333. Memorandum of a Conversation, Los Pinos, August 12, 1959, 7 p.m.1
PARTICIPANTS
- Adolfo López Mateos, President of the United Mexican States
- Dr. Milton Eisenhower
- Robert C. Hill, Ambassador of the United States
- Antonio Carrillo Flores, Mexican Ambassador to the United States
- William Wieland, Director of Office of Caribbean and Mexican Affairs, Department of State
- Alberto M. Vázquez, First Secretary of Embassy
Project Mercury:
Dr. Eisenhower first took up Project Mercury. He explained to President López Mateos the scope of this project and its far-reaching scientific significance. In connection with his explanation of the project, Dr. Eisenhower presented to the President a book which the National Space and Aeronautics Administration had especially prepared for this purpose. Dr. Eisenhower explained to President López Mateos the non-military character of the project in which it is hoped Mexican and United States scientists would participate. Dr. Eisenhower further explained that in order to carry out the project, special observation stations in various parts of the world would be required. He told the President that to carry out the project to best advantage one of these land stations should be located at Guaymas. He hoped the Mexican Government would find it possible to cooperate in this project. The project is to be sponsored by a university or a scientific organization and that Mexican scientists and universities were welcome to participate in this scientific experiment. Dr. Eisenhower emphasized the fact that whatever knowledge is gained from this exploration of outer space would, of course, be beneficial to all nations.
President López Mateos immediately expressed interest in the project. He commented that it would have to be presented to the Mexican Public in such a way that it would not offend certain sensibilities in public opinion and that perhaps information concerning the project would be so presented that it would not arouse any suspicion on the part of Mexicans. Both Dr. Eisenhower and Ambassador Hill agreed to the wisdom of this suggestion, adding that all facts concerning this project would be available. It was suggested by the President during the course of the discussion that since the Mexican Government’s relations with the National University are so cordial and friendly, that perhaps the National University of Mexico would be [Page 876] willing not only to participate in the project, but to co-sponsor it with a United States organization. To this Dr. Eisenhower gladly agreed. (The Department may wish to examine desirability of this suggestion in view of leftist and anti-U.S. expressions at the National University which have come to the Embassy’s attention recently. The feasibility of this suggestion will, of course, depend on the selection of Mexican scientists who will participate in the project.)
The President readily acceded to Dr. Eisenhower’s request for authorization to discuss informally this project with officials of the Foreign Office and with Rector Nabor Carrillo Flores, who is a personal friend of his.
President López Mateos stated that whatever real knowledge could be gained from this experiment would benefit Mexican scientists a great deal since the knowledge of Mexican scientists on this field was more theoretical than practical.
Territorial Waters:
The second point taken up by Dr. Eisenhower was the matter of territorial waters. He restated to the President what he had told the Acting Foreign Minister. He said that if this matter were one affecting only the United States and Mexico, he was sure that a solution could be found without much difficulty, but the problem was much larger since it affected the whole free world. Dr. Eisenhower expressed the hope that some solution be found to the problem before the meeting in Geneva next year and urged upon the President the advisability of the two countries discussing informally the question of territorial waters. The President was somewhat firmer than the Acting Foreign Minister on this point and cited the case of Texas as also claiming 9 miles. He said that Mexican laws had for a long time recognized the 9 mile limit, that on the basis of that perhaps some solution could be found. Ambassador Carrillo Flores then informed the President that he had received instructions from the Foreign Office to initiate informal discussions with the officials in the State Department in an effort to explore the possibilities of finding some agreement before the meeting at Geneva. The President consented to this.
Cotton:
On the question of cotton, Dr. Eisenhower said that he considered Mexico’s position reasonable, but he also pointed out that the Executive Branch of the United States Government had to observe the mandate given it by the Congress and he felt that this, too, was a reasonable approach to the question. He stated, however, that the gentlemen’s agreement reached early this year when the Minister of Agriculture, Julián Rodríguez Adame, was in Washington, which [Page 877] agreement had been kept confidential, guaranteed Mexico certain protection and that the United States Executive Branch of the Government was adhering to the spirit of this agreement. Ambassador Carrillo Flores explained to the President that this was the case and that because of this agreement Mexican interests in cotton have not been adversely affected. The President recognized this and thanked Dr. Eisenhower and Ambassador Hill for their intervention in this matter.
President López Mateos’ Visit to the United States:
Dr. Eisenhower then took up President López Mateos’ visit to the United States and told the President that he had brought with him a schedule of dates that would be satisfactory and convenient for President Eisenhower and that if one of those dates was satisfactory to him, the President and the people of the United States would be greatly honored to receive him and that he would be wholeheartedly welcomed not only by the Government, but by the people of the United States. President López Mateos stated that he would be very happy to come to Washington to pay a visit to President Eisenhower and that the date could be agreed upon without any difficulty, that the first or second week in October would be quite satisfactory to him. He thanked Dr. Eisenhower and Ambassador Hill for the spirit in which this invitation was extended to him.
When Dr. Eisenhower told President López Mateos that he was ready to discuss, in candor and frankness, any problem between Mexico and the United States, the President replied that he had no specific matter to take up since all problems were being properly handled through diplomatic channels here in Mexico through Ambassador Hill and in Washington through Ambassador Carrillo Flores.
Dr. Eisenhower’s Impressions Regarding the USSR and Poland:
The President then asked Dr. Eisenhower regarding his impressions of the Soviet Union. Dr. Eisenhower stated that his impressions were very revealing because he found in the Soviet Union certain changes. There was a relaxation of control under Khrushchev, that Khrushchev was, he felt, interested in having the backing of the people which Stalin did not care for. Nevertheless, he said that the system of espionage is ever present in Soviet life, that cars, rooms, homes are wired, and that everywhere you go there is an agent listening to everything that is said. Concerning Khrushchev, Dr. Eisenhower said that he was a keen, intelligent person, a dynamic leader and a master of polemics, but uneducated. Khrushchev, Dr. Eisenhower said, knew every aspect of the Soviet Union, but very little of the outside world. He had no idea whatever of the United States democratic processes, of its people and their lives, and of its purposes in the world. He also told [Page 878] the President that the visit of Vice President Nixon and discussions with him had made Khrushchev realize that the United States had the power to destroy Russia. Dr. Eisenhower also pointed out that the USSR had the power to do the United States and Western Europe tremendous damage. Because of this, Dr. Eisenhower told the President an armed conflict could not benefit anyone. Therefore, it was necessary that the leaders get together, understand one another, and try to find a solution to present world problems and ease world tensions.
Dr. Eisenhower stated that going from the Soviet Union into Poland was like going from night to day. The great majority of the Polish people, according to Dr. Eisenhower, are against Communism, that the leaders are committed to follow the Moscow line, especially in international affairs. Domestically, however, they have been able to retain a considerable autonomy and that their leader, Gomulka, although a Communist, is also a nationalist. The reception which Vice President Nixon and his party received in Poland was most impressive since 250,000 lined the route through which they traveled even though the Polish government had not publicized the hour of arrival or the route they were to follow.
Ambassador Hill commented that during his visit to the satellite countries, he had found in those countries more propaganda concerning China than concerning the Soviet Union. In this connection, President López Mateos stated that those Mexican leftists who visit the Soviet Union and China, when they come back to Mexico, many of them are disillusioned about the Soviet Union but very enthusiastic about Communist China. President López Mateos appeared keenly impressed by Dr. Eisenhower’s exposition about his trip to the Soviet Union and Poland.
Dr. Eisenhower presented to President López Mateos a gift of Steuben glass for which President López Mateos expressed great appreciation.
The interview was held in an atmosphere of friendship and cordiality.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 120.15/8–1459. Confidential. Drafted by Alberto M. Vázquez.↩