611.35/6–2150
Memorandum of Conversation, by the First Secretary of Embassy in Argentina ( Maleady )1
| Participants: | President Perón |
| Minister of Hacienda2 Cereijo | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs Paz | |
| Ambassador Griffis | |
| First Secretary Maleady. |
[Here follows a brief discussion of the Export-Import Bank loan.]
Commercial Bank Credit
Cereijo said he had telephoned National City Bank Vice President Shaw, New York, regarding the private bank loan. He went on to say [Page 729] that it would be unwise politically to put up the country’s Kew York gold on deposit as a guarantee, that this deal probably will not be completed, and that after commercial debt arrears are paid off with the Eximbank money the country’s credit should improve appreciably and so make the New York loan unnecessary.
[Here follows a discussion of the petroleum, motion picture, packinghouse, farm equipment, and airline industries. President Perón and Foreign Minister Paz had joined the original participants for discussion of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.]
Ratification of the Rio Pact
The Ambassador, remarking that after the foregoing satisfactory conversation the President probably would want to throw him out for bringing up the next subject, said he wanted to ask when the Rio Pact would be ratified. He prefaced this with the statement that he is interested in seeing to it that Argentina obtains the military supplies3 and naval vessels4 it has asked for, but that a law5 now on the books does not permit allocation of such materiel unless the American Republic concerned, in this case Argentina, has ratified the Rio Pact. He added that this should be done before all presently available materiel is allocated to others.
Perón said that the pact was sent to the wholly Peronist Senate at the first session following signing, and that the Senate ratified it immediately. The instrument then went to the Chamber of Deputies. At the time there was a vociferous minority of size sufficient to produce a scandalous hullabaloo if the instrument should be brought to the floor. On the advice of party leaders, the Chamber decided to put off consideration. However, the President went on, the size of the opposition in the Chamber is now greatly reduced, the pact has been given a place on the agenda of matters to be acted upon this session, and he has no doubt whatsoever that it will be acted upon and ratified. He added that it would be unwise to take the instrument out of its [Page 730] present order and bring it to the Chamber floor at once, since this would give the opposition an opportunity to claim that ratification had been a condition to our granting financial aid.
The Ambassador then referred to an earlier remark of the President that he should give the former credentials as an Argentine Ambassador in view of the good work he had done in Argentina’s behalf and said that unless the pact should be ratified shortly he might lose his present job and have to take Perón at his word and accept the Argentine Ambassadorship. This elicited the additional assurance that the pact will be ratified before the end of the current session (September 30th).6
Conclusion of Double Interview
Perón revealed during the interview that he understands English. He said he reads it much better than he understands the spoken language. As the group walked to the door of the Presidential office the Ambassador remarked that in Cereijo and Paz the President had two fine boys, which phrase he repeated smilingly. Then, after cordial embraces, and as he again shook the Ambassador’s hand, the President said once and again “Mr. Griffis, I thank you. I thank you very, very much.”
- This memorandum is an enclosure to Mr. Maleady’s letter of June 21, 1950, to Mr. Tewksbury. (611.35/–2150)↩
- Treasury.↩
- In a memorandum of July 26, 1950, to John H. Ohly, Acting Director of Mutual Defense Assistance, Mr. Miller said in part that the State and Defense Departments had agreed and had notified Argentina that the Argentine Government would be given until August 15 to pay in dollars for $5,358,000 worth of military equipment earmarked by the U.S. Army for Argentina since 1948, (735.56/7–2650) However, the Department informed the Embassy in Argentina in telegram 101, August 15, 1950, that Argentina had canceled its request for this equipment on the previous day. (735.56/8–1550)↩
- Documentation on the requests of Argentina and certain other powers for naval equipment is scheduled for publication in volume i. ↩
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Text of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, approved October 6, is printed in 63 Stat. 714.
Information on other Argentine requests for military equipment made during 1950 is found in Lot 53 D 68, Box 2.
↩ -
In telegram 552, June 28, 1950, from Buenos Aires, Ambassador Griffis said in part: “Please inform Secretary and President and if possible Senator Vandenberg as personal message from me that Minister Foreign Relations told me this morning Argentine Chamber Deputies would ratify Rio Treaty tonight. He confident ratification will be rushed through.” (361/6–2850) The Chamber completed its action on that day.
In a letter to Mr. Miller of June 28, President Perón stated in part: “The Government and people of Argentina have wished at this time (when the United States has taken the magnificent decision to stop Russia in its insidious and hidden actions) to work rapidly, converting the treaty into law of the Republic and assuring, as far as we are concerned, continental unity and the firm decision to defend it with a united and determined front.” (unofficial translation; 361/6–2850)
In his memorandum of a conversation held June 30 between Mr. Acheson, Ambassador Remorino, and other officials, Clarence E. Birgfeld of the Office of East Coast Affairs stated in part that the Ambassador had assured the Secretary of Argentina’s support of U.S. action in the Korean crisis. (363/6–3050)
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