835.00/2–2846
The Assistant Secretary of State (Braden) to the Ambassador in Mexico (Messersmith)
Dear George: I am grateful for your February 28th and other letters1 on the Argentine situation, and agree with your analysis thereof in every particular, excepting that there is a possibility, perhaps, the voting has been honest and Perón actually won by fair means. However, this does not alter the fundamentals of the situation.
You will recall that Perón has always said that he intended to be President by “fair means or foul” (por las buenas ó por las malas). The outlook for Argentina and the hemisphere is, of course, very much more serious if he has won by fair means. The delay in my confirmation as Assistant Secretary on which he capitalized to the limit; the blundering of the opposition when they had him out, as for instance, employers refusing to pay the increased wages they had been paying and telling workers to go get the money from Perón; the fact that nothing succeeds like success and his return to power was certainly a highly successful accomplishment; all of the intimidation during the months preceding election with the lifting of the state of siege only during the actual election hours; the issuance of decrees increasing wages and giving a month’s bonus; the fact that the Argentinos are [Page 233] fed up with the old line politicos, that the country is going through a social revolution … undoubtedly all had a great influence on the situation. After adding all of these factors together, plus some others, there still remains the fact that the Argentine people are about to elect to the Presidency a typical Fascist as proven by the Blue Book. In other words, at least so far as Argentina is concerned, and I fear this extends elsewhere in Latin America, the fundamental principles involved and the ideals for which we have fought the war are not understood.
Of course the press continues to accuse us, as we expected it would, of attempting to influence the elections. We have tried to make amply clear that we were not doing so—that while, of course, we were interested to know the results of those elections and hoped they would benefit Argentina, they were otherwise none of our business.
We will accept the verdict of the elections but continue to stand on our principles that we cannot and will not sign the Rio treaty with the same elements who have played a leading role in the Farrell-Perón regime which has had such complicity with the enemy.
You will also note that the latest development is that the Commies are now actively climbing on the Perón bandwagon. Away back last June I predicted to the Department that they would do precisely this.
With all good wishes,
Faithfully yours,
- None printed.↩