825.51/4–2346: Airgram
The Ambassador in Chile (Bowers) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 2—9:55 a.m.]
A–171. In reply to the Department’s A–145 of April 11, 1946,93 concerning resumption of full amortization service on Chile’s external debt, the official Spanish text of the Finance Minister’s decree and English translation thereof were forwarded as enclosures to the Embassy’s report no. 133 of April 2, 1946, entitled “Resumption of Full Service on Chile’s External Debt”, file no. 851.93
A free translation of the Finance Minister’s press release which accompanied the decree as translated from El Mercurio of March 8, 1945, is as follows:
“The Government through the Minister of the Treasury has issued various decrees relative to the external debt. The principal one is designed to resume fully service on this debt in accordance with Law 5580 of January 31, 1935.
“As it is known, after the occurrence of the Chillán earthquake in January, 1939, there was approved Law No. 6334 of April 28, 1939, which created the Reconstruction and Aid Corporation, and the Fomento Corporation and, in part, authorized the temporary use of funds assigned to foreign debt service by Law 5580 for the reconstruction of the zone devastated by that catastrophe.
“During several years part of the funds that ought to have been used for amortization of the external debt were diverted to the Re-construction [Page 595] and Aid Corporation. Now the Government has decreed that these expenditures be cared for with other funds, being obliged to use all of the funds assigned by Law 5580 for service of the external debt.
“This favorable measure to foreign creditors adopted by the Government will contribute materially to the improvement to our credit abroad.”