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1 REMARKS BY DR. ARTURO MORALES CARRION, COMMONWEALTH UNDER

r- SECRETARY ·op STATE, DURING THE WORKSHOP .ON LATIN
AMERICAN EXCHANGE, AT THE THIRD NATIONAL CONF'ERENCE
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Q;N EXCHANGE OF PE f\SONS, WASHINGION, D. C.
I JANUARY 30, 1959 .

I have gratefu~ly accepted the invitation to participate

in this workshop . and to make some brief comments on its

subject, bearing in mind our practical experience in

Puerto Rico i~ · the field of educational and technica'l

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exchanges with Latin .M.merica. we are, as you probably

know, a busy meeting place i'or people i'rom the whole

Hemisphere. It is our daily business to exch~n~e views

and opinions on many aspects of Latin American life with

the thousands of visitors who come to our Commonwealth

as train~&~ and obs~rvers. Many of our professors,

technicians, and government officials have been on

missions to Latin America and they bring back fresh

insights into the present state of inter-American relations.

We feel that educational exchanges with_Latin America

must be appraised against the background of the dramatic

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social an.d democratic revolution now taking place in the

Latin American half of the Hemisphere. A powerful a rd

turbulent democratic wave i .s rolling up from the so ut):i ·

which has struck the dictatorships with devastating f · ~ ce.

The younger generations, even the high school student s , have

been in the forefront. fhey have provided new cadres and a

,- fresh vigour 'to the anti-dictatorial movements of a generation

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'I I ago. While in most places the experienced democratic leaders
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have taken over, these younger groups will play an increasing .,
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role in coming years. Some of their ide~s are nebulous and
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they may sound at times immature and extremely nationalistic,
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of their purpose, nor their h1~~and passionate devotion to
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a new way of democratic life, to good and honest governme~t

and to an emerging sense of unity with other liberal groups

across national boundaries. ,.

These seem to be tbeir broad objectives; but the new

groups are not doctrinaire. '!'hey have not completely defined

their pos .ition on many 0·\.!2.e~ issues and this is an advantage

and a promise if proper encouragement and desinterested

advice are available. fhe new Latin America that is emerging

has a . powerful democratic elan, but not a well-rounded

democratic program.

Let us point out another !'act. 'l'here is a deep

ambivalence vis-a-vis the United States. In spite of harsh

criticism, many Latin Americans from the educated classes

admire certain u.s. cultural achievements, particularly

in the novel and the dramatic arts. There is obvious

respect . for U. S. industrial might, but not much love for

u.s. leaders and U.S. institutions. Pol~tically, the inner
streng.th of U .s. democracy is little understood. The Latin

Americans somehow feel that the U.S. has no "message" of

effective use to them in rebuildi ng a democratic pattern.
In talking to many Latin americans in the 20 - 40 age

group, I have also been repeatedly struck by the .ta.ct . that

there is no i.mmediate reaction of' animosity towards this country.

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But, on the other hand, tnere is a feeling or : remot~ness,
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of t~e existence of two se?arate psyc~ologi6al worlds that
I cannot meet. Techniques may migra~e and be adapted; but'
heart to heart understanding . ~.s considered an almost
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impossible feat. For years, many Latin Americans have
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.Ii felt that the.u.s. was, if not blind, at laast indifferent
to Latin Amerlcan democratic yearnings. This is, ih~eed,
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an explosive psychological issue, now that t~e democratic
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whirlwind is in full force. It is a most 1'ormidable 'I
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barrier to real understanding. I
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We must bear in mind an)ther fact. We are ' in for a .l
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big and ten~e debate in this Hemisphere mn the true nature I

of inter~American r ~ lationships. While the dictators were . ,I

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in power, the press wass muz~led~ Any debate was highly I

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artificial. Only t~ose issues were argued which the dictator
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a llowed to be debatable. But now, the press has gained its l

freedom from Argentina to Guba and a searching analysis I

has begun. T1.is is a battle of facts and ideas and it I

cannot be avoided. We who favor an effective, vigorous

solidarity in the Americas, must brace ourselves for a

·period of critice : questioning, cov ering every phase from

politics to educ atio n, from cultural mores to economic

developme nt a nd the va lue of a.s. techniques.

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I Inter-American educational exchange therefore has to

I seek out, as soon as possible, the young, emerging leaders.

l.l ,,;-.., This task cannot be left to slow bureaucratic selection.
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The search has to reach quickly into universities and
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preparatory schools, into labor' groups, into the press,
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l\ I and, indeed, into poli~ical and intellectual circles for

I -·" th·Jse new leaders who are beginning to ir.·i'luence public

I opinion and who are shaping the new politics, the new

I economics, the new education . ·rhese people must · have

I increasing opportunities · for travel. They should meet

with young study groups in American universitie~, labor

unions and cultural institutes: They s~ould meet with

U.S. leaders in government, in the Congress, in industry,

in labor, wit~ no holds barred. I remember w1:1.en Senator

Fulbright was in Puerto RicG last year, we held a forum with

forty chosen ' trainees trom as many lands. basic issu~s

were discussed, from the atom bomb to racial segregation

in ·Arkansas, and the caste system in India. It was rough,

but it was eff~ctive.

I feel we sho~ld begin planning a type of seminar,

workshop or colloquium where U.S. and Latin American leaders
~ of the younge r generation would ge t together to explore

the basic issues separating the two Americas . We are ready

in Puerto Ri co to coo pe rate in a pilot experiment along

these lines. · Out of t~is experience we may develop a _../.

'-P/c-to·ma1r1a-I·dv-:~e.J •(~·I, in d is sent, a s well as a cfr7n8v.~~-A~-e-~~ in agreement.

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() These are times for tough intellectual give and take

I. in tl-ie New World community. I have a strong feeling that

I the young Latin Americans will appreciate discovering some

IJ of the U.S. outstandin g t r a i t s. ..;:·' ~ its capacity for self- ,,

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analysis and self-criticism, its unwillin gness to ~ccept

as permanent ..controllin g; factors of Ameri'can life

McCarthism or. raoial prejudices or government by vested

interest or Pollyanna conformism. The Latin. American has

to discover the great intellectual resilience of U.S.

culture, the forces that defy standardization and complacency.

On the 0th~r hand, the United States should begin to

attune its ears to the democratic clamor in Latin America.

It shollld not expec_t the upcoming generations to beha ve

like Dritish parlame nta rians. It is a tough generation.

They will not be easy to deal with. No profit-making

philosophy will persuad e t hem. No rosy propa ganda will.

win them over. Only t he convi6tion that freedom is· something

ato be sh ~ red by all, tl:la t democracy is not word but an

active, living faith, tha t one must always look beyond a

government to the peo?le, will provide a trlle basis for heart-to

heart un derstandin g . ·r':'i.e se tlre, in my o~inion, some of

t he guiding lights for t he immediate future of educational

exchange in the Hemi s ph e re.

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