What is the Fundamental Trouble with Latin America?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01443R000100040005-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 5, 1998
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: February 17, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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17 February 1953
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What is the Fundamental Trouble with Latin America?
The answer to the above question varies according to country or
at least according to groups of countries. In Mexico, Central
America, the Caribbean area, and the West Coast countries, other
than Chile, perhaps the most fundamental problem is that of the
advancement of the Indian. The Spanish conquerors started by placing
the Indian in a position little better than slavery, and much of the
history of these countries since that time has revolved around the
progress of this racial mass. It has advanced furthest in Mexico
where the descendants of the original inhabitants may be said to
have asserted their position as the most predominant groups politically
and economically, and a greater degree of stability has been
established than is the case further south.
The masses of Indians are illiterate and require leadership.
Such leadership can be in the interests of orderly economic progress
in the country or it can be in the interests of special groups or
foreign exploiters, or Communists. It. is difficult, if not impossible,
for any leadership to provide for orderly progress without eventually
making some mistake and throwing the country into chaos or into the
power of special interests. For many years Colombia seemed to be
a country that was progressing normally. Another was Costa Rica.
Yet in both of these the equilibrium was eventually upset.
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It must be taken as axiomatic that the Indian masses do progress
and will continue to progress. Economic and political leadership
that does not recognize this fact and make provison for it will
eventually be overthrown. Examples of such happenings are the
fate of Diaz in Mexico, Gomez in Venezuela, Ubico in Guatemala,
and countless other more short-lived dictators throughout the
Indian area. When such dictators are overthrown, it is indeed a
fortunate event if the successor governments do not go tb the
opposite extreme and mistake license for liberty. Prior to the
rise of Communism, the United States could complacently look on
while a country went through the throes of fluctuating back and
forth until an equilibrium was established. Now the situation
has changed because the Communists are able to take advantage of the
uncertain petiods in the social progress of the country, either to
take control as has been done in Guatemala, or at least to bring
important influence to bear upon a new government and encourage
its anti-Americanism. It is fortunate that Mexico, our nearest
neighbor, passed through the worst stages before Communism became
of ec ive. The problem is very setious in the countries further
south where the Indian is not as advanced and is more submissive
to whatever leadership there may be established over him.
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Argentina and Chile are in a different category from the West
Coast and more northerly countries largely because their climate
had never encouraged large Indian settlements and did encourage
the immigration of Europeans who would do their own work and not
depend entirely upon their ability to order the natives around.
Brazil is also excluded from the above analysis because of the
different Protuguese tradition and the distinctive historic develop-
ment of Brazil. Its racial diversity is certainly a problem, along
with its geographical fabiations, but it is a different sort of
problem from that of the countries which were inhabited by Indian
civilizations in various stages of development and then were con-
quered by the Spaniards.
During the days of the United States "isolation" from European
affairs, these developing Latin American countries, while recognizing
the more advanced stage at which the United States had arrived, felt
that we were a little bit of their own kind in having a sort of
inferiority complex with respect to the mother countries. They felt
that we, like they, were vociferously asserting our superiority without
actually feeling it. Since World War II they are much chagrined at
finding the United States in full and at least equal partnership with
the European countries. This has had the psychological effect of
increasing their own feeling of isolation, not only as before from
Europe but also from the former "big brother" to whom they had looked
as being one of their own kind. Thus was nationalism intensified.
They were, moreover, not mature enought politically speaking to
handle the economic problems involved in building up a warti e
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frightened them and caused them more than ever to withdraw into themselves
and lose trust in the U.S.A.