Office of the Historian

403. Telegram From the Ambassador in Chile (Lyon) to the Department of State1

Santiago, February 21, 1957—11 a.m.

436. Reference proposal invite President Ibanez visit US. Embassy considers important and timely Ibanez now be invited. He has been surprisingly and gratifyingly unwavering in anti-inflationary fight, and invitation would constitute our endorsement and support Chile’s action this program which can serve as example Latin America and rest world. Invitation should also assure continuance program after elections and would give lift to Chile’s morale which needed this juncture due to decline copper price, difficult nitrate situation and general political picture. It would also constitute valuable psychological counter frequent charges here and other American Republics that US more sympathetic hemisphere dictatorships than to democracies.2

Lyon
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 725.11/2–2157. Confidential.↩
  2. In telegram 428 to Santiago, March 7, the Department informed Lyon that an invitation to Ibáñez was under consideration, but that a decision was not expected before the middle of March. (Ibid.)↩