Communism in Latin America:

...Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala and Venezuela in 1945...

...attack on Cuba—which he knew very well was unlikely—his country would unleash the hydrogen bomb on the United States...

...and Argentina in 1946...

...We are not looking for profits...

...Occasionally, in fact, Moscow has followed trade policies which have clashed with the interests of one or another of the Latin American countries...

...Since the elimination of the Cominform some years ago, however, the methods of controlling the Communist parties of the hemisphere have become somewhat less obvious...

...In the 1920s, Mexico and Uruguay became the first countries to recognize the fledgling Soviet Union and they were used as headquarters for Comintern activities in the Caribbean area and South America, respectively...

...The conclusion drawn is, of course, that only the Latin American Communists can direct and achieve a similar rapid economic growth in their own nations...

...Equally persistent reports that Venezuela was about to recognize the Soviet Union have been denied by President Romulo Betancourt, though he affirmed the establishment of informal contacts with the USSR to discuss mutual problems of the oil industry...

...The lack of extensive diplomatic representation has not prevented the Soviet Union, the satellites or Communist China from carrying on active propaganda campaigns in Latin America...

...Behind the screen of an "indigenous Latin American revolution" ostensibly led by the Jacobins, the Communists are attempting to become an ally or even an integral part of a movement for fundamental change in Latin American countries...

...Once they laughed at us...

...Fidel Castro does not face most of the disadvantages which hampered Peron...

...This kind of appeal is found in a speech by Soviet Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan during his visit to Mexico in November 1959, to open the Soviet trade exhibition there: "We the Soviet people, the Communists, have delivered a challenge...

...Although many of the countries which have rid themselves of the colonial yoke have become independent states, economically they still depend on capitalist monopolies...

...A VARIETY OF appeals—both negative and positivehave been stressed by the Soviet bloc countries in their Latin American propaganda...

...There is no doubt that general onslaughts on U.S...

...Such was the case in 1958 when the USSR dumped upon the world market a sizable amount of tin, with disastrous results insofar as the world price was concerned...

...A possible use of these arms was indicated by the short-lived insurrection attempt against the Venezuelan government in December 1960, which President Retancourt charged was instigated by Communists and supporters of Fidel Castro...

...Not infrequently, these trips are linked with attendace at one or another of the "world" congresses (of youth, women, trade unionists, etc...

...From the beginning, the Communist parties of Latin America have been subordinated to Moscow...

...It is important to note that most of this political "tourism" is kept more or less separate from the operations of the Communist parties in the Latin American countries...

...Czechoslovakia had legations in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico, plus a commercial delegation in Uruguay and a consulate general in Colombia...

...The latest such meeting took place during the NovemberDecember celebration in Moscow on the 43rd anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution...

...The USSR responded with limited economic aid, plus a rash statement by Premier Khrushchev that in case of a U.S...

...In addition to the direct activities of the Soviet Union and its satellites in Latin America, the USSR continues to pursue its objectives through the Communist parties of the area...

...An outstanding instance was the declaration in 1946 of Luiz Carlos Prestes, boss of the Brazilian CP, that if his country should become involved in war with the Soviet Union, the party would support the Soviet Union...

...Moscow's success in achieving diplomatic recognition has shifted considerably over the last four decades...

...There is some indication, too, that the Latin American parties are becoming involved in the apparently growing controversy between the Soviet and Chinese Communist parties concerning appropriate tactics to be followed by the world Communist movement...

...The advent of the Jacobins in Latin American politics makes it possible for the Communists to develop a protective coloration which has been difficult for them to achieve hitherto...

...Apart from this, we give the underdeveloped countries, free of charge, licenses for the production of machinery and other articles on our blueprints...

...There have been persistent reports that Brazil might soon re-establish relations with the USSR, severed in 1947...

...Emergence of Castro has given Russia an unexpected chance to extend its influence Communism in Latin America By Robert J. Alexander Before the rise of the Castro regime in Cuba in 1959, Latin America was not a major field of attention for the Soviet Union...

...Nicaragua, Chile and Costa Rica in 1944...

...In addition to their tourist efforts, the Soviet Union and its satellites conduct intensive propaganda campaigns in the Latin American countries themselves...

...Moscow had been anxious to increase the number of countries extending diplomatic recognition to the USSR, to increase its trade with the countries of the region, and undermine the frequent support which the Latin American nations have given the United States in the United Nations...

...THE arguments of the indigenous Communists and those of the Soviet Union itself have received strong reinforcement during the last two years...

...The Communists have been very successful in winning the cooperation of non-Communist Latin Americans in these front organizations...

...Periodic meetings of the Communist International, and after World War II of the Communist Information Bureau, were the scene of the long discussions of the problems of the various national Communist parties, including those of Latin America...

...Soviet objectives in the area have varied...

...The Institute has an enrollment of 750 students, some 15 percent of them enrolled in the School of International Relations...

...It has been reported that the number of such organizations operated by the USSR in the Latin American countries increased from 40 in 1957 to 84 in 1958...

...Some of the travellers come back hostile, others with mixed impressions...

...As recently as 1959, diplomatic relations between the USSR and both Mexico and Argentina were similarly imperiled, though not severed, when Soviet diplomats were accused of interfering in local strikes...

...If such reforms are effected, the Communists will reassume their traditional role in Latin American politics—that of an essentially alien group, directed by and serving the interests of a foreign imperialist power...

...It is improbable that this would happen to us...

...Should this trend develop further in the future, it is hard to tell what effect it would have on relations between the Communist parties and the Soviet Union, or upon the whole role of the USSR in the Latin American area...

...They argue that such fundamentals of the democratic system as checks and balances and the protection of dissident opinion are merely "traps" set by the defenders of the status quo to mislead the masses of the people...

...arranged by the international Communist apparatus...

...The USSR itself had embassies in Argentina and Mexico and a legation in Uruguay...

...Occasionally this has been patently clear, as when in the early 1950s the two existing Communist groups of Guatemala were merged after the return of the leader of one of them, Victor Manuel Gutierrez, from Moscow, without benefit of a party congress or even of a party executive committee meeting of either group...

...This article appears by special arrangement with Problems of Communism...

...There is little doubt that one of the principal objectives of Soviet policy has been to increase its trade, and that of the satellites, with the Latin American countries...

...However, they are a weapon which the Soviet Union always has at its command...

...These national groups are all affiliated with their international counterparts, which constitute an integral part of the world-wide Communist apparatus...

...There was no Latin American nation which had relations with either Communist China or East Germany...

...There the USSR has brought to bear all of its various arguments...

...The Soviet Union has had certain advantages in dealing with Latin America...

...The Cuban leaders at the end of 1959 turned toward the Soviet Union not only for economic aid, but for political and even military support...

...those politically inclined toward Communism in the first place usually return more so...

...Former Senator William Benton reports an estimate that over S1 million a year is spent by the Soviet Union alone just to provide air tickets to such Latin American travellers to the Iron and Bamboo Curtain countries...

...It is difficult to know the exact numbers of such "tourists" each year, but it undoubtedly runs into several thousands...

...At the moment, with the possible exception of the Cuban party, they are a potential rather than an actual menace to democratic development...

...These include organizations of youth, women, professional people, trade unionists, "peace" groups, etc...

...They are exceedingly anxious to bring about a revolutionary change in the economic, social and political structure of their respective countries...

...Such attacks are made in official and unofficial Soviet propaganda materials, as well as by the local Communist parties...

...a delegation of 12 Chilean mine union leaders who attended a World Mining Congress in Moscow...

...The purpose in having Communists from Latin America and Europe study together is to train them as teams...

...The Bolivian Government protested bitterly against this action...

...They are often successful, such leaders joining for a wide variety of purposes ranging from scholarly curiosity or genuine cultural interest through political considerations or pro-Communist inclinations...

...These centers carry on a wide range of activities...

...Increasingly large numbers of Latin Americans from all walks of life have been taken to the Soviet Union, to the East European nations, and in recent years to China as well, on allexpense junkets...

...As this is being written, moreover, there is no indication that the Soviet Union gives high enough priority to its stake in Cuba to be willing to buy the more than three million tons of Cuban sugar, which the United States has given notice it does not intend to buy in 1961...

...Throughout 1960 rumors were rife that large shipments of arms were reaching Cuba from the Communist countries, beyond the likely need of the island's own defense...

...a delegation of 19 Peruvian congressmen and journalists, and separately a group of six leading Peruvian lawyers, who journeyed to Moscow and Peking...

...The Communists' positive appeals, however, are probably much more important in creating favorable public opinion toward the Soviet Union...

...Communist propaganda also holds out the enticement of the help the Soviet bloc can give to Latin America in its aspirations for rapid economic growth...

...The events in Cuba during 1959-60 represent the type of situation which the Soviet Union stands ready to exploit in the Western Hemisphere...

...Although in the postwar era the Communists have tended to be more reticent about their loyalty, they have never ceased in their eulogies of the Soviet Union, their constant support of its every policy, and their unremitting abuse of its adversaries, particularly the United States...

...Usually, Soviet control is less apparent...

...We have stated that we are catching up with and overtaking the United States in industrial production—a bold challenge...

...In the first place, it has been able to use the satellite countries of Eastern Europe where direct approaches might arouse too much resistance...

...imperialism" and "warmongering," such as those made by Khrushchev during the 1960 session of the United Nations General Assembly, are intended for Latin American ears, along with others...

...They frequently act as the agents to recruit political "tourists," to keep track of returned visitors, and to use them where possible fox...

...Every other Latin American Communist party followed suit...

...An American correspondent, Daniel James, has described one of the principal centers of such indoctrination as follows: "In Prague, Czechoslovakia...

...Political tourism has played an important role in this drive to win friends and influence the trend of events in the area...

...We ask for an annual interest of 2.5 percent for our loans...

...From the 1920s on, the Latin American Communist parties, together with those in other parts of the world, have made it clear that their fundamental purpose is to "defend the Soviet Union.' They used to say so openly, and frequently...

...there exists the socalled Institute for the Study of Latin American Relations...

...The Soviet Union and other Communist countries almost always accompany their talk of what they can do for the Latin American nations with violent attacks on the United States...

...In this matter we possess many advantages over capitalism...

...Reports of these discussions and of the orders issued to the national parties were published in the Communist press in Latin America and in other countries...

...There is a Communist party in every Latin American country now...

...One of the principal activities of the local Communist parties is the organization of a wide variety of front groups...

...In 1935 Colombia followed suit, but subsequently Mexico and Uruguay severed relations, making Colombia the only Latin American country recognizing the USSR at the outbreak of World War II...

...However, until the Castro regime in Cuba turned its policy in a definitely pro-Soviet direction late in 1959, the Communist countries had only modest success in this endeavor...

...This Institute, which is part of the Faculty of International Relations of the State College for Political and Economic Sciences, trains agitators, spies and saboteurs for work in Latin America...

...In former days, Moscow's control over party activity was vaunted openly...

...Communist leaders from Latin America are trained and given refresher indoctrination courses behind the Iron Curtain...

...Congress and the question of the USSR's rate of development was discussed...

...Whether or not they succeed in this attempt largely depends, I think, on the abilities of parties of the Democratic Left, such as the Venezuelan Accion Democratica, the Peruvian Apristas and others, which are either in power or on the brink of power, to carry out necessary revolutionary changes in Latin American economic and social life in a gradual and democratic manner...

...Khrushchev's frequent rattling of the H-bomb is also designed to have its effect on 'the Latin American countries—as was very graphically brought home last summer when he threatened to use the bomb in connection with the situation in Cuba...

...But this situation is not devoid of problems for the Soviet Union...

...The same survey reported that in Argentina a number of lucrative scholarships for study in Moscow had been made available to people without knowledge of Russian, but conversant in English, French or German...

...Several countries broke off relations with the Soviet Union and the satellite states, some on the charge that Communist diplomatic officials were meddling in the internal politics of the nations to which they were accredited...

...He failed for many reasons to gain sufficient support to become a Hemispheric leader...

...But it was by no means neglected...

...a group of Colombian congressmen who went to Czechoslovakia as guests of the Czech Parliament, to East Germany, to Moscow where they were received by Premier Khrushchev, and to Peking where they talked with Party boss Mao Tse-tung...

...Such was the circumstance, for example, when the Chilean government of President Gabriel Gonzalez Videl withdrew its recognition of both the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in 1947...

...But when they saw that we had built rockets, satellies, atomic power stations, the first civilian atomic ship several special sessions were held in the U.S...

...On the whole, the Latin American governments have remained cautious on the question of formal recognition, among other reasons because they fear the effect which the establishment of Soviet and satellite embassies in their midst might have in strengthening local Communist parties and allied groups...

...In the second place, it has had at its command the obedient though sometimes bumbling services of the Communist parties in each of the Latin American republics...

...Moscow has applied constant pressure in the area since World War II, ever ready to take advantage of any chance for extending Soviet influence and undermining that of the United States...

...In the case of Cuba, the Castro government has not only recognized the Soviet Union and several of the satellites, but has become the first Latin American Country to establish relations with Communist China...

...Coming to power a decade later than Peron, he is able to take advantage of the impatience in some quarters over the difficulties which have confronted a number of the recently established democratic regimes on the continent...

...In the United States the main stimulus is profit even in the best years the capacity for producing 20-25 million tons (of steel) remains inactive...

...The mixing of positive with negative appeals is, of course, standard procedure...

...propagandists purposes...

...They were reported as trying to convince Premier Fidel Castro to moderate his violent attacks upon the United States, and in particular to stop rattling the Soviet hydrogen bomb...

...Since the early part of 1959 the area of Communist diplomatic action has again widened, though not to any great degree...

...Another basic argument used by the Soviet Union concerns the advantages of increased trade with the Communist bloc...

...Upon graduation, the Latin Americans return to their native countries and are later joined by European graduates, who may be former classmates...

...During the past nine years these Arab countries have lost over $6.5 billion worth of oil profits...

...Important among the outlets for such propaganda are the "cultural and social societies" operated by the bloc countries...

...The great majority of people making such conducted excursions are not Communists...

...The New York Times noted on November 19, 1960, that the Soviet leaders appeared to be having second thoughts about the responsibilities they had assumed with regard to Cuba...

...This element we may call the Jacobin Left...

...At the present time, the Venezuelans are worried about Soviet operations in the international petroleum market...

...In six Arab countries, U.S...

...The rise of Fidel Castro as the chief political figure of Cuba has provided a rallying point for a group of Latin American political life which, though not Communist, is willing to work with the Communists and aid their struggle to gain control of the nations of Latin America...

...Moscow's ultimate objective, however, has always been to gain influence over and control of the 20 Latin republics...

...Leading political figures, such as Mexican ex-President Lazaro Cardenas, well-known intellectuals in numerous countries, labor leaders and even businessmen have been recruited into these organizations...

...Typical of the kind of appeal is the following statement by Mikoyan during his 1959 visit to Mexico: "It goes without saying that the rate of development of underdeveloped countries would increase—and that would be just—if the colonial powers which robbed these countries returned to them what they had robbed, even without interest...

...At the same time, an important change has come about in the Latin American Communists line on the Soviet Union during the last decade...

...They are very insistent on the necessity of increasing the "economic independence" of their countries by diversifying the partners with whom they trade...

...The Jacobin Left is not a new phonomenon in Latin America...

...While many of them are favorably disposed toward the Soviet Union, others are not...

...It is possible that many who might tend to be critical have been influenced by Latin American ideas of courtesy which militate against criticism by a guest of his hosts...

...and British oil monopolies make monstrous profits...

...A decade ago, President Juan Peron of Argentina attempted to rally this group around himself...

...A survey made in the middle of 1959 listed the following examples of publicized free tours by groups of Latin Americans to the Communist countries: a 31-member troupe of Bolivian folk dancers, who visited Prague, Moscow and Peking...

...At the same time, there are elements of the Jacobin Left who have no faith in the efficacy of democracy...

...They conduct classes in the Russian language or on cultural subjects, as well as provide political orientation and indoctrination...

...Although they still continue to laud the USSR as the "revolutionary fatherland" —which was their principal form of praise before World War II—they now lay much more stress on the Soviet Union's role as an exceedingly successful example of an underdeveloped nation which has expanded its economy with great rapidity...

...Although the hard-core Communist membership is undoubtedly active in the "cultural societies" and "friendship associations"—in fact, paid posts in them serve as a kind of patronage for local members—the centers also seek to recruit known figures on the local cultural and political scene who have no obvious connection with the Soviet Union...

...Furthermore, not believing in political democracy, they have no ideological opposition to the Communists and are perfectly willing to work with them within their own particular nations and in the broader international field...

...The wartime alliance of the Western nations with the Soviet Union led a relatively large number of Latin American countries to extend recognition—Cuba in 1942...

...In all, only seven countries of Latin America were involved in formal relations with the Soviet Union or any of its satellites...

...The total effect of the visits is difficult to assess...

...With the onset of the cold war, however, this trend was reversed...

...The survey referred to above noted the existence of 22 such centers in Argentina alone in 1959...

...Robert J. Alexander, a frequent New Leader contributor, is the co-author with former Congressman Charles O. Porter of The Struggle for Democracy in Latin America, which Macmillan will publish in March...

...The apparent lineup of the Latin American parties with the "violent" elements in the international Communist movement takes on added significance in the light of events which have occurred since the advent of the Castro regime in Cuba, especially the latter's seeming attempts to "export" its type of revolution to the rest of Latin America...

...Various pretexts have been used, such as the Soviet Communist Party's 20th and 21st Congresses in 1956 and 1959, to gather together "fraternal delegates" from all countries for the purpose of elaborating the world Communist line and regional objectives...

...In this connection, it is perhaps significant that Jânio Quadros, who was elected President of Brazil in October 1960, visited both the Soviet Union and Communist China on an extensive trip abroad the year before...

...By early 1958 there were only 19 diplomatic missions from the Soviet bloc in the Latin American countries...

...The USSR has been using with growing insistence the argument that its own method of achieving rapid economic growth is an example for the Latin Americans to follow...