Apodaca, J[oseph] L[ouis], Commercial Attaché. Memorandum to Ambassador [G.S. Messersmith] and [Howard Hobson] Tewksbury giving views on Argentine Government's operations and their significance.
Date
1946-12-05
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press
Abstract
Description
Summarizes goals; (1) improvement of standard of living of labor, (2) improvement of living conditions for agricultural workers, (3) protection of low income groups against rising living costs through price controls, (4) development of national industry, (5) promotion of Argentine ownership and control of industry, (6) development of power and hydroelectric resources, and (7) reduction of foreign debt; cannot quarrel with goals nor speed with which Government has acted to implement its program; wages have risen; retirement and social security benefits have been provided; unemployment reduced; Central Bank nationalized to encourage development of industry; Argentine Trade Promotion Institute created to expedite foreign purchases, regulate exports and imports, and administer official prices; Argentina's wish to free herself from foreign economic control understandable; has reservations not about goals, but about some of methods selected to attain objectives, character of several high officials, apparent inability of Perón to supervise and control actions of his immediate subordinates, and lack of trained and experienced specialists and technicians to carry out program; Perón seems unaware of how inefficiently some of agencies operate; government has indicated interest in obtaining services of specialists from foreign countries including U.S.; such assistance would provide opportunity for improving U.S.-Argentine relations, help to remove distrust and suspicion of Americans from Argentine mind, and may lead to other forms of collaboration.
Keywords
Messersmith, George S. (George Strausser), 1883-1960.