The recent shift in some of our diplomatic personnel in Central America serves to focus our attention on the political trends in the five republics in Central America. Consul General Heng-Chih Sung arrived at Managua, Nicaragua, in May, 1951 while both Charge d'Affaires Tze Hsu assumed office at San Jose and Consul General Chung-han Liu reported for duty at Guatemala City in May, 1952.
From north to south, the five states of Central America are Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In other parts of the world, there has been a tendency to lump them together on account of their superficial similarity. They are all not too big in size. They are all situated in the tropics. They are all predominantly agricultural in economy. They all use Spanish as their official language. They all have a rather long history of political instability in which dictators and revolutions follow each other with bewildering speed. This tendency to over-emphasize common points is a regrettable one. Not only does it hurt the national sensibilities of each republic, but, in neglecting their differences, it cannot put the political problems of Central America in their proper perspective.
The racial composition of the peoples of these five republics varies considerably from country to country. Where persons of Spanish descent predominate, their approach to their civic problems would be somewhat different from that of a country where either meztizos or Indians are in the majority. The differences in climatic and geographic conditions are also reflected in the differences of their produce and their economies. While none of the republics in Central America is particularly noted for the stability of its institutions, the degree of instability ranges widely in the five states. The point that is of special interest to us in Taiwan is the great difference in their attitude toward communists. The attitude of the Government of Guatemala in this regard can vary very widely from that commonly held by the other four governments.
On the one hand, you have El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, while on the other extreme, you find Guatemala. Honduras has a population of one and a half million. Under president Juan Manuel Galvez, its government is clearly committed against communist imperialism and its fifth columnists. El Salvador, with a population of almost two million and without any Atlantic coast, is the smallest of the Central American Republics. 20% of its population is purely Indian. Under Major Oscar Osorio, El Salvador is anti-communist. Nicaragua has a population of slightly over a million and is the largest of the Central American republics. Its chief exports are gold and coffee. Nicaragua is against communism.
Costa Rica is the southernmost of the republics and is next to smallest in area. It has a population of not quite a million. The standard of civilization, prosperity and political order of Costa Rica are far above those of any of its neighbors. 14% of its population are meztizos, 2% are pure Indians, 4% are pure West Indian negroes while 80% are persons of Spanish descent. It is a country of small proprietors, each owning and tilling his own land, with no absentee ownership. The United Fruit Company is powerful in regions where it operates. In such regions, the company even assumes some of the police powers. In the rest of the country, it exercises little influence on politics. In 1948, lack of sufficient awareness of communist intrigues mistakenly called liberalism furnished the communists with an opportunity to get a firm foothold in the government. Their charge of totalitarian tendencies made President Teodore Pacado refuse to recognize the legality of the election of Otilio Ulate as his successor. It was only after a popular revolution led by Jose Figueres that Ulate was finally inaugurated on November 8, 1949. Ulate succeeded in restoring the finance and production of the country to normalcy in less than two years. On being accused of shielding the army, President Ulate resigned on September 26 when Vice President Alberto Urinumo began to act for him. Whether Ulate's resignation means a slackening of Costa Rican pace in fighting communism, it is still too early to say with certainty.
Guatemala, the northernmost of the republics, has a population which is 90% Indian. Since October 20, 1944, soldiers have been in control, with a general socialist program. Under President Jacobo Arbenz, certain socialist reform measures have been taken that would be of particular interest to us in Taiwan. The Act passed by Congress on June 17, 1952, provided that if two-thirds or more of any property exceeding 664.2 acres is not under cultivation, the uncultivated portion is subject to compulsory transfer. Under this program, the Departmento Agrario Nacional under the direction of Major Alfonso Martinez has distributed government-owned land and has been surveying land of the big owners for distribution to farmers towards the end of 1952.
While the agricultural reform program would be viewed with sympathy in Taiwan, certain other aspects of Guatemalan social dynamics may not be received with similar equanimity. The communist cells are utilizing the general satisfaction engendered by the agricultural reform program to fool the farmers that the Communists played a large part in bringing it about. The industrial strikes which took place between June and September of this year bear too close a relationship to communist organizers. The strike of the municipal workers in Guatemala City, the several strikes of the Printers' Union and the long strike of the ground crew of PAA could not have taken place without careful organization and outside stimuli. The telegraphic message of sympathy to North Korea which incidentally expressed in the established Soviet manner strong opposition to bacterial warfare was signed by 41 members of the legislature led by Victor Manuel Gutierrez. Five delegates led by a member of the legislature were sent by Guatemala to the so-called Peace Confab of the Asian and Pacific Regions in Peiping. Their enthusiasm was not a bit dampened by the necessity of having to fly by way of Havana due to the strike of PAA ground crews.
In the light of such evident and strong susceptibility to communism, it is little wonder that there was signed on October 14, 1951, the Charter of San Salvador which is the Organic Law of La Organizacion de Estados Centroamericanos. While the declared original aim of the organization was the maintenance of communications and economic and cultural liaison among the five member states, development during 1952 has given it a bias in favor of the democracies. The conference which was scheduled for September 3, 1952 was announced by Salvadoran Foreign Minister Roberto Canessa to be postponed to January, 1953.
He explained the postponement as being necessitated by the need of the Organization of Central American States to study the means for combating communism. On September 14, Canessa stated, "we shall fight with all our means against any imposition.... seeking to force upon the country…………………….. Marxist theories mischievously disguised to appeal to the masses".
The activities of Dr. Juan Jose Arevalo, ex-President of Guatemala, in conference with Dr. Carlos Prio Socaras, former President of Cuba and Signor Romulo Betancourt, deposed President of Venezuela, would have a direct bearing on subsequent development in Central America. It is hoped that the Organization of Central American States, being so keenly alive to the communist threat against Central American security, may gain enough cohesion and develop sufficient power to combat effectively its fifth columnist foes.
Communist Tactics at Pamnunjom
"It has been said that in war there is no substitute for victory. It can also be said that in debating with the Communists there is no substitute for the imperative logic of military pressure.
"Debating with the Communists is not as simple as starting from a valid premise and proceeding by cold logic to a sound conclusion. The Communist way is to start from a false or irrelevant premise and proceed by invective and bombast to a shameless demand described as a 'just and reasonable proposal.' The relation between premise and conclusion is seldom clear and the road between the two is traveled with untroubled lack of logic. History is rewritten to support the claim of the moment and most claims are uncomplicated by moral considerations. The end is mother of the means. Proof is by assertion, and rebuttal is by vilification. Repetition is the alchemy by which fiction becomes fact and fact becomes fiction. The machinery of debate is used to destroy the purpose of debate, just as democratic institutions are used by the Communists to destroy democracy. While you can expect to accomplish very little positive good through debate you can be certain of unlimited opportunity to foul your own anchor, to become buried under your own patience or to become impaled on your lack of it. Patience and logic are essential, but they can never be decisive. In the end, might is essential to right, not because you or I would have it that way, but because, unless we have armed might and unless we are willing to use that armed might in dealing with the Communists, we cannot win our point and, in fact, we may not survive to argue our point." - Vice Admiral Charles Turner Joy: My Battle Inside the Korea Truce Tent, Collier's August 23, 1952.