376. Despatch From the Ambassador in Chile (Beaulac) to the Department of State 1
REF
- Embdesp. No. 547 of February 2, 19552
SUBJECT
- Truth-telling Campaign
Since the beginning of World War II, the United States has given material aid to Latin America in amounts never known before and never even dreamed of before by Latin America. It goes without saying that no comparable aid has been received by Latin America from any other part of the world.
During this time, also, the Government of the United States has maintained an information service, presently known as the USIA, which has spent many millions of dollars trying to explain the United States to the Latin American peoples and trying to help create an atmosphere favorable to cooperation with the United States.
Nevertheless, in certain countries of Latin America, such as Chile, the position of the United States has deteriorated, especially insofar as concerns the treatment of American private interests.
It is submitted that this situation is due principally to the circumstance that there does not exist, between the United States and those Latin American countries, the degree of understanding with reference to matters that are of greatest importance in their relations, which is needed as a basis and as a prelude to constructive cooperation.
[Page 782]Our Failure to Talk to the Latin Americans About Things They Are Interested In
Through public statements by our President and our Secretary of State, and through the extensive operations of the USIA and its predecessors, the Government of the United States has made an effort to convince the Latin American people of the justice of its views with reference to the great international issues to which our Government attaches overwhelming importance, such as the menace of international communism, the re-arming of Western Germany, Korea, and Indo-China.
However, a majority of the Latin American people, because of poverty, ignorance, and isolation, are less interested in these important subjects than they are in where their next meal is coming from; whether or not they can feed and clothe their children properly, and other basic and urgent needs.
The international communists in Latin America recognize the urgent interest which the Latin Americans have in these subjects and play upon that interest in ways that are harmful both to the peoples of Latin America and to the position of the United States in Latin America.
A principal objective of the communists in Latin America is to prevent or at least to hinder economic development. The communists know that economic development in Latin America will not be possible without cooperation by private United States interests, and by the United States Government and international agencies in which the United States Government has an important voice, and they try to accomplish their objective by making that cooperation impossible or at least difficult.
They do this by making it appear that the United States and United States private interests are principally responsible for Latin America’s urgent needs not having been met. In Chile, for example, the communists, and the demagogues who parrot the communist line, say that the United States does not help Chile enough; that the United States copper companies are imperialistic; that they take copper out of Chile and leave nothing but a hole in the ground; that the United States buys Chile’s raw materials cheap and sells Chile manufactured goods at high prices; that the United States cheated Chile out of $500,000,000 during the last war by freezing the price of Chilean copper.
These and other similar charges have been repeated so often in Chile, without refutation by the United States or by United States private interests involved, that they have come to be accepted by the Chilean masses, and have helped to create a climate in which the United States copper companies, although they are by far the most [Page 783] important element in Chile’s economy, producing from 50 to 70% of Chile’s foreign exchange, are given the worst tax treatment of any industry in the country (84% of profits today). The tax treatment of the copper companies, in turn, has discouraged those companies from making further investments in Chile. It also has discouraged other foreign capital from investing in Chile.
United States Government Burdened with Responsibility for Failures of Latin American Governments and Peoples
A part of the phenomenon which has caused our position in Latin America to deteriorate is the habit which persons in political life have acquired of blaming the United States Government for their countries’ failures, particularly along economic lines.
The United States, of recent years, has voluntarily assumed a degree of responsibility for helping to improve the economies of the so-called under-developed countries. Many Latin Americans have gone far beyond the position we have taken, however, and now consider that the United States has the major responsibility for improving the economies of the undeveloped countries.
Thus, it has become possible for political leaders in Latin America to explain their own failures or inadequacies in the economic field by saying that their countries have not received enough help from the United States.
This not only has damaged the position of the United States in Latin America, but it also has retarded economic development by removing pressure from the Latin Americans to do for themselves the things they should do and must do in their own interest.
In a country like Brazil, for example, it is clear to any objective student that the country’s balance of payments and other financial problems are related directly to the circumstance that, for political reasons, Brazil will not permit foreign companies to exploit Brazil’s petroleum resources and, as a result, Brazil has to spend some $275,000,000 a year for petroleum imports. However, it has been common for Brazilians to attribute their balance of payments and other financial problems to insufficient cooperation by the United States Government and by such agencies as the Export-Import Bank and the International Bank.
Truth-Telling Campaign Needed
During the past year, the Embassy in Santiago, and the American copper companies, have made an effort to see that the Chilean people are told the truth about those matters involving the United States and the copper companies concerning which the communists and demagogues have been deceiving them during recent years. That campaign has had some success.
[Page 784]The Embassy considers that a major effort by our Government is now required in order to further improve our position.
Public opinion has decisive importance in Chile. Chile has a free press, and a free radio, and the Chileans have inquiring minds.
Cooperation cannot exist except in a climate of understanding, and understanding between us and the Chileans cannot exist if we are talking about one set of figures and acting on the basis of one set of premises and the Chileans are talking about another set of figures and are acting on the basis of another set of premises.
It is proposed that we intensify our efforts to bring about a situation in which we and the Chileans have the same set of figures and the same premises. The Embassy considers that until we are able to do this, satisfactory cooperation with Chile will not be possible.
Role of USIA
USIA has agreed to step up its supply of material which the Embassy in Santiago may use in its campaign of truth-telling. Excellent material of this kind is now being received and put to good use. USIA maintains, however, that it is not authorized to engage in any operations within the United States aimed at affecting the situation in Latin America. That function, it would appear, belongs to the Department of State.
Role of the Department of State
Historically, one of the functions of the diplomat has been to defend the good name of his country abroad. Since the establishment of an information service, the Department of State and its representatives abroad have tended to neglect that function. It is proposed that the Department give renewed attention to this important function, particularly in view of the circumstance that much of the work of defending the good name of the United States must be done in the United States, itself, and because of the position taken by USIA that it is not authorized to operate in the United States.
Operations in the United States
As noted earlier in this memorandum, the President of the United States and the Secretary of State make frequent public statements regarding the great international issues, but few comparable public statements are made with reference to the issues that are most important to the people of Latin America. The occasional speeches made by such officials as the Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America have been very helpful, but they do not of themselves fill the need described. Public speeches, of course, are only one, and not necessarily the most effective of the many devices that are available to us.
[Page 785]The Embassy proposes that a system be established under which the Secretary of State, the Under Secretary of State, the Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America, and other competent officials of the United States shall from time to time say things concerning matters of real importance to Latin America which involve the United States and which those officials are, therefore, authorized to comment on. It is recommended also that friendly Senators and Representatives, and persons outside of the Government who are competent in subjects involving Latin America, be helped and encouraged to make statements concerning those matters. If the persons and the subjects are well chosen, our great news agencies will carry their remarks and their remarks will be published in every important newspaper in Latin America. A single statement of this kind, which our Government can arrange to have made at only nominal expense, may be more valuable as a means of affecting public opinion in Latin America than thousands of dollars worth of printed matter, radio programs, and so forth and so on.
It is suggested, also, that the Department help to prepare and to furnish to feature writers and to others information concerning our problems in Latin America so that those persons can prepare accurate articles and reports which can be reproduced in Latin America and which also can serve as the basis of news agency reports to Latin America. There is ample evidence that the Latin American public is avid for this kind of information.
Additional Staff for Economic Section in Santiago
There are certain problems that are common to most countries in Latin America. The State Department can best prepare background material on those problems and distribute it to the Embassies, to feature writers, and to persons authorized and disposed to comment on these matters. There are other problems involving the United States that are peculiar to the various countries. The Embassy in each country necessarily is most intimately informed concerning those problems, and is in the best position to prepare material for use in the country concerned and to serve as the basis for comment in the United States (or in some cases in still another country) for later reproduction in the country concerned.
In the specific case of Chile, it is suggested that the Embassy in Santiago be supplied with a competent person, trained in economics and with a flair for writing, to be detailed to the Economic Section, whose principal duty will be to supply background material, to prepare articles for publication in Chile and in the United States, to [Page 786] be alert to the need and opportunity for public statements of the kind suggested, and to suggest the substance of those statements.3
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.25/2–255. Secret.↩
- In despatch 547, Beaulac reiterated the need to carry out a “truth-telling campaign” not only in Santiago but also in the United States. He enclosed some clippings from a Chilean newspaper to illustrate the point. (Ibid.)↩
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Beaulac forwarded a copy of this despatch to Secretary Dulles along with a personal letter dated February 3. The letter reads in part:
“I am enclosing a copy of my Despatch No. 546 pointing out the need that we in Santiago feel exists for a truth-telling campaign aimed at restoring to the United States and United States interests in Chile the excellent position that we once held but do not hold today despite all the help that we have given Chile, and all the millions of dollars we have spent on information activities in Chile.
“We are convinced here that the despatch reaches down into the essence of our troubles in Chile and also in many other Latin American countries. We give our truth-telling campaign primary importance. If the Department will go along with us, I am confident that over a period of time we can accomplish a great deal for ourselves and for Chile, too.” (Ibid., 611.25/2–355)
On February 17, Under Secretary Hoover replied to Ambassador Beaulac’s letter to Secretary Dulles of February 3. Hoover’s letter reads in part:
“As you undoubtedly know, the [Operations Coordinating] Board agreed in general with a plan of operations for Chile which include the additional USIA officer to be assigned to the Embassy to do exactly the type of work suggested in your despatch. I am glad to say that the selection of a well qualified officer is proceeding rapidly and action is well advanced. I sincerely hope that this officer will prove useful in carrying forward the program that you suggested.” (Ibid.)
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