213. Memorandum of conversation, March 31 between Foreign Minister Falcon Briceno and Thomas C. Mann, and other U.S. and Venezuelan officials1
SUBJECT
- VENEZUELA: Urgent Need for Financial Assistance
PARTICIPANTS
- Dr. Marcos FALCON BRICEÑO, Foreign Minister of Venezuela
- Dr. Raul NASS, Counselor, Venezuelan Embassy
- Thomas C. Mann, Assistant Secretary of State
- Milton J. Barall, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
- John J. Ingersoll, Officer in Charge of Venezuelan Affairs
- William Pryce, Staff Assistant to Mr. Mann
COPIES TO
- ARA — Mr. Mann
- ARA — Mr. Barall
- S — Mr. Berle
- E — Mr. Martin
- FN — Mr. Moser
- EST — Mr. Boonstra
- EST — Mr. Ingersoll
- REA — Amb. Turkel
- INR — AmEmbassy Caracas
Dr. Falcon Briceño called on Mr. Mann, by appointment, to discuss a number of matters. Other subjects covered in this talk are reported separately.
The Foreign Minister spoke with some emotion about the urgent need of Venezuela for financial assistance from the United States, covering much the same ground as he had on the preceding day in his talk with Mr. Berle.
Mr. Mann suggested the desirability of a “package” of assistance for Venezuela, and to this end recommended consideration of the utility of a team of well-known, Latin American economists and technicians from the Inter-American Development Bank and other financial agencies visiting Venezuela and working out with the GOV plans for meeting the immediate problem and also for long-range economic development. Such persons should be experts in their fields but, perhaps more [Typeset Page 511] important, they would be thoroughly familiar with the criteria, procedures and policies of the various Washington lending agencies.
Dr. Falcon Briceño said he felt that Venezuela has good economists and technicians who know what needs to be done, from an economic and financial point of view. But, he said, the arithmetic is easy; the real problem is political. He said that to balance the budget would require reducing the payroll of the Federal Government by more than 24,000 persons. Virtually all of these are in Caracas and their discharge, into the already troublesome ranks of the unemployed, would be political suicide for the Betancourt Government. He said that all of [Facsimile Page 2] the existing financial institutions are fine but that for the Venezuelan situation they take too long. He said that while their long-term development plans are being worked out, democracies such as Venezuela can founder. This is the aspect which makes the problem frighteningly urgent.
Mr. Mann said he felt the sending of a team of technicians to Caracas would help speed things up rather than lose time. He suggested also that the Venezuelan Government prepare figures and hard factual data and, with such material in hand, talk privately with Secretary and others at the forthcoming Rio de Janeiro Conference of the IDB.
- Venezuela’s urgent need for financial assistance. Confidential. 2 pp. DOS, CF, 731.5–MSP/3–3161.↩