Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, The Western Hemisphere, Volume IX

816.01/12–2248

The Ambassador in El Salvador (Nufer) to the Secretary of State

confidential
No. 513

San Salvador, December 22, 1948.

Sir: With further reference to my recommendation that we recognize the de facto government of El Salvador at the earliest propitious moment, I have the honor to submit the following comments:

There is nothing in the local situation which would make a delay in our recognition desirable, and while the Department, in view of recent developments in other Latin American countries,¹ may wish to avoid giving the impression of undue haste, I sincerely hope our recognition will be extended very shortly so that no serious strain will be placed on the traditionally excellent relations between our two countries.

To date the de facto government has been recognized by Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Spain. None of the larger Latin American countries have done so as yet. They may be waiting for us to take the lead, although there are rumors that Mexico intends to extend recognition shortly.

The Junta, or “Council of Revolutionary Government” as it now calls itself, has, for the time being at least, effective control of the entire country and the support and approval of a large majority of Salvadorans in all walks of life. The revolt was strictly a local show. There is no reason to believe that it was Communist- or Fascist-inspired or that the de facto government has any totalitarian leanings. While the two leading members of the Junta, namely, Lt. Col. Manuel de J. Cordoba and Major Oscar Osorio, were exposed to Fascism during their military training in Italy, few well informed sources believe they harbor any Fascist views at the present moment. Moreover, the two civilian members of the Junta, Dr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl and Dr. Humberto Costa, are unquestionably strong Liberals. Then again, while two of the officials appointed by the Junta, i.e. Ingeniero Jaime Dreyfus, Subsecretary of Fomento, and Raul Anaya, private secretary to the Junta, have in the past been suspected of Communist leanings, there are numerous other appointees with decided conservative tendencies. In fact, the rightist and leftist elements within the new government seem so well balanced that it would be difficult to state at this time whether the government is right or left of center. It might be mentioned parenthetically that a prominent Salvadoran Communist, Abel Cuenca, who had been in exile and who returned shortly after the revolt, was again deported yesterday, and the Junta, I understand, proposes shortly to issue a decree outlawing Communism.

As an indication of the Junta’s confidence in its ability to control the situation, the state of siege which has been in effect here since the general strike of September 1946 was lifted by the Junta’s decree No. 5 of December 20, 1948. The same decree declared the intention of the Junta to fulfill El Salvador’s international obligations.

To my mind the outstanding feature of the recent revolt is the satisfaction with which its outcome is viewed by the majority of Salvadorans. They believe that the uprising was entirely justified by the circumstances and that the new regíme will usher in a period of honesty and austerity in government. While they may be over-optimistic in this latter respect, there is reason to believe that the Junta has good intentions and that it is imbued with a desire to labor for the good of the country.

Although the Junta has gotten off to a good start, its task will not be an easy one. There is always the possibility that the five men composing the Junta may quarrel among themselves, especially when the time comes to decide who shall be its actual head. Moreover, while doubtless well-intentioned, the members of the Junta are all relatively young (only one is over 40) and none of them has any previous experience in government. That they realize this is indicated by their announced intention to create a sort of advisory council composed of leading representatives of commerce, industry, agriculture, labor and the professions. The Junta has also apparently realized the difficulties inherent in their attempt to govern without a constitution, and while the 1886 constitution was abrogated by its above mentioned decree No. 5, it simultaneously enacted decree No. 6, also dated December 20, re-establishing most of the provisions of the abrogated constitution until such time as a new one is adopted.

Press reports originating in the United States received here during the last few days indicate that there is a complete misunderstanding of the nature of the revolt and that it is regarded in the same light as the recent coup d’état in Venezuela. As the Department is, of course, aware, this is not in accordance with the facts, and I am telegraphing the Department today expressing the hope that it will avail itself of every possible opportunity to correct these erroneous reports and impressions.

While the actual overthrow of the Castaneda Castro regíme was accomplished by the army, the revolt had the prior approval of liberal civilian elements and civilians were given immediate participation in the de facto government. Two of the five members of the Junta are civilians as are all the members of the cabinet with the exception of the Minister and Subsecretary of Defense. The de facto government is therefore less military than was that of Castaneda Castro. At the time of his overthrow, four of the ministries, i.e., Defense, Labor, Interior and Social Assistance, were headed by army officers, while Castaneda Castro himself was, of course, a military man. Again, and directly contrary to what happened in Venezuela, the revolt did not result in the overthrow of a truly popular government, as the election of Castaneda Castro can hardly be said to have been the result of the freely expressed will of the people. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of Salvadorans were opposed to Castaneda Castro’s continuing in office for an additional period and resented the devious means employed to attain that end. They are obviously pleased over the turn of events and the feeling of apprehension and intranquillity which prevailed during recent months when most people felt something might happen but no one knew what to expect, has been largely replaced by a feeling of hopefulness. In other words, the tension has eased and the general impression, rightly or wrongly, is that the new government will succeed. Its chances of doing so would, of course, be greatly enhanced by our early recognition.

I would appreciate receiving an early expression of the Department’s views in the premises.

Respectfully yours,

Albert F. Nufer

1. For Department of State press release of December 21, 1948, “United States concerned at overthrow of Governments In certain American Republics”, see Department of State Bulletin, January 2, 1949, p. 30.