THE AMERICAS: Hispanidad v. Pan America

A crucifix, a Spanish flag, and a Spanish poem adorn the walls of a stark, windowless room in Buenos Aires. Translated, the poem reads:

The Cantabric Mountain range is an arm of Spain,

and its hand ends in Galicia. It has an index finger,

Finisterre, which, with its trembling shadow cast on the ocean,

is pointing at America.

Last fortnight, in that room, a group of Argentine pro-Fascists gathered to further the doctrine implicit in the poem. The doctrine is Hispanidad—that body of Fascist aims and hopes which Dictator Francisco Franco has called the spiritual reconquest of Spanish America.

The men in the room were editors, representing eight Argentine periodicals which speak for the Falange, the Fascist Party of Spain. The journalists had been summoned by the Spanish press attache, Don Jose Ignacio Ramos Rey, and his invitation contained strong words:

“The time to sleep the siesta and to dream daydreams has come to an end. Liberalism, Catholic indifference, the fury of the Communist hordes are threatening the Church and principles of Hispanidad in the Argentine. . . . Jews, leaning on the support of foreign powers which are anti-Catholic, anti-Spanish, are menacing the century-old Hispanidad culture in South America. . . . Spaniards in the Argentine must unite in a bloc and collaborate with the good forces of the country. . . . The imperial banner of Hispanidad must fly again. . . .”

Last week Hispanidad scored a significant advance in Argentina. In the somber, greystone Palacio San Martin, the first of five pending cultural agreements between Spain and Argentina was ratified. The agreement provides for a free exchange of Spanish and Argentine publications, thus facilitates Fascist propaganda in the Americas.

At the ratification ceremonies, Argentina’s Foreign Minister Ruiz Guinazu pointed up the clash between Hispanidad and Pan Americanism, lectured a picked audience of Spanish bigwigs and Argentines on the wisdom of President Castillo’s neutrality policy, the virtues of Hispanidad.

Organization. Behind the misty, Fascist cult of Hispanidad are powerful and wealthy organizations. Argentina’s 1,000,000 Spaniards are knit together by several score fraternal groups and by the Catholic Church, many of whose dignitaries are pro-Fascist Italians and Spaniards. Principal coordinator for Fascist propaganda and Hispanidad organizations is the “Com-ision Organizadora del Primer Congreso de la Cultura Hispano-Americana,” all of whose functionaries are well-known authoritarians, admirers of the “New Order” in Europe.

They import from Spain tons of books and magazines. Propaganda is aided by several large Spanish publishing houses, by nearly a score of Fascist-controlled radio stations which regularly transmit Hispanidad propaganda under titles like “La Vos de Espana,” “Espana de Hoy.” Spanish films bring Hispanidad to the attention of the moviegoing masses; an increasing number of Spanish dancers, singers, artists stream to Buenos Aires to remind Argentines of the strong ties of Hispano-American culture.

The movement has the use of Spanish diplomatic mails and codes. It has plenty of money, the support of thinly disguised Italian and German propaganda and sabotage organizations in Argentina and throughout Latin America. Perhaps more important than any of these is the support of the Church, which to many Argentines is unmistakably identified with the aims and progress of Hispanidad.

Lately the movement has received fresh and ironical support—from the U.S. Government itself. When Argentines read and hear that the U.S. is now appeasing Dictator Franco, they can hardly believe that Franco’s Hispanidad is as bad as U.S. spokesmen make out.