The Inter-American Conference on Freedom:
ALEXANDER, RORERT J.
By Robert J. Alexander Berle-Figueres economic program highlights meeting THE INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON FREEDOM In these articles, Robert J. Alexander, professor of economics at Rutgers...
...First, they were little concerned with the fate of political democracy if social and economic changes which they favored were achieved...
...There were people from all the Latin American republics—exiles in the case of some of the remaining dictatorships—from the United States and from yarious West Indian regions, including the British areas of Trinidad, Barbados and British Guiana, from the Dutch island of Aruba and from Puerto Rico...
...It went on to pledge that no one at the Congress "will form part of or collaborate with governments which are the product of a coup d'etat, whether military or civilian, unless such a revolution or coup overthrows a dictatorship, in which case they will demand that the new regime submit to popular election, which will result in the re-establishment of democracy...
...Second, they were super-nationalistic and almost blindly anti-Yankee...
...The first was what we may call democratic leftists...
...Encourage honest, legitimate representative government...
...Its presence was largely due to the exigencies of Venezuelan internal politics which, unfortunately, impinged at various points on the organization and conduct of the Conference...
...The Jacobin element unanimously insisted that the Conference go on record demanding immediate independence...
...Alexander believes the major resolutions adopted preserved the bridge between Latin American democratic elements and North American liberals...
...Modern enterprises should be considered, among their other functions, as instruments for a country's capitalization...
...Another resolution adopted by the Congress called for the most rapid possible disarmament of the Latin American countries, underscoring the fact that armament expenditures are useless and constitute serious drains on their ability to carry out economic development...
...They tended to regard any U.S...
...One strongly condemned the four remaining Latin American dictatorships—the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua and Paraguay— and urged all delegates, particularly those from the U.S., to expose the truth about those regimes and stress their role as a menace to hemispheric peace...
...The profits of foreign companies should be exclusively taxed in the country where they operate...
...In this particular case, although the great majority of the delegates were willing enough to go on record in opposition "to all dictatorships," only a minority were willing to be more specific...
...The resolutions adopted are such that Latin American democratic lefists and North American liberals can agree that they form the basis for a new start in inter-American relations, and constitute a program toward the achievement of which both groups can continue working in cooperation...
...The second group, which for lack of a better name we may call the Jacobin left, differed considerably from the democratic left...
...Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt and Costa Rican ex-President Jose Figueres were present, as were senators, deputies, diplomats, writers and other professional people from various Latin American nations...
...Uruguay and Venezuela...
...foreign relations...
...Most of the battling took place in the meetings of the "commissions" into which the delegates were grouped...
...It was they, together with liberal elements in the U.S., who originally founded the Inter-American Association for Democracy and Freedom in Havana 10 years ago, and were principally responsible for calling and organiza-ing its second congress...
...The United States delegation included one Congressman...
...delegation...
...There, in spite of certain misunderstandings and some even violent controversies, a forum was presented where elements of the Latin American democratic left and liberal North Americans could meet for nearly a week, talk over a wide set of problems, and come to agreement on a broad range of issues...
...The Liberal parties of Honduras and Colombia were also represented, as well as the Radical parties of Argentina and Chile and most of the West Indian democrats...
...11...
...12...
...However, those who argue this way fail to understand two factors...
...During the discussion of this resolution and one indicating support for free trade unionism in the Hemisphere, several U.S...
...They should follow the principle of equal compensation for equal effort...
...They should be a means to harmonious world development...
...In spite of these maneuvers, the decisions of the Conference were for the most part those sponsored by Latin American democratic leftists and members of the U.S...
...A major economic resolution, based on a memorandum submitted by Fi-gueres and Columbia University Professor Adolf A. Berle Jr., contained 12 recommendations designed "to help in devising economic policies based on Inter-American solidarity, with a view to a harmonious development of the hemisphere: "1...
...Although many of these people may fight the Communists bitterly in their own countries, they hesitate to go on record specifically condemning it in international conferences...
...Paraguay...
...Charles Porter (D-Ore...
...citizens, Frances Grant, veteran Secretary General of the Association, who was re-elected, and Roger Baldwin...
...International economic relations should be ruled by knowledge, justice and solidarity...
...Becognize the necessity of stabilizing the international market of primary products as a means of establishing equitable terms of trade...
...Many were people of first-rate importance in their own nations...
...In an attempt to influence the commissions' decisions, a number of the Jacobin left delegates signed up for most, or all, of the commissions, many appearing at the sessions only when a vote was to take place...
...delegates tried to append a specific statement of opposition to Communism...
...They should help all nations to attain high levels of living, education, health and social well-being...
...Several of the North American delegates misinterpreted these defeats to mean that the majority of the Latin American delegates were "afraid of opposing the Communists," or even that they were pro-Communist...
...Stimulate economic planning, common markets, and the tendency towards integration...
...Becognize as just the aspiration of less-developed countries of gradually acquiring bv legitimate means the ownership of such foreign investments as they may wish to own locally...
...move whatever as motivated by "imperialist" objectives, and they showed no interest in developing a rapprochement with this country...
...In this group were delegates associated with the National Revolutionary parties, such as the Venezuelan Democratic Action, the Peruvian Apristas, the Costa Rican Liberation National, the Bolivian Movimiento Nacionalista Re-volucionario and the Paraguayan Febreristas...
...10...
...Delegates were present from virtually all American countries...
...The last important decision was the election of a new executive to run the organization until the Third Conference...
...Among the Latin Americans there were two recognizable political groups...
...as well as leading figures in organizations such as the NAACP, the Liberal party, the League for Industrial Democracy and a number of professors and journalists...
...By Robert J. Alexander Berle-Figueres economic program highlights meeting THE INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON FREEDOM In these articles, Robert J. Alexander, professor of economics at Rutgers University, and Paul Hays, professor of law at Columbia University, give opposing eyewitness interpretations of the Second Inter-American Conference for Freedom and Democracy...
...Hence, they were inclined to give uncritical support to the Castro regime...
...The democratic left elements in the Conference were also nationalist and put particular stress on economic nationalism...
...As a result, virtually all the Venezuelan delegates voted against the resolutions or abstained...
...The basic documents concerned economic and political affairs...
...Becognize the social function of property and of economic activities, the responsibility of the state in regulating and even in fostering the economy...
...change it policies, and sponsored a motion passed by the Conference urging such alterations in U.S...
...However, they also showed great concern that such reforms coincide with establishing political democracy on a firm foundation...
...In view of the importance of primary products for Latin American economies, research for artificial or synthetic substitutes should not be encouraged...
...Peru...
...Although the issue was not publicly discussed at the conference, a considerable number of the delegates were privately highly critical of the Castro regime in Cuba because of its apparent unwillingness to reestablish democratic constitutional government...
...Each delegate was allowed to sign up for as many commissions as he wished...
...tendency to support Latin American dictatorships, and the U.S...
...This resolution was ob-viouslv an indirect slap at the Castro regime, which has steadfastly refused to hold elections...
...The political commission submitted several resolutions to the Conference...
...The new group which will preside over the Inter-American Association consists, with one exception, of Latin Americans from the democratic left, plus two U.S...
...This principle should be strengthened by means of double-taxation treaties...
...In the final session, a somewhat vague compromise resolution was reached which did not violently offend either side...
...Although the going was rough at times (there was one fist-fight on the floor), the Conference was certainly a success...
...These delegates were generally strongly in favor of seeing the meeting go on record in favor of fundamental social and 15reconomic reform...
...In economic dealings with governments, show disapproval of corrupt, dictatorial, or changeable regimes...
...tendencies to lecture Latin Americans about "the dangers of Communism" and the experience of McCarthyism, many Latin Americans have come to regard anti-Communism as a Yankee imposition...
...One other issue which caused considerable disagreement was the question of Puerto Rico...
...In trying to inject foreign capital for development, give preference to loans of appropriate terms and interest rates over direct investments...
...The industrial countries should not encourage in their own territory production that can easily be carried on by the less-developed peoples, but rather import such products from them and so make it possible for them to buy the products of advanced technology or heavy industry...
...Finally, there were the members of the Christian Democratic parties of Argentina, Brazil, Chile...
...They were highly critical of the U.S...
...failure to provide sufficient help for Latin America economic development...
...From this point of view the Second Inter-American Conference for Democracy and Freedom, which met in Venezuela from April 21 to 27, was of particular importance...
...They should foster civilization and peace...
...THERE IS A growing chasm between the Latin American countries and the United States and, as a result, an increasing problem of maintaining unofficial contact between the peoples of the two areas...
...Hays maintains that the Conference was another example that united fronts with Communists cannot succeed, that it failed to adopt basic programs for freedom and democracy and that it was instead a source of divisiveness and confusion to all Latin Americans...
...7...
...They were represented by some of the delegates who belonged to the Union Republicana Demo-cratica of Venezuela, members of the Puerto Rican Independence party and scattered delegates from several of the other Latin American countries, including three from British Guiana...
...This point of view was strongly opposed by the majority of Puerto Ricans present as well as by many other delegates...
...Some of the elements of the democratic left with no personal knowledge of the present situation in Puerto Rico took the same position...
...5...
...First, the internal political situation in Venezuela is such that even the groups most strongly opposed to the Communists hesitate to provoke a violent struggle with them for fear of splitting the civilian front which they feel necessary to maintain in the face of potential military threats against the democratically elected civilian regime of President Romulo Betancourt...
...2...
...Second, it is true, though unfortunate, that as a result of U.S...
...The proportion of private and public enterprise should be determined by each country according to its circumstances...
...The Conference was also significant because it reflected several tendencies in present-day Latin American politics, and demonstrated interesting contrasts in the ways of thinking between Americans of English and those of Spanish background...
...They indicated a strong desire to see the U.S...
...These delegates were characterized by two essential elements which differentiated them from the democratic left...
...particularly agrarian reform, in their part of the world...
...Perhaps the most important political resolution stated its opposition "to all forms of dictatorship...
...Both attempts were defeated, one by only 51 votes to 41...
...The bridge between the democratic elements in Latin America and progressive groups here remains intact...
...Although the Jacobins had a slate for which they sought support among the delegates, they did not in fact present it to the meeting...
Vol. 43 • May 1960 • No. 21
