Eight Months in Latin America

...We expressed our opinions frankly and met the same frankness...

...The United States is vitally interested in the economic progress of Latin America not only for political reasons but also for purely economic reasons...

...On a per capita basis, our trade with Canada is more than ten times that with South America...

...What for...

...Our tariffs are not higher than those of any European country, and are lower than those of any Latin American country...

...We wondered whether he would permit the second lecture, scheduled for the next evening...

...Since the program greatly impressed the local peasants, the Communists opened a violent campaign against ii...

...Our embassy had inquired there, as at other universities in Bolivia, whether they would like to have us lecture...

...We talked about what we thought constituted a sound labor movement in a democratic country, not about the misdeeds and crimes of the Communists...

...If Latin American nations raise their economic level to that of Canada, which is not much different from ours, then there will be more business between us, to our mutual benefit, although the composition and direction of this trade would change...

...We also met Communists of another breed in some universities...

...Only once did we meet a Communist agitator who tried to launch a discussion on his own terms...

...They told the people that the milk was poisoned and its distribution was aimed at exterminating the Indians so that their lands could be taken over by American capitalists...

...After the lively discussion that followed Mrs...

...nor does a friendly audience expect him to agree with all of its opinions...

...It must not be taken too seriously, but there is no doubt that professional agitators are at work in the universities, ready to start trouble at the first opportunity...

...Woytinsky has worked with the League of Nations, the U.S...

...So it went...

...A bilingual technique is hard on both the lecturer and the audience and may dissipate the attention of the latter, but the listeners seemed to appreciate the arrangement as an evidence of our effort to convey our ideas...

...You must try not to rely on exporting one or two products but to develop economic activities in various fields...

...What do you mean...

...He seemed pleased...

...This propaganda occasionally takes on most shameless forms...

...The first lecture attracted an audience of 400 to 500 students and professors...

...A lecturer facing a friendly audience cannot expect all his listeners to agree with him completely...

...The students are alert, intelligent and often good workers, but academic life is permeated with politics...

...Our talks before workers covered the same broad range of subjects as those in universities and were on an academic level, though more popular in form...

...Our personal rule was not to offer any propaganda talks but to present scientific ideas and facts with our interpretation of them, and to accept all questions in the discussion period — whether loaded or friendly—and answer them so as to give additional enlightenment to the listeners...

...Readers will remember his four-part 1956 series, "India—Awakening Giant," published last year as a book under the same title by Harper & Bros...

...Many requests for additional lectures were made by secretariats of students and faculty members, but because of our crowded schedule we could not always grant them...

...I agreed, and on arriving at the university saw an announcement of the lecture posted at the entrance...

...Our explanations usually were received with approval, but we realized that they were not wholly convincing...

...Very often this influence vanishes with maturity...

...Turning to him, I thanked him and added: "Because of your attitude, I believe the time may come when you will change your political opinions and join our side...

...We found that our Latin American friends considered the technical backwardness of their people the main reason for their poverty...

...In vain we tried to persuade our friends that our country's capacity to influence domestic policy in Latin America was very limited, and that any meddling on our part might provoke resentment and opposition in not only the countries concerned but also the entire continent...

...9. Don't you agree that powerful foreign corporations are a danger to the independence of an underdeveloped country...

...Our answer was: "We do more business with Canada than with all of South America, although the population of South America is many times that of Canada...

...The program was planned not only to aid children who never before had tasted milk but also to introduce milk consumption as the basis for developing husbandry...

...With the aid of International Cooperation Administration (Point Four) missions, we visited remote rural areas...

...Communist propaganda in Latin America is a monster of many faces, and the educational and cultural activities of the United States must be adjusted to circumstances to counteract it...

...To cite one example: Point Four instituted the distribution of milk in the schools of poverty-stricken Indian villages in Bolivia...

...In some we saw satisfactory progress and were impressed by the competence and realistic thinking of their economic leaders...

...Q. Why do you undercut prices for our raw materials but maintain high prices for your manufactured goods...

...By giving me an opportunity to develop ideas with which he disagrees, the dean had shown his respect for academic freedom and tolerance...

...We talked with workers, peasants, leading businessmen and hacienda owners...

...What are the practical conclusions to be drawn from the riots and hooliganism that marked Vice President Richard M. Nixon's recent Latin American trip...

...Maybe this is not the best possible policy, but it is how things are in this world...

...We also tried to mingle as much as possible with local people...

...It is a matter of opinion how lasting and how deep the impact of Marxian and Communist ideas is on the young minds...

...After we left the University, we were told that the dean was a regular party member and had even run for the Presidency on the Communist ticket...

...Still, is there any other country in the world that buys more from you than the U.S...

...We ourselves had an opportunity to observe the strength of this tradition in the University of Cocha-bamba, Bolivia...

...I explained that I would like to thank him publicly for having let us express our opinions, despite his disagreement with them...

...attitude and show that there was no legal claim on us, but we could not explain away the vague feeling of uneasiness in the people which is born out of their economic difficulties...

...He is also the author of many books on the world economy...

...Then he asked the audience to join him in wishing us full success in our lecture tour in Bolivia and through Latin America, as well as good health and a safe voyage...

...The dean of the Faculty of Economics asked for two talks—mine on economic planning and controls in the United States, and Mrs...

...You know that your words are a deliberate lie, and I am not going to enter into a discussion with you.' "You have not answered my question," he insisted...

...toward a satisfactory arrangement...

...labor unions were a constructive force tending to improve the conditions of workers within existing society, in accordance with our concepts of decency and justice...

...Rather they were creating a feeling of frustration and deceived hopes...

...A strong and effective government can always establish conditions within which both domestic and foreign enterprises will contribute to the nation's welfare...

...We could explain the U.S...

...If prices on the world markets go up, we have to pay them...

...We felt constantly that we were among friends...

...At the request of our embassies, we went to the areas most infected with Communist propaganda...

...We traveled in 15 countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador...

...We made a courtesy call on the dean and met an affable and gracious gentleman...

...We visited not only the capitals but also interior places, going as far into the interior as Mendoza in Argentina and Manaus in Brazil...

...for whom teaching is a secondary, poorly remunerated but honorable and politically profitable occupation...

...a. We are taking a large part of your exports, but our market is not unlimited...

...The interchange, polite but very cold, took place in the hall, with some students listening...

...These were not difficulties or conditions to provoke hostility or justify outbursts of violence against the United States...

...she lectured in Spanish...

...We saw many ambitious industrial projects— some completed, others in an initial phase, some considered an unqualified success and some open to wide criticism...

...In each country we had long sessions with leading economists, professors, journalists, government officials responsible for economic policy, labor leaders and rank-and-file workers...

...It was held without the slightest disturbance and was reported in local newspapers...

...Q. Why does so strong an industrial nation as the United States need protective tariffs...

...During one press conference, a journalist of the country's main newspaper asked us why the United States was so stingy in lending capital to Latin America: "Is it because you are afraid that our industrialization could deprive you of our raw materials and of outlets for your finished goods...

...The same evening two other professors came to our hotel to express their sympathy...

...Although the Communists are a small minority, they often control strategic positions...

...The great hall was as full as the night before...

...We tried consistently to stress how U.S...

...As I have said, we made the trip not only to deliver lectures but also to study Latin America's economic and social evolution...

...a. Apart from a few free ports, there is not a single country that does not protect its domestic producers...

...They believe that these would disappear if Washington declared itself sternly and firmly against them...

...Capital will be available as soon as you have created the premises for a modern economy...

...In all, we held 176 lectures, conferences, round-table discussions, meetings with the press and television and radio talks...

...There was not a single case of hostile or even unfriendly demonstration—no heckling, no booing, no attempt to disturb a meeting...

...Woytinsky's lecture, the dean thanked us for our contribution to Economic Week...

...The people around us were on my side...

...If one of our industries pays wages ten times higher than those in other countries, and our productivity is only eight times as great, our domestic industry and domestic market become vulnerable and the level of wages in that industry may be endangered...

...In Cuzco, Peru my lecture at the university was cancelled by a Communist professor, head of the Department of Cultural Extension, a few hours before it was to start...

...In almost all cases, they were reported as deserving serious consideration...

...Woytinsky said to the dean: "When you visit the United States you will see how wrong you are...

...We felt that the lectures and conferences in which we heard the most grievances against the U.S...

...I mean that your troops have occupied Cuba, Guatemala and northern Mexico," he explained...

...Again the response was extremely warm, though all kinds of questions were asked during the discussion periods, which sometimes lasted more than two hours...

...Try to establish contacts with all parts of the world...

...buys...

...Then it demands tariff protection...

...a. Your economy is extremely vulnerable because it lacks diversification...

...is still your best market for both exports and imports...

...On the whole, our audiences were as receptive and friendly as any lecturer could hope for...

...But the dean cut the discussion short and said to us later: "This was very interesting but I disagree completely...

...Stressing the human factor in economic growth, we urged them to realize that their future is in their own hands and not in ours...

...But within the existing economic system, private capital must be efficient to get profits, and an efficient enterprise contributes to a country's economic progress...

...Our round-table discussions with experts and government officials in every country covered such topics as inflation, capital formation, distribution of available resources among the various economic sectors, the relationship between urban and rural areas, the place of industrialization in economic progress, conditions in agriculture, the role of technical and human factors in modernization of the economic structure...

...Q. How can we, a small underdeveloped country, protect our interests when they collide with those of your importers and exporters...

...Our topics covered a broad range of economic and social problems: the general trends and outlook of the world economy, the economic and social system of the United States, conditions and factors of economic growth, current problems of each country and long-range perspectives for all Latin America...

...He continued with the usual Communist line on the subject...

...They have few full-time professors...

...To end the conversation, Mrs...

...I will go if you can get me a visa," he replied...

...Not only the composition of the audience but also the moral climate would change drastically, and he would have to be ready to face the ugly behavior of Communist mobs...

...The leftists, feeling that the psychological climate was unfavorable to them, limited themselves to questions politely formulated but designed to embarrass us...

...Our approach to Latin America was chiefly via the universities, which are different from those in Europe or the United States...

...Our exporters have to compete with those of other countries, and our importers buy in all parts of the world...

...I cannot enter into these problems in detail here, but I would like to stress one fact: Our criticism of local conditions never provoked any resentment...

...Government and the Twentieth Century Fund...

...One of them suggested that I give the lecture the next morning in his class, to which he would invite students from other classes...

...When business conditions worsen, our purchases abroad diminish...

...Because they believe that their progress depends on investments which the U.S...

...This propaganda was widespread, and local people assured us that it was part of the party line...

...I inquired...

...Likewise, you do not have to rely exclusively on trade with the U.S...

...he asked...

...I took notes of the questions asked of us and of our replies, some of which follow: Q. Why is the United States curtailing the import of our products...

...The last question came up everywhere...

...These conditions, of course, did not exist to the same extent in all the countries we visited...

...It develops when the government is not strong enough and is susceptible to corruption...

...They were less rigid than those before whom we had talked in Japan, less argumentative and emotional than those in India...

...Latin American thinking is characterized by an exaggerated belief in the ability and duty of the United States to solve all its problems...

...Some are very competent and even brilliant, but there is no consolidated academic spirit in the universities and, therefore, little discipline in the student body...

...People with whom we discussed them agreed or disagreed with us, but they all seemed to recognize that our critical comments came from a desire to understand and be helpful...

...There is a tradition of academic freedom which permits parallel lectures of different currents of opinion...

...When we arrived, we found the faculty room crowded, the dean sitting morosely in the corner...

...a. Our foreign trade is not controlled or regulated by the Government...

...Q. Why do you raise import duties on our goods...

...We remarked repeatedly that the most valuable asset of every nation is its people, and that the investment in the people, in their education and health, is the most profitable investment of capital: "You cannot overcome poverty simply by building more factories and power stations, but you can by giving education to all the people, broadening the basis of your government, initiating activities of local communities, building up the domestic market and fostering social equal-ty...

...We always felt ourselves in close touch with them...

...the most recent, written jointly with his wife E. S. Woytinsky, are Kforld Population and Production and World Commerce and Government...

...After each lecture, young people surrounded us asking for copies of our talks to be used in seminars, for interviews to be published in students' magazine, or simply for autographs...

...Most of the faculty members are professional people—physicians, lawyers, accountants, engineers, etc...

...They also believed that economic progress depended directly on investment, and being dissatisfied with the rate of capital formation in their countries, they put their hopes on obtaining U.S...

...I think that any American lecturer who followed our technique would have a similar experience...

...I looked him over and said: "You are a professional person and do not have the excuse of ignorance...

...This is the first of two articles on Latin America by the renowned economist W. S. Woytinsky, who, with his wife, has just returned from an eight-month, 15-nation tour of that area...

...We found a strange relationship between the grievances of Latin American countries and what seemed to us aberration in their thinking on economic progress...

...Our comments on local economic problems were headlined in the newspapers and occasionally formulated in sharper words than those we had used...

...Maybe you will ultimately discover that the U.S...

...No such opportunity is likely to present itself in the normal course of lectures...

...Yes, I did," I replied, "you are a liar, and I do not wish to talk with you...

...a. Our import duties serve chiefly to protect the high wages of our workers...

...capital...

...But the situation of a lecturer who arrived with clearly political talks would be different...

...Each lecture was followed by a discussion period...

...were among the most fruitful...

...I took the floor and said that the difference between the free world and the totalitarian countries lies, first of all, in freedom of thought...

...They were scheduled as a part of the "Economic Week" opening the academic year...

...The audience cheered...

...The dean introduced us in most flattering terms, and the audience clearly demonstrated its approval of the lecture...

...This put us in direct opposition to Communist ideology, but our presentation was positive rather than negative...

...In contrast, we felt that in most countries the controlling factors lay in political and social conditions: a wrong attitude of wealthy people, excessive investment and speculation in real estate, poor planning, poor organization of credit, antiquated agriculture, a weak domestic market, excessive preoccupation with foreign trade and readiness to sacrifice agriculture to the dreams of a hurried industrialization...

...These incidents are characteristic of university mores in Latin America but, obviously, not of Communist propaganda methods...

...In different words we heard the same grievances and complaints about conditions encountered in trade with the Northern colossus...

...a. Such a threat may come from domestic capital, as well as from foreign capital...

...We visited many rural schools and housing projects and the worst slums of Latin America...

...For example, many liberals unreservedly friendly to this country hold it responsible for the existence of dictatorial regimes in some Latin American countries...

...Moreover, we felt keenly that individual voices raised in contradiction to our statements reflected internal conflicts within the respective countries, not Latin America's animosity toward or suspicion of the United States...

...Two of the listeners approached me, and one said: "I did not have an opportunity to ask you about the recent colonial conquests of the United States...

...If they create hardships for your foreign trade, your government should initiate negotiations with the U.S...

...When they go down, our importers cannot be compelled to pay higher prices to any particular country...

...The United States is run by Du Pont and General Motors...

...Indeed, we expressed our opinions only when asked and made the reservation that while they knew their conditions better than we did, we were calling on broad experience gained in many other parts of the world...

...Woytinsky translated into Spanish, paragraph by paragraph...

...Woytinsky's on the social structure of this country...

...Q. Why do your corporations that invest in our country think only of their profits, without considering the interests of our economic development...

...They gave us an insight into the thinking of our Latin American friends and permitted us to explain our points of view...

...As far as the universities are concerned, the lecturer must maintain academic standards...

...It may range from a fanatical allegiance to Moscow to various degrees of fellow-traveling, or mere political radicalism...

...My wife and I have just returned from an eight-month lecture-and-study tour of Latin America made possible by the State Department's International Educational Exchange Program...

...I asked him to give me the opportunity to address the audience before the lecture...

...a. Private capital, domestic as well as foreign, is in business for profit...

...Most of our sessions were bilingual: I spoke in English and Mrs...

...This happened after a public lecture arranged by the Congress for Cultural Freedom in Santiago, Chile...

...could supply in practically unlimited amounts, they think that this country holds the golden key to their prosperity but refuses to let them use it...