REVIEW OF THE BOOK, ECONOMIA SOCIAL COLOMBIANA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500390191-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 16, 1999
• Sequence Number: 191
• Publication Date: February 8, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2002/01/03 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500390191-5
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CO FIJ
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
25X1A
COUNTRY' Colombia
SUBJECT! Rcview of the
Colombians"
PLACE ACQUIRED 2,5X,1 A
(BY SOURCE)
DATE ACQUIRED
(By SOURCE)
DATE (cF INFO.)
AND TSA. Or THE U.S. CODE. Al AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVS.
LAT10N 01 ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT SY AN UNAUTIIORIEEO PERSON IS
1114F?RMATI?N REPORT
13001:, "~'conolnea Socic:l
THI, DOCUMENT CONTAINS INPONNArloH Ar?CCTIND THE NArIoNAL OC?INSI
OF THE UNITED STATES. WITHIN INC NCANIND or TITLE IE. SICTIONS TSE
NO. OF PAGES 3
NO. OF ENCLS.
SUPP. TO
1."I; is rather difficult to evaluate the publication of this boos "Econornfa Social
Colornbiana" by Carlos Mario Londono7...because of several surroundin3 factors.
A book such as this crritten and published by an independent individual 1,'oulcl mean.
one thin;. The same boot. published by the secretar- to the President of Colombia
is another thing.
"Carlos Mario Lond.cnc, the a ? 1-_ l. th0r of Econcl i'
.a Social Colonb iana, f - s at pre. s?ri,
.- eneral secret' to the President Of Colombia .He i, a -,rcj.j r; elan 7.'n his
.h:irties T-111o has had rather ieieculica' accompli 'lr4c'nts...Durin;- the ,iresi..::ncy
Laure'ano Gclme~Lond'ano ,-i'::ator of the ' ',er,i`
nstiai; or and a lla' >> fa:
in . n ''
ia. t', n .
e capital of which is Melel].n Th. e mayor of Mcdellfn in this
'G ime was Bernal d otrepo, bee i her of i40.r-tan Bernal :estropo, ,_,eneral raana;er of
Echav rrfa Cciho. The oLOndolio rare well au'th;:n tic-'c--d and tonal Lo
T Colombians beli;..v:.- ch.e civil strife durin? the time of Laureano
Gd'me:: was fomented a..rl,lr,' in order to create a~situati.on in iihich Fit-7
would have to ta.;,.: ;,e. cafltain the peace. There is apparencly considerable
justification for Uelie~ my thus, 'acific,%Ltion of Colombia, which hook place
immediately after the overthrow of ...UUSncz, took ialace simply because the army
wns now in control and had no fur't'her desire to incite. ..civil strife. rI'he
well authenticatr.d back,;rouncl of Londono and his a. eeararce as ecretar?,
,,eneral made the publication of this book of narticn.
book raCui.7Cd erLLCtlcc.ll!' no pUhli.c:i't`' i. "1 Colombia while I there, all
Ccit:ies bCjnt,' ail-aid
'. ^_: er la',' to bunch it. Cf pfa7.rti cular itli-'"? .I.
.d ic~.tio on :or_ l -r _.? . is tlzz
:d:L ? t n8. nitbp;: c ? c l,re e.. ?wwwhicl, translates as follows: To rl son Carlos
emit Senor Prer;i;lente of the 21 public, Li e-e1.1tnnnt Genc r'.1
Cn o tavo [Rows Finilla, in 1-,Le assurance that h''? will 711t in-,'.r eff c-c't the
social Christian revolution in Colo*Ybia.' On pa---;e 8...is :Urofuc:: '?all't?T11i
copy Of Rojas Pinilla's conrents. ? ? has with
;ir~.spell vch:rs
? ncu and
correctn.:;:s
the thesis of Social Cat' ulicisni whose merits no one who 1--rows Colombia r :,-,n
Ilcn.-:
as be.in;; the only then i.s i'.1. t reseni;c .~
P nrcct-ical and (,e inite solutions of
economic r Ossities of the Colombian people.'"
n Tr .-
"I"T' A T
LAST
(f" FOR SUBJECT 5c AIWA CODES.
DISTRIDUTION STATE E. ARi11T NAVT ~ IAIR I XJ F91
This I report is for the use within the USI of/pthe Intelligence compurients of the Det?arrtt or
Agencies in l~i~+hs a DI-- foIOR ifl9Vh?dk61Q?+kbAl~e V ee
originating
h? s nn rec r of the Office of Collection and Dlasenlination, CIA.
 Approved For Release 2002/01/03 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500390191-5
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x,,1,1` prologue i1 s writ:t''.n by Mariano Ospina Pere:., wl.,.o app." evtly is enough of
a
practical politician to swim with the tide if he cannot find a wey to resist it.
..he in -x practically :3n.isnarizes the boo'.:. The i ir:;-!: To chapters cover the
d.l.scussiun of private o-..rnership, placing; emphasis on the fact that private
property must be administered for the benefit of all. The next three chapters
are an attack on the weal shy groups of the couintry. This attack is made re-
gardless of the effects of this group of the productivity of the country.
5. "The second part of the hook concerns itself with how to convert Colombia from
Capitalism to 'Catholic Socialism' . It includes some old and some new wrinkles.
The idea of division of the land so that all will have their share is not new, nor
is the idea of taxing the rich to redistribute the wealth new. The id.ea of
changin- industry to cooperatives, of course, patterns itself after recent loose
thint-in_ in Germany and has been heard in the States. Here they are proposing a
percentage of the earnings to go to the workers to be used to busy- stocks of the
companies and finally to be owned by the workers through cooperatives (presumably
controlled by the state). The book also emphasizes the idea that banks should be
owned by the state and loan money at little or no interest to the individual, and
that they are not for the needs of the wealthy. The book, while static;; that it is
rot necessary to nationalize the banks, nevertheless by implication points to that
e nd.
u. "It makes every effort to put a Catholic background to its propositions because of the
power of the Catholic Church in Colombia. There are quotations throughout the book
from Catholic authorities that are taken out of context at times and misinterpreted
at other times....
7. "It could be, as most people seen to believe in Colombia, that this government is
only attempting to imitate Peron. This seems more logical than any Zo-theil inter-
pretation. There are, though, some aspects which perhaps need to be questioned.
The April 9 19118 riots. . .while spontaneous to a certain extent, nevertheless were
agitated by an organization presumably traced to the Russian Embassy. The ... Embassy
was officially thrown out of the country but as far as I know nothing has been done
b% the underground group fomenting the riot. L.M. Currie and several others of his
ilk were prominent in the economic councils of...Ospina Perez. Without attempting to
judge present criticisms against Currie, the socialistic ideas which he and others
li.!ke him have sponsored find ready adherents because of political expediency [on the
part of7 those attempting to gain power.The economic advisers who have been sent
i7-{ various international organizations to these countries have left something no be
desired from the point of view of the US.
8. "Up,per classes of Colombia seem to feel that their strong Catholic faith reaches down
into the lower classes and protects there from Communism, forgetting that the lower
classes are Catholics only by force of pressure from above. It is too early to
estimate whether Colombia will go down the path of Argentina and Guatemala in the
;;ears to come. Coloe:hia cannot afford this type of nonsense if the slightest de-
line ~,-.::`splace in r,rice of coffee. This, would... lead to... inflation, controls,
an( derma;ogic appea_. to the lower classes, blamin_; wealth and the US for the
difficulties creates b r , ieir own incompe,t.ence.. .
"This may seem to be jumping at shadows but the shadows seem a little real down here.
I was rather interested in reviewing correspondence I had in September 1950 re-
garding Chile. I felt at that time I was seeing the dark side and maybe being
too pessimistic. I'm wondering now.
10."It is difficult to forecast the future for Colombia under the rather confusing
picture... today. From rug point oi' view, the following facts ...land out:
a):The Government of R,_-Jab Pinilla shows no sign whatsoever of returning the
country to normal political life. IL, can b _ presumed that he will retain
power until thrown out by physical means. This is proven by various statements
he and his subordinates have made in speeches. This means either a strong
dictatorship or a series of revolutions. Neither political party has any
physical power. They also seem to be morally and spiritually bankrupt. Rojas
Pinilla personally is assuming all the rather vainglorious customs and forms of
a dictator. His cohorts and family are acquiring wealth rapidly...
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b) : The budget is going to be high for 1 1
5!7? Taxes will jeopardize the
economy.. .A very high percentage of Lthe budgeg will be for the army,
though perhaps this will be hidden in various categories not usually
associated with defense projects.
c): 50;~, of all Government funds are required to be deposited in a newly-created
Banco Popular which will be a bottomless hole of loans to workers, etc.
This will place a severe strain onlcredit...Loss of ill-advised loans, etc.,
can also create the necessity for additional taxes.
d): The book.. .appears to be for the pt pose of preparing
for..-changes in the economic and the masses of people
political life of Colombia. Without this
preparation it i:. possible the oligarchic upper classes could frustrate or
prevent the efforts of this Government to achieve a. permanent hold upon
the country. Because the existing two-party system is vertical in its
distribution . the present authorities are attempting to create a third
party, a labor party with the usual class frame of mind against the
wealthy ...The methods and patterns are known and it should not be
difficult for them to do this...
e) : In a very short time, 1 to 3 years, Colombia will face a lreatl;, reduced
dollar income because of additional coffee production in other parts of the
world. Therefore, the timing of these problenc is difficult for Colombia.
f): The large te;;tile mills of Coltejerlland Fabricato and the oligarchic families
seem to be the particular targets of the present government. Colombia may
a good market for us through ~ 1954, be
, but, barring a revolution, and with almost
certain lower prices for coffee in 1955 because of coming production in other
regions (Africa), difficulties can be foreseen. At present I would not place
too mach de,Dendence on forecasts beylont. early 195), ...Statisti.cal data from the
present `;overnmeni. must. be'considered misleading... unless it can be checked by
other sources.
LIBRARY iU93JECTi & AREA CODES
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