CONTRIBUTION TO SURVEY OF LATIN AMERICA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 20, 2012
• Sequence Number: 46
• Publication Date: January 8, 1963
• Content Type: MF

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9
ILLEGIB
January 1963
ILLEGIB
SUBJECT Contribution to Survey of Latin America
1. Here are some ideas that may be of help in i\ r-aulating the
General Section of your Survey of Lat Ln America.
One of the fundamental factors influencing, nearly every aspect
of the situation in Latin America is the highly egocentric nature
Jf : lost individual Latin Americans. The traditional mode of operation
for Latin American societies is the constant creation and dissolution
of social organisms based on the loyalty of individuals for an out-
standing personality. Latin American political groupings are almost
completely tied to individuals and the primary loyalty of military
'..rces is usually to key cox= anders as individuals rather than to
the State or to an abstract ideal. As a result of this competition
eon. r;_~ups oriented toward individual leaders, Latin American
countries generally achieve stability only when there is one central
leader who is clearly so powerful that he cannot be challenged, and
subbs:issio:x by secondary leaders is not an admission of weakness on their
part, or when there is a consensus among secondary leaders. This latter
situation happens very seldom, however, and only in Uruguay has it been
institutionalized to make it possible for a.group oof secondary leaders
to conduct a relatively Stable goverment without resort two dictatorship.
;. Tlie constant ferment cnd jockeying for positions of political
leadership goes on within a society whose major pattern was a rigid
social and economic order inherited from colonial Spain and Portugal
and reinforced by the universal Catholic Church which tended to support
social order and the status quo. During the past 100 years or more
the inherited cultural pattern has been broken d.Jwn at a constantly
accelerating pace by influences from abroad. The U.S. Constitutional
.T:o&el has been widely followed because it was the first successful
revolution against the old European order and because democracy
pr;, ises the ;saxisnum amount of freedom to the individual. This concept
of freedom for the individual in turn has tremendous appeal to the
egocentric Latin American. Until recently, however, the U. S. has had
relatively little cultural or economic influence on most of Latin
America. Only in certain countries in the Caribbean area has the U.S.
:!eer: the dominating, influence. In the remainder of Latin A ..erica
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9
France, French culture and French political thought have had a
tremendous appeal. Italy, Germany, and opposition groups in Spain and
Portugal have also had considerable influence, particularly on Latin
American intellectuals. There is little real knowledge of the U.B.
in Latin America, and little reason to like us.
4. The impact of ideas from abroad on Latin .America, however,
has been limited in a number of ways. The most important limiting
factor has been the language barrier. Many important books widely
read and understood in Europe and North America have never been
translated into Spanish or Portugese and often when they are translated
the translation has occurred several years after the book has already
had its impact in Europe and North America. even if the language
barrier is successfully crossed, however, books are relatively quite
expensive in Latin America and their use is therefore confined to the
very small proportion of the population that can afford to buy them.
Books are so expensive that it is even difficult for the public school
system in most Latin American countries to have an adequate supply of
text books for the most basic subjects such as reading, history and
arithmetic. As a result of this lack of access to books, conversation
has become the main means for the communication of ideas among Latin
Americans. University courses are based primarily on lectures by
professors and call for very little research or library work. The
professor's lecture notes in turn were probably based in part on the
lectures he attended at the university and probably did not include
material from many standard works co on in European, and North American
universities. Outside of the university, coffee house conversations,
political rallies or other social groups are the main forums in which
the average Latin American obtains his basic understanding of politics,
econics, social organization, etc. The devious failures of his own
government also frequently cause the Latin American to become pre-
occupied with speculation about political and economic theory rather
than with practical matters.
5. For about the past 4 years the cc uunists have been at
work in this situation along a number of lines calculated to 'ive t--em
increasing influence in Latin American society at large:
a. They present a doctrine calling for an all-powerful
state to which the individual can readily give allegiance
without loss of prestige.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9
b. They premise to improve the lot of down-trodden
individuals.
c. The native communist is trained end has the background
to communicate his ideas orally and in person to the persons
that he is trying to influence
d. The cea m mists have promoted the distribution of large
numbers of books dealing with various aspects of c< monism at low
coat throughout Latin baericaa. Ccmmunist book stores are seldom
restricted to one title on a subject There might be, for
example, three different biographies of Lenin and half a dozen
books explaining the theory of dialectic materialism. This
creates the impression of variety and wide-spread interest in
cocrounist themes
b. The past 30 years have seen an acceleration of change in Latin
America. The depression of the 193:)s advertised the importance of the
U- S to the economic well being of the rest of the World, and World
War II caused a greater increase in Ut3 economic contact with Latin
Americ:aa at the expense of traditional European contacts (we still have
relatively little cultural contact with much of Latin America). At
about the same time improvements in sanitation and economic resources
have permitted rapid incases in population growth. This increase in
population gr lvth has tended to absorb the increase in economic growth
to such an extent that there has been relatively little improvement in
the economic welfare of the average individual. During this same time
radio and television have added their capability for transmitting
ideas rapidly and have increased the impact of unfulfilled ambitions
on Latin American populations at large. In this ere of political
instability and unresolved economic problems the communist campaign
has exerted a constant pressure. Every time a new solution is tried
and fails and every time a new leader rises and falls it makes the
untried communist alternative appear more and more worth trying. At
the same time an entire generation of intellectuals has been strongly
influenced by Marxist thinking Even the strongest anti-caunuatist
intellectuals in ,Last i.r, ?icaa are heavily dependent on Marxist vocabulary
and concepts for their explaanaati:?n their theories.
SECRET
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9
'T. The egocentrism of the Latin American makes him very conscious
of power, and the power and obvious success of the U.S have had and
continue to have great influence in Latin America- As the Soviet economy
has grown, however, and as the Soviets advertise Soviet power with
their missile and space achievements they have added the appeal of a
powerful and successful Soviet Union to the already powerful impact
of Communist propaganda and political concepts.
. The current wave of interest in guerrilla warfare is likely
to strike a responsive chord in Latin America. The Latins are frequently
action-oriented, and their grouping around personal leaders can be
ideal for certain types of guerrilla operations (after all the word
?guerrilla" came from the Spanish) There is still a great deal of
geography in Latin !"merica suitable for guerrilla operations and the
Mao concept of victory throu& guerrilla operations, as propagandized
by Castro, -_offers real promise to the emotional, activist, Latin American
revolutionary.
I- do not mean by the foregoing to say that Latin America will
3o Communist, There are many traditional influences
opposed tc( Cc ununisfl', and many current factors as well. On balance,
however, I believe that comnunis t$ ;ray well continue to gain in strength
in Latin America and that we will have more serious problems in that
area before we can reverse the trend .
WILLIAM A. TIDWBLL
Assistant to DD/I (Planning)
ODDI:WAT:jts (8 Jan 63)
Distribution: 0&1 - fwd
2 - O/DD/I
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100150046-9