, the policy is still quite congruent with the North American lead...
...de Janeiro...
...opposition to its racial policies, but also to economic boycott and military intervention as ways to change policies...
...Development Program to Cuba because of the annoyance of the African bloc at these developments The South African Airways flight established between New York and Johannesburg passes through Rio Last year Dr...
...which then bought about ten times more goods from Brazil, mainly coffee and cotton, at an estimated L5 million, than it sold to that country (about L500,000 worth...
...Muller concluded that he contemplated "South Africa acting as a bridge between Africa and America, North America and South America...
...Tourism is to be further encouraged by the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth II, stopping in Luanda, Capetown, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro...
...This move facilitated the buying of South African manufactured capital goods by importers in such countries...
...COMMON INTERESTS The Republic's relations with South America have other implications...
...Military ties on the level of joint training exercises can also be expected to continue...
...FOOTNOTES: 1. Textos e Declaracoes Sobre Politica Externa, Ministerio das Relacoes Exteriores, Brazil...
...RECIPROCITY These moves by the Republic have met with reciprocal interest by South American states...
...The admiral made the statement in Launda on Feb...
...Last year, therefore, the South African Ambassador in the Argentine (who was already accredited to Chile) was also accredited to Paraguay and Bolivia...
...In 1966 a visit by the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, prompted return trade missions and appearances by Brazil and Argentina at the Rand Easter Show in Johannesburg...
...Their dream is for a South Atlantic Treaty Organization, to protect the two sides of the southern ocean from the dangers of "communist aggression...
...He also pointed out that trade with other African countries, such as Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria, had a far from positive influence on Brazil's foreign policy...
...BRAZILIAN NEIGHBOURS Dr...
...A bursary has also been established by Brazil for this purpose...
...He added that "of the $10 million worth of goods exported last year to Africa, about $8 1/2 million was purchased by South Africa...
...But so far at least Brazil and Argentina, however reactionary they may be, are still reluctant to enter into any open alliance with the explicit racism of South Africa, or to get heavily involved in Portugal's colonial wars...
...Development Program to an African and Arab attempt to punish Argentina...
...Also a good portion of our imports come from and through South Africa...
...In the same month the same company completed its share of tunnelling and excavation work at the Cerro de Pasco Corporation's Cabriza Mine in Peru, a share valued at R28 million...
...No one who is well brought up ever forgets his mother...
...The admiral in charge noted that "we are deeply shocked that a war is being waged against Portugal in her overseas territories...
...4. For more on Brazil and Africa see: Brazil and Africa, Jose Honorio Rodrigues, University of California Press, 1969 (originally published in Portuguese by Civilizacao Brasileira...
...Diederichs, announced that the South African Government had made R25 million available to back the extension of lines of credit to certain countries, including a number in South America...
...continued from page 14) Now South Africa and Portugal have joined forces to push closer cooperation in the South Atlantic...
...As against that two South American countries have permanent diplomatic representatives here, while a further ten of them are represented by consuls and honorary consuls...
...For example, the Brazilian Government had sent an official trade mission to South Africa, and "shortly thereafter they took part in the Rand Easter Show for the first time in history...
...Last March the first trade mission from the Argentine arrived in South Africa, consisting of three senior members from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the National Meat Board and the Grain Board...
...Brazil was once part of the Portuguese empire but had declared its independence in 1822, a declaration which, as the Brazilian Representative told the Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly in 1955, "did not sow, as happened in other latitudes, the seed of undefined rancour on both sides" because this seed "cannot flourish in an atmosphere consolidated by the ties16 - of blood and culture . . . Brazilians are proud of the work of civilization that the Portuguese effected on their soil...
...It is rumored that Argentina lost its seat on the U.N...
...They are wooing Brazil and Argentina with closer trade, tourism, and military consultation...
...Finally, and perhaps most important, the Republic can learn from South America how the Monroe Doctrine operates...
...Trade and investment ties are also likely to increase somewhat, although the Southern African and Latin American economies tend to be competitive rather than complementary...
...Muller subsequently (in September) told the South African House of Assembly that "everywhere I went . . . there was particularly great enthusiasm for closer co-operation with us...
...The Republic is in this way developing a new field of profitable overseas trade for South African exporters since the Latin American Free Trade Association and the Central American Common Market are estimated to provide markets for well over R4,500 million worth of imported goods annually...
...The Latin American bloc is an important one in the United Nations and it is interesting to note that several of its members abstained on the recent General Assembly resolution condemning the Republic for non-compliance with the United Nations' sanctions against Rhodesia...
...Pienaar, visited the Argentine and Brazil to discuss "nuclear energy matters of common concern...
...This was followed by a joint mission to South America by representatives of the South African Foreign Trade Organization, the Industrial Development Corporation, and the Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation in order to examine projects there where use could be made of South African equipment, services or technical skills...
...Plans for a direct and regular air service between the Republic and South America have already reached an advanced stage...
...Portugal has continued to play on the theme of the Luso-Brazilian community...
...This can) . . . also lead to the training of South American mining engineers in South Africa...
...Muller told the Senate that "we are . . . busy with special efforts to strengthen our relations with South American states" and there were "already many concrete proofs" that his visit to South America "had borne fruit...
...South Africa wanted to give these countries technical aid, for example, to the virtually underdeveloped fishing industry of Uruguay, and by making fellowship bursaries available to postgraduate Argentine mining students and in generally establishing "science bursaries so that their students may come here and our students may go there...
...The late Field-Marshal Smuts advocated the adoption of such a doctrine for Southern Africa, with the Republic standing in the place of the United States, in order to guarantee the independence of the smaller states in the area against the aspirations of overseas powers...
...The governments were all opposed to Communism and they "realized the importance of non-interference by one country in the domestic affairs of another . . . We must regard these people as our neighbours, they are our neighbours across the South Atlantic Ocean...
...8, 1967...
...And Varig, Brazil's international flagship airline, has just inaugurated (June 21, 1970) a weekly service to South Africa: Rio - Johannesburg - Luanda - Rio...
...Muller,and the Secretary for Commerce and Industries, Mr...
...Roux, the Chairman of the South African Atomic Energy Board and the Board's Chief Metallurgist, Dr...
...An honorary consul was appointed in Panama, and South African trade commissioners were appointed in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires...
...General Lopes referred to "that other Portugal on the other side of the Atlantic" and he told the Brazilians that "I know very well you will never forget your dearly loved homeland...
...Marcelo Caetano succeeded in obtaining pledges of commercial and cultural exchanges, and presumably the military visits will continue as well, but he failed to get any specific military commitment...
...South African contractors can also sell specialized technical skills in such fields as agriculture, mining and tunnelling...
...They also established a trade section at their mission here and South Africa is busy establishing trade representation at our mission in Rio de Janeiro...
...Similar sentiments were echoed during te visit of the then Portuguese President, General Lopes, to Brazil in 1957...
...Until last year the absence of direct maritime facilities between Brazil and South Africa was a major obstacle to the development of greater two-way trade...
...Collaboration on the part of our Chamber of Mines has made it possible for small groups of people, interested in mining in a number of South American countries, to be invited to come and study the mining industry and related industries here in South Africa...
...Brazil had goods which she could export to them but almost all the crops which they wished to sell Brazil already had, and they were also the ones that Brazil herself exported "so in certain areas we are competitors instead of trade partners...
...They said Cuba had curried AfroAsian votes by distributing copies of articles about an exchange of defense contracts between Argentina and South Africa, which is strongly in disfavor here...
...CONTACTS AND LINKS The Republic's contacts with the Inter-American Development Bank began in May 1965, when South Africa was invited by the Bank to join a seventeen-nation consultative group to provide capital goods, finance and technical advice in a R308 million development programme for Ecuador, South Africa having expressed interest in projects totalling R54 million including the modernization of Ecuador's railway, water and sewage systems, in bridge building and in developing the country's fishing industry...
...In 1965 South Africa participated in a Latin American Development Bank project in Ecuador, following up in 1968 with purchases of bonds from the IADB...
...As a result of all these developments our diplomatic links in South America will have to be extended and we are already busy doing this...
...At that time South Africa only had diplomatic links with two South American states, the Argentine and Brazil...
...This January it was announced that Mr...
...Since 1965 Portugal's persuasive efforts have been joined by South African initiatives in Latin America...
...They were willing to excercise good neighbourliness and to co-operate with South Africa on a basis of mutual respect regardless of differences in internal policy...
...Several bursaries have been established by the South African Government, especially for post-graduate students, at our universities...
...Robert H. Estabrook in the June 7, 1969 Washington Post...
...STRENGTHENING RELATIONS Meanwhile South Africa was pursuing her own direct relations with Brazil and other South American states...
...In June 1967 Dr...
...3. "Latin American diplomats attributed the surprising election of Cuba to the governing council of the U.N...
...Under these agreements free port facilities would be provided at Lourenco Marques and Lobito, so that Brazilian goods could be stored there duty-free until re-exported to other markets, including South Africa...
...South Africa's trade relations with Brazil were indirectly also advanced through her long friendship with the neighboring Portuguese territories of Angola and Mocambique...
...For example, facilitating communications and tourism: there is the recently agreed Johannesburg - Rio - New York air service...
...They too have suffered from incursions of Communist-trained terrorists, such as the rebel leader Che Guevara, in Bolivia...
...Muller has expressed satisfaction with the similar attitude towards Communism taken by the Republic and by these states...
...In 1967 a Brazilian naval squadron was sent on a training mission to Angola...
...Note: the following analysis, marked "confidential" in the original, appeared in the December 1968 issue of Background, a monthly bulletin published in Johannesburg by the South Africa Foundation.] PARTICIPATING IN DEVELOPMENT Mr...
...South African importers told the trade delegation that they felt that the export from Brazil to the Republic of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, timber, cocoa and textiles was also worth exploring...
...Haak concluded that "by allowing the Reserve Bank to contribute in this manner towards the funds of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Government has given South African contractors and exporters further opportunities to participate -- on a cash basis -- in development projects which are financed by the Bank in South American countries...
...EXCERCISING GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS In September 1967 he added that he had been impressed by the fact that all the governments of the South American countries that he had visited, like South Africa, attached great value to the principle of non-interference in the affairs of others...
...There is also a common interest in the defence of the South Atlantic and nuclear development, and Dr...
...In 1969 joint exercises by the South African and Argentine navies, combined with a trip to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires by the South African Foreign Minister, prompted renewed speculation about a South Atlantic Treaty Organization...
...Berenguer, the head of this trade mission, subsequently said that Brazil was keen to expand trade with South Africa...
...He also revealed that "diplomatic relations have recently been established with another two Latin American countries, namely Paraguay and Bolivia and a further extension of relations in South America is imminent...
...In September, 1966, a portuguese-Brazilian agreement facilitated trans-shipment of goods between South Africa and Brazil through ports of Portuguese Africa...
...We already have accredited representatives in five South American countries, and there are several consular and honorary consular representatives...
...CLOSER CO-OPERATION In July 1966 the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr...
...2. Africa Confidential, March 17, 1967...
...One of our universities, with the enthusiastic support of several Latin American missions here expects to create the core of a cultural institute which will be devoted to the study of the literature and culture of Latin America...
...We will do everything we can for Portugal which is the victim of a great injustice...
...It was reported in October that a R7-million conI- 17 - tract -- part of a R35 million mining project in Chile - had been awarded to Roberts Construction Company, which is to provide the tunnelling techniques and the team of specialists to supervise the work by locally recruited labour...
...In April 1965, the Secretary for African Affairs at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that "Brazil's position towards South Africa is similar to that of the United States and European nations...
...The Brazilian Steamship Company, Loide Brasileiro, has since established a new shipping route to South Africa, providing regular schedules for the first time between the main ports in South Africa and Brazil...
...Honorary South African consulates were opened in these two countries and honorary Paraguayan and Bolivian consulates were opened in South Africa...
...President d'Oliveira of Brazil, for his part, sent a message to the Portuguese people referring to "flesh of our flesh, blood of our blood...
...This continued friendship between Portugal and Brazil proved of advantage to South Africa when, at Sao Paulo, in September 1966, agreements were signed for close economic co-operation between Portugal, Mocambique, Angola and Brazil...
...Last year also the South African Department of Commerce and Industries established a permanent trade pavilion, at a cost of 32,000 in Lima, Peru, and the Minister of Finance, Dr...
...Kotzenberg, paid an official visit to the Argentine, Brazil, Uraguay and Paraguay...
...There is particular interest in co-operation . . . in the field of agriculture...
...Nel had been appointed Ambassador at the new South African Embassy in Montevideo, Uruguay...
...Haak explained that it was the policy of the Inter-American Development Bank to permit non-member countries which had "reached a relatively advanced stage of economic development," such as the Republic, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, to contribute to the Bank's funds, and that this was an important concession, since only contractors and exporters in contributor countries would be allowed to participate in schemes financed by the Bank...
...Their ambiguity is much like that of the United States on the same issues...
...Haak, the Minister of Economic Affairs, announced in November that the South African Reserve Bank, with the South African Government's approval, had purchased bonds worth R 1,800,000 from the R50 million offer made on the American market by the Inter-American Development Bank, a development finance organization to which all South American states, except Cuba, belong...
...Brazil's gestures towards "independence" were cut off, and now the solidarity in the South Atlantic is for repression, not liberation...
Vol. 4 • September 1970 • No. 5
