Office of the Historian

825.00 Revolutions/219: Telegram

The Ambassador in Chile (Culbertson) to the Secretary of State

Santiago, October 6, 1932—5 p.m.
[Received 8:10 p.m.]

216. In its communication to me the present regime takes the position that it is constitutional in the sense that it receives its right to govern from Montero by virtue of article 66 of the Constitution. Its letter therefore makes no reference to its attitude toward international obligations.

In my opinion the present regime may at most be accepted benevolently as a step in the direction of constitutionality; it, like its immediate predecessors, is a government established by force. Responsible Chileans outside the immediate Government circle such as Silva Vildósola and Manuel Foster are in accord with my view that its constitutionality cannot be sustained (await my despatch No. 1276 arriving October 12th [13th]),55 its insistence that foreign nations treat it as a fully constitutional government is merely an effort to sacrifice diplomatic prestige for the sake of a transitory internal situation.

If the present regime would give the usual assurances to respect international obligations I would favor recognition, but no indications have been given as yet by the Foreign Minister that he is willing to discuss recognition in accordance with the principles which we apply generally in the case of de facto governments.

I believe unless we can obtain the usual guarantees our best policy is to allow the present informal relations to continue and to recognize the new President when he takes office after October 30th. To recognize the present transitory regime without guarantees from it would be to waste our prestige whereas to withhold recognition for the present and then to grant it after passing over a series of de facto governments including the present one will give added prestige to a properly elected President as well as to ourselves.

British Ambassador has asked his Foreign Office whether it wishes him to request from the present regime a declaration on respect for international obligations.

Culbertson
  1. Not printed.↩