328. Memorandum of a Conversation, President Eisenhower’s Suite, Hotel Pierre Marques, Acapulco, Mexico, February 20, 19591
SUBJECT
- United States-Mexican Relations
PARTICIPANTS
- President of the United States
- President of Mexico
- Mr. Vicente Sanchez Gavito
- Lieutenant Colonel Vernon A. Walters
President Eisenhower opened the conversation by stating that he had just received four American business men who had not been included in the group which he met the previous evening. One of them was particularly interested in the cotton problem, and had emphasized to the President many of the same things which President Lopez Mateos had mentioned previously. The President said that he challenged this man and asked him to produce a formula which he felt would be both fair to the Mexicans and to the cotton producers of the United States; he had been unable to come up with any immediate solution. He mentioned this because he wanted President Lopez Mateos to know that he had been thinking about the cotton problem.
The Mexican President thanked the President for his concern, but said he had not really come to discuss cotton, but in a general way the psychology of the Latin American people in their relationship with the [Page 867] United States. He hoped the President might not regard anything he might say as representing criticism or a complaint, but rather as plain talking between friends. He was talking to the President not as the Chief Executive of the most powerful nation in the world, but as one friend and neighbor to another.
The Mexican President said that in their propaganda to the world, the United States brought out two principal factors—the freedom of the individual and the high standard of living to which the exercise of this freedom led. The United States had on its northern border Canada—a country where English was spoken, and on its southern border Mexico—a country where Spanish was the language. In Canada a similar measure of personal freedom prevailed and equally, a high standard of living. This was not true in Mexico. On the contrary, in many of the Latin American countries there were instances where the standard of living tended to rise, but in which there was a corresponding drop in the degree of democracy prevailing in these countries. In other cases, those who do not have certain things in life too often feel a sort of blind resentment toward those who do. Furthermore, there had been a feeling among Latin Americans that the United States sometimes sought good relations with strong governments which were not necessarily democratically elected. This produced among the Latin Americans a certain anxiety. Soviet propaganda constantly pointed out the contrast between the high standard of living in the United States and the low standards prevailing from the Rio Grande to Patagonia. Furthermore, the Soviets constantly blamed the United States for the difficulties encountered by the Latin American countries in raising the standards of living of their people.
The President said he was aware of this and the fact that they called us “economic imperialists.” President Lopez Mateos then said that the democratically elected governments attempted to put the picture in perspective and make the peoples of their country understand that they themselves had a great deal to do with solving their own problems, though these governments were not always successful in doing this. Technical progress had increased the contrast between the “haves” and the “have nots.” Fifty years ago, life in Mexico City was very similar to that in any village. There were no electric lights, safe drinking water, sewerage, and other utilities. Today, someone who comes from a town where these things do not exist feels resentment that they exist in Mexico City and not in their own home town. Internationally, this is even more true.
Today, when the economy of nations has become so interrelated and universal in scope, it is difficult for any nation to solve its own problems by itself, because what other nations do may have an impact upon the internal economy of any given nation. Furthermore, the populations of these nations were growing so rapidly that economic [Page 868] improvement could not keep pace. Nevertheless a demand for a better life continued to increase. He himself knew how difficult it was to govern a democratic nation and what was involved in the way of taking into proper account interests and desires of the different groups within the nation. He did feel, however, that it was his duty to express the situation which he felt prevailed throughout Latin America and formed a psychological background for the attitude of these peoples towards the United States.
The President thanked President Lopez Mateos for this frank expression of views and stated that he basically agreed with what the Mexican President had said. He felt that the increasing population was indeed a problem and he realized that as a very large part of Latin America was of the Catholic faith, birth control would be contrary to the principles of many of the people of the hemisphere. In our assistance programs, he had discovered that we were rarely able to catch up with the increased demand engendered by the rising population.
The President said he understood that resentment frequently existed and that it was difficult to find an appropriate solution. In many of the Middle Eastern countries only a very small part of the oil revenues had been used to build roads, schools, and hospitals, and to plan for a better future for the people, but this country had had a revolution and its leaders assassinated. He then inquired whether President Lopez Mateos had any specific idea about what we should do.
The Mexican President said he felt there were two types of solutions which followed parallel roads: First, there was that of finding concrete solutions for immediate short-term problems; and secondly, that of studying problems before they arose so as to find solutions for them before these problems became urgent and acute.
The President felt we should try to find solutions for these short-term problems. With regard to the longer term ones, he wondered if it might not be possible to get together representatives from both nations to study these matters, and while they might not find solutions for all of them, they might find something that could point to a practical approach. It was obvious that the two nations would not have identical points of view on all subjects, but if they could bring them closer together in an atmosphere of understanding and friendship, this would lead to a climate in which solutions could be reached.
President Lopez Mateos said he fully agreed with the President on these matters. The President then asked whether the Mexican President would be agreeable to his designating his brother, Milton, to perhaps get in touch with the President, who would perhaps wish to designate some Mexican counterpart to review these matters with Dr. Eisenhower. President Lopez Mateos said that he would very much like to talk at length with Dr. Eisenhower, and said that if the President [Page 869] had not suggested Dr. Eisenhower’s designation, he would have done so himself. President Eisenhower said that Dr. Eisenhower would be available either now or he would send him back at a later date, and President Lopez Mateos replied that he would prefer to talk to Dr. Eisenhower at a later date before he designated any Mexican counterpart for Dr. Eisenhower, and expressed the view that this would indeed be very fruitful.
The President then said he wished to make a few remarks which he hoped the Mexican President would likewise not view as being critical or of a complaining nature. He felt that what was lacking in Mexico was a strong middle class. The Mexican President said there had been a great increase in this middle class since the revolution. The middle class represented some 7% of the population at the time of the revolution, and now represented some 25% of the population.
The President said that he had inquired of the American businessmen with whom he had been talking whether they had been employing Mexican professional men—lawyers, doctors, engineers—as he felt this was essential and that by fortifying this middle class, they helped to create a better climate of understanding between two nations. The businessmen had indicated that this was the policy of their firms, and one of them mentioned that the treasurer of his company was a Mexican.
The President also stated that some of the resentment felt by the underprivileged is possibly created by some of the wealthier Mexicans who were unwilling to give others a fair share of the returns realized in profitable endeavors. He had no one in particular in mind, as he did not know the name of any rich men in Mexico.
The Mexican President said that they had very few men of great wealth in Mexico, but that there was, of course, a contrast between the way of life of some of the wealthier citizens and those who lived in poverty. President Eisenhower observed that it would be a mistake to permit all of the underprivileged of Mexico to gain the impression that all of their misfortunes were due to the actions or neglect of the United States. Within Mexico itself the wealthy people must recognize their own responsibilities in an effort to raise standards, and the Government should help by promoting a widespread understanding of these truths. This would make it easier for the United States to be helpful.
The President said he felt that, if something could be achieved between Mexico and the United States in the bettering of the climate for negotiation, this would be to the benefit of the whole hemisphere. He felt that by direct correspondence between the Mexican President and himself, their ideas might at times be clarified, and the individuals whom he had mentioned might be able to begin their work. He realized that these problems would not be fully solved in our lifetime, even though the Mexican President was a young man. But it was [Page 870] possible to intensify the work essential to create the kind of mutual understanding between the two countries which would bring to Mexico the development capital which Mexico needs.
There are a few United States companies which may be looking for large short-term profits, but most of the American business firms are thinking in creative terms of building and growing within the country where they invested. He felt that if a proper climate could be created, capital would be welcomed into Mexico, it being understood, of course, that the companies would avoid excessive profiteering.
The Mexican President said that creative American capital was welcome in Mexico and that while the companies of a few disgruntled people might be heard, the great majority were of a different mind. However, he would wish to point out that the countries of Latin America usually had small budgets and required long-term developmental loans which were not of such direct interest to private capital, and for this reason, government-to-government loans were also important to these countries. He welcomed the opportunity of being able to correspond directly with the President and he felt this would go a long way towards creating a climate which would be beneficial to both countries.
The Mexican President concluded by saying that he welcomed very much this opportunity to talk frankly with the President, and he felt that this type of contact was extremely valuable in creating the understanding and climate which they both sought.2
- Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1206. Secret. Drafted by Walters on March 2 and approved by Thomas W. McElhiney on March 12.↩
- According to a memorandum of conversation, February 20, at dinner that evening Eisenhower invited López Mateos to visit the United States during the upcoming year. The Mexican President stated that he would be honored to accept the invitation and suggested the second half of April as a date for the visit. Both Presidents agreed the matter should be pursued further through normal diplomatic channels. (Ibid.)↩