711.14/9–1449
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Central America and Panama Affairs (Wise)
| [Participants:] | Señor Ismael Gonzalez Arévalo—Guatemalan Ambassador & Foreign Minister Designate |
| Señor Frank Linares—Counselor, Guatemalan Embassy | |
| Under Secretary Webb | |
| Edward G. Miller—Assistant Secretary, ARA | |
| Willard F. Barber—Deputy Assistant Secretary, ARA | |
| Murray M. Wise, Chief, CPA |
At his request, Señor Ismael Gonzalez Arévalo, Guatemalan Ambassador to Washington for the past two years, called on Under Secretary Webb at 11:30 a. m. He was accompanied by Señor Frank Linares, Counselor of Embassy. The Ambassador has been named Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs and is scheduled to leave Washington September 22, to arrive in Guatemala City on the 23rd.
The Under Secretary had been briefed by Mr. Miller on the especially tense political situation in Guatemala, the radical leftist influences there, on the struggle of various private U.S. commercial interests to obtain just and fair treatment in Guatemala, on the association of the Guatemalan Government with the activities of the Caribbean Legion,1 on Guatemala’s failure to date to ratify the Rio Treaty,2 and on the lack of friendly cooperation of the delegation of Guatemala at recent sessions of the General Assembly. With notable adeptness and finesse, yet at the same time with convincing forth-rightness, the Under Secretary, assisted and supported by Mr. Miller, very effectively got across our feeling that Guatemala currently was not following its traditional policy of cooperation with the U.S. and was indulging in certain undemocratic activities. The Ambassador responded well and gave evidence of complete understanding. The conversation was most cordial and friendly.
Mr. Webb warmly congratulated the Foreign Minister Designate on his new assignment and pointed out that today, in a world where nations have been brought so close together by improved communications and by problems of such a similar nature, the handling of foreign affairs was really a new art and science. He got across that Gonzalez Arévalo was faced with a genuine challenge and responsibility [Page 666] and with an opportunity to help improve relations and cooperation among nations.
Mr. Webb said that, as the Ambassador knew, the U.S. had gone all out for cooperation as a philosophy of government and thought that the Ambassador might like to give some thought to the various ways in which the U.S. was applying this philosophy in practice. He referred in particular to the United Nations organization and to our current efforts with the British and Canadians to devise ways whereby the relationship between and the use of dollars and pounds would help bring greater economic stability to the world—a stability which will form the basis for better government.
The Under Secretary referred to the Rio Treaty as representing a significant step forward in inter-American relationships and expressed the hope that Guatemala soon would find it convenient to adhere to this treaty. The Under Secretary also thought it was worth noting that the U.S. Congress this year had found it much easier than before to approve the extension of reciprocal trade agreements.3
Mr. Webb said that there had been some criticism that the U.S. was tending to abandon its interests in Latin America. He said that this was certainly not true and that the appointment of Mr. Miller as Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs was an indication of the importance which the U.S. gave to good relationships with the Latin American countries. The Under Secretary stressed the fact that the U.S., together with Mexico, had surmounted very serious difficulties and had brought the two countries into very close and friendly association. He said that if difficulties as grave as those in Mexico could be overcome that certainly our problems with other Latin American countries also could be surmounted and that relationships could be improved and made more effective.
Mr. Webb mentioned the problems which labor often presented in all of our countries and the struggles which private enterprise was having in its fight to earn profits. He added, however, that American business has a lot to learn and that the State Department is aware of this and is not the blind advocate of American private enterprise abroad. He did feel, however, that foreign governments should realize the importance to their own economy of American investments and likewise not approach blindly the problems of capital coming in from outside.
The Ambassador said he appreciated the Under Secretary’s point of view, understood and agreed with him. He referred to recent difficulties [Page 667] of the United Fruit Company and others in Guatemala and said that he, for one, had advocated and recommended that the cases be kept from vicious newspaper publicity, but this had seemed to be impossible. The Ambassador agreed with Mr. Webb that government today had an important role to play in bringing about satisfactory relationships between labor and private enterprise.
The Ambassador said that there had been considerable comment among his colleagues about the U.S. abandoning Latin America in favor of Europe, but that he did not believe this to be our policy as was indeed made plain to him through the appointment of Mr. Miller as Assistant Secretary of State. Mr. Barber suggested at this point to the Ambassador that he might wish to repeat that statement to his colleagues whenever he had an opportunity.
The Ambassador pointed out that in reality Guatemala was just experiencing its “new deal” and that the new philosophy of government in Guatemala, while currently creating tensions and turmoil, would by gradual process become more and more democratic in tendency. He said that Guatemala could and would cooperate and that he expects to be a strong advocate of close cooperation. He felt that his government would place a great deal of confidence and responsibility in him and seemed reasonably confident about the possibility of bringing about an improvement of relationships between our two governments.
In concluding the conversation, the Ambassador expressed his appreciation to the Under Secretary and Mr. Miller for the interview. On the way out of the Department, Mr. Linares, the Counselor of the Guatemalan Embassy, told Mr. Wise that the Ambassador’s reference to the “new deal” in Guatemala was significant, that it really represented a revolution in thinking and would eventually result in a much more democratic and cooperative government. Linares expressed considerable confidence in the influence which Gonzales Arévalo would have on the Guatemalan Government in his new capacity as Foreign Minister.
- For documentation, see the Western Hemisphere regional compilation on United States support of Inter-American collective action for peaceful settlement of disputes, with particular reference to the Caribbean area, pp. 437 ff.↩
- Text in Department of State Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) No. 1838, and 62 Stat. (pt. 2) 1681.↩
- Legislation for the extension of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Program had been approved by the House of Representatives in February and by the Senate on September 15; it was signed into law by President Truman on September 26, 1949 (P.L. 307, 81st Cong., 1st sess.; 63 Stat. 697).↩