World: THE ROCKEFELLER REPORT ON LATIN AMERICA

“The U.S. has all too often demonstrated, at least subconsciously, a paternalistic attitude toward other nations of the hemisphere. It has tried to direct the internal affairs of other nations to an unseemly degree, thinking, perhaps arrogantly, that it knew what was best for them. The U.S. has talked about partnership, but it has not truly practiced it.”

THE words are not, as one might readily assume, those of a Latin American politician disgruntled with the U.S. They are Nelson Rockefeller’s—and they lie at the core of a report that may well shape Washington’s Latin America policy for years to come. The report was the product of a 20-nation journey made by the New York Governor last summer to help the new Nixon Administration reassess and reinvigorate a shaky Latin American policy. Rockefeller’s survey trip was beset by anti-American demonstrations and violence. Indeed, some Latin Americans complained that the effort was at best ill-timed, at worst altogether useless.

The report, with its blunt recommendations on subjects ranging from trade to health, is far from that. Richard Nixon incorporated some of its suggestions in a policy speech in which he called for a new partnership between the U.S. and the nations of the hemisphere (TIME, Nov. 7). In line with specific Rockefeller proposals, he pledged to channel more U.S. development funds through multilateral agencies, to “untie” aid funds that up to now had to be spent in the U.S., and to accept the existence of military governments without subjecting them to moral judgments. He also raised the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs to Under Secretary to coordinate U.S. Government programs. The Rockefeller report, which is being made public this week, goes considerably beyond these measures.

Policy and Organization

The Governor feels that his recommendations will have only marginal effect unless there is a thorough reorganization of U.S. Government machinery dealing with the hemisphere. The State Department, his report contends, now controls less than half of the policy decisions affecting Latin America; other agencies, such as the Treasury and the Departments of Commerce, Agriculture and Defense, handle the remainder. What is more, says the report, the financial and technical operations of the State Department, in its administration of the U.S. aid program, all too often get tangled up with its diplomatic responsibilities. To eliminate overlap, Rockefeller recommends that the U.S. establish an Economic and Social Development Agency in the office of the President. A separate Institute of Western Hemisphere Affairs would carry out actual aid programs.

Economic Development

Rockefeller maintains that the U.S. has “intervened, usually with the best of intentions, in almost every aspect” of its neighbors’ economic policies and programs. He notes deep resentment in Latin America over the way in which U.S. aid programs have all too often been “distorted to serve a variety of purposes in the U.S. having nothing to do with the aspirations and interests of its neighbors.” Rockefeller feels that the U.S. should press for increased trade within the hemisphere. Doubling present volume by 1976 would be “realistic” but attainable only by revising U.S. quotas and tariffs on such Latin American exports as coffee, sugar and meat. Equally important is the easing of cumbersome aid restrictions. Along with loosing “tied” aid dollars, a step already ordered by Nixon, the U.S. should seek the suspension or modification of congressional amendments that threaten to cut aid to nations that expropriate U.S. private investment holdings without quick compensation, that buy “sophisticated” weapons, or that seize U.S. fishing boats. Among such codicils is the well-known Hickenlooper Amendment, which could be invoked to punish Peru for its nationalization of the American-owned International Petroleum Co. The U.S. should also abandon the practice, says Rockefeller, of demanding that at least half of all goods bought with American aid funds be transported in U.S. flagships—a hidden subsidy to the high-priced U.S. shipping industry that takes an estimated 200 out of every aid dollar. Rockefeller also urges that private U.S. investment, regarded with suspicion through much of Latin America, should be encouraged. U.S. tax rules could be eased, and efforts could be made to protect American investors abroad through private insurance rather than by the threat of U.S. Government sanctions.

Hemispheric Defense

The report notes that Latin American nations spend a smaller percentage of their gross national products on defense than any other area of the world except Africa south of the Sahara. It recommends that the U.S. reverse the recent trend to reduce its security assistance. “At the moment there is only one Castro among the 26 nations of the hemisphere; there can well be more in the future,” says Rockefeller. Moreover, the U.S. should not turn down requests from more advanced hemisphere nations for modern military equipment. “Realistically,” he explains, “it will be purchased from other sources, East or West, and this would not be compatible with the U.S.’s best interests.”

National Interest

Rockefeller’s report points out that the problems of population and poverty, urbanization and unemployment, illiteracy and injustice, violence and disorder are putting heavy pressures on governments throughout the hemisphere, and that everywhere “aspirations are outstripping resources and accomplishments.” As a result, a fertile soil is being created for those who hope to exploit the southern continent’s troubles. In the near future, the report predicts, Latin America will be beset by growing instability and an increased tendency to seek radical and authoritarian solutions. Rockefeller also warns that vociferous Latin American nationalism finds a tempting, natural target in the U.S., “since it looms so large in the lives of other nations.” Against a backdrop of danger, the report stresses that the U.S. in its own self-interest must reaffirm its old, and unfortunately unfulfilled, goal of making the hemisphere a better place in which to live for all Americans, both north and south.