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THE ARGENTINE PUZZLE
South American Leadership
AN AMBITIOUS CANDIDATE
By J.C.
r77 — ROBABLY the
- ' most puzzliog
rj J development of
1 1 Ilis war is the '
: crisis over Ar-
1 gentina, . which :
nas oeen ac-
I centuated following1 .the recent |
I declaration of its War Minister I
i urging his country to prepare
| for inevitable war and asserting
: that only . vigorous diplomacy,
! backed by military might, could
1, gain for the Argentine her "legi
timate aspirations." . . 1
, Considering - that Argentina — lis
population is 14 millions— is less in
dustrialised than Australia, and relies
mainly 011 British markets lor its
export trade, this totalitarian talk of
1. war seems oddly out of place. The ex-
1 pla nation Is n queer story of pride,
land prejudice, the pride of the Latin- I
1 Mediterranean races, prejudice against:
the U.S. and Britain,' success! ul Nazi ;
and Falangist propaganda nnd the 1
exploitation of -the: ninny bv the few. :
Like Germany and Japan, the Argen- 1
line believes she has a mission— j
leadership of the Hispanic world— nnd !
considers herself the heir of its great |
traditions. Since the Spnnlsn war. |
indeed, she has almost become its
leader in the intellectual sense. I
Buenos Aires is the publishing capi- 1
(al of the Spanish languages.
Propaganda Soil and -Seed
Democracy hns no - very deep roots
in South America. There has been
a lot of noise about It from time to
time in . the twenty-one republics,
but after many a so-called democratic
victory.- by-election or -revolution the
Latin-Americans have found them
selves -with still less freedom than
they had before. I11 the Argentine
the last really popular Government
ended with the military revolution of
1930 led bv General Jose Evaristo
Uribnru, when President Yrigoyen.
popular Chief , of the Radical party,
was overthrown. Since then the cattle
barons nnd the military cliques have
gone along together, supporting each
other solidly in the protection of their
privileges.' When Nazi. Fascist ; and
Falangist propaganda began to in,-
filtrnte soon after 1930. those 111 power
saw I11 the :, Nazi doctrine another
strong buttress for their position.
Under the subtle persuasion .of Nazi
influence' " they also saw in the defeat
of the United Nations the end of the
hatelul- influence of the U.S. in South
America and the possible appropria
tion-', of the extensive British capital
interests 111 their country. This was
fertile soil for the Nazi propaganda
seed. But so also was the Argentine
native, who was already more than
half wav to believing that most of
his ills were due to his exploitation
bv the wealthy British capitalists.
Tlie cattle barons and the Govern
ment officials also welcomed tills
splendid target for tlie diversion of
the discontent of the native.
Most of :the other republics dis
covered, when Hitler was marching
victoriously across France, that there
were complete Nazi organisations 111
I heir, midst whlchlind been operating
underground for. vears. It would be
I idle to pretend that the < leaders, in
1 Argentina do not realise that Hitler
I will soon be defeated. Tliev are aware
| of Mussolini's downfall, and that
I France is very subdued. Whv. Ihen.
: should 'the-.. Argentina -Minister lor
: War talk aggression at this stage nnd
: In this manner ? "A totalitarian
'State." ho said, ''with authority over
i everv phase of the nation's life, was
1 the onlv possible solution to the
'Argentine's needs."
Six months before this the Argen
tine olliciillv broke with the Axis
' undei Bikisli and U S pressuie Re
luctanth 110 doubt but neiei tlielexx
it was an official break. This was in-.
Iluenced. -of course, bv the fact that,
more than half the capital invest
ments in ArgenUnn belong to Britnln
ana the U.S. . ana neany i0 per cein..
of the country's exports, mainly beef,
wool, wheat and linseed oil, are
bought by Britain. Still another
thread -is added to the puzzling pal-
tern. With Britain buying nearly half
the country's production at good
prices, there ,is a strong pro-British
sentiment. But it is not pro-Allied.
In fact, it is definitely anti-U.S.
Spanish Pride
A further, clue 10 the spirit of ag
gression now made manliest is the
traditional pride of. the Spaniard,
seeking a revival of past glories, as
Mussolini sought' to revive the glories
of Rome. .Argentina is jealous of
the growing U.S. influence, It
does not help matters that the U.S.
Imports practically nothing else but
linseed oil from Argentina. There
were imports of beef, but these were
stopped when hoof and mouth disease
broke out. The Argentina producer
will tell you this was merely an ex
cuse. His beef is the best In the
world, ns Is everything else in his
country. He will not believe that
the U.S. or other countries have hun
dreds of miles of paved reads, nor
would he believe, if you were so
foolish as to try to tell him, that
if his country went to war nast.v fire
works, that would blow him to little
bits, would be dropped on him. An
other source of friction was the blunt
refusnl of the U.S. to supply the Ar
gentine with lend-lease / armaments
and machinery. Brazil, which lias
now joined the Allied Nations, is
getting them., of coprse, which makes
the Argentinians very sore, for ir any
country In Latin America is likelv
to challenge its leadership that coun'-
try is Brazil.
While there are complaints about
The country roads of Argentina are often so muddy and full of ruts, that eight-foot wheels are necessary. Help
The country roads of Argentina are often so muddy and full of ruts,
that eight-foot wheels are necessary.
the preponderance of foreign capital
in the country, few - Argentinians- will
ever invest, in industrial undertakings
111 tneir own country. British firms
have tried to encourage them, and
lniied. It is. of course, absurd to
imagine a. country like Argentina, with
practically no industrial resources,
going to war in tlie.se days. What the
solution is for the pampas country In
this present crisis only time will tell.
Education towards sincere democracy
is obviously necessary, but how to
proceed with it is the question. There
are many socinl : injustices In the
Argentine. where the few live in
luxury at the expense df the mnnv.
There is 110 doubt that democracy
would be welcomed by more than
80 per cent, of the- population; but
they, sine like the. Germans In the
hands of the Gestapo. Yet when all
other totalitarian States have fallen,
Argentina cannot stand alone in - a
democratic world.
; There - are signs of democracy ' tak
ing deeper root in: some of the other
South American republics, and. with
education: nnd improved communlca-
. lions after the war it might spread,
even over : Ihc- Argentine,- but 111 the
meantime the situation is. undoubtedly
difficult. We are too prone tp think
of South America as the land of the
rhumba. where gaiety nnd dnncmg
are the- order, of the day — and night.
There is another side of the picture,
a realistic, forbidding .side.. I11 pre
war .days there was more sickness in
South America than 111 any other
country of its size. The average span
of life was about <35 years, compared
with Australia, for instance, which Is
about 08 years.
There are man v. social injustices,
few social services,' which perhaps
explains to some extent the perpetual
political unrest. It Is not made clear
in . which direction the Argentine Is
threatening aggression; but it is
clear in which direction her ambition
lies, and that is . as . the overriding
leader of .South . Amerioa. ...its ,,.120
millions and its' 21 so-called republics.
1
The Square and Monument in Buenoo Aires which commemorate the Independence of Argentina. Help
The Square and Monument in Buenoo Aires which commemorate the Independence of Argentina.
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