835.00/1661
The Ambassador in Argentina (Armour) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 21.]
Sir: With reference to the Embassy’s airgram No. A–552 of June 21 [26] 5:05 p.m.,29 I have the honor to report that the policy of the [Page 431] Ramírez Government during its first month in office has been confused and at times inconsistent. Observers advance conflicting views on the intentions of the revolutionary leaders and undertake to support them by reference to official acts or pronouncements. Such opinions, although often determined by fear or wishful thinking, reflect the general uncertainty. In illustration, newspapers as widely separated ideologically as the pro-Ally and pro-democratic El Mundo, La Nación, and La Prensa and the pro-Axis advocates of totalitarianism, El Pampero and El Cabildo, have consistently shown approval and support of the Government, each from its own point of view.
There would seem to be at least three factors contributing to this confusion. First, it is the natural consequence of the errors of commission and omission committed by members of the armed forces inexperienced in policy-making and public administration. Certain untimely acts of the press censorship, for example, which on occasion have been as embarrassing to the President and the Foreign Minister as to the papers themselves, were obviously due to lack of experience and political tact.
Secondly, the influence of the Church in the councils of the new Government seems from all reports to be quite pronounced. A leading clerical adviser has been a Father Wilkinson, former chaplain at the Campo de Mayo military base who was given an office in the Casa Rosada. The policy counseled by Father Wilkinson is believed to have been isolationist and possibly anti-Allied. In this he reflected an attitude often shown in the past by a not inconsiderable body of the Catholic clergy in Argentina, especially among Spanish priests. However, since I was told on July tenth by Lieutenant Colonel Enrique Gonzalez, secretary of the Presidency, that Father Wilkinson was about to go because his views were not in line with those of the new Government, the present influence of the clergy in the Casa Rosada may not be so strong as at first appeared to be the case.
Thirdly, it is becoming increasingly evident that a struggle for supremacy is going on between democratic and pro-severance-of-relations forces in the Government on the one hand and pro-totalitarian, “neutralist”, and anti-American or anti-British groups, likewise in or close to the Government, on the other, with the latter showing considerable strength. General Ramírez hinted at this in my conversation with him on July 6 reported in telegram No. 1506 of July 6, 9 p.m. The existence of this internal struggle may account for the contradictory nature of such measures as suppression of radio-communications in code abroad, which directly favors the United Nations, and the naming of General Pertiné, a known nationalist and pro-Nazi, as Mayor of the Federal Capital; the statement of Lieutenant Colonel Ladvocat on July 2 regarding neutrality (telegram [Page 432] No. 1470 of July 2, 2 p.m.30) and Foreign Minister Storni’s Independence Day speech (telegram No. 1490 of July 531); and reversal on July 6 of the Buenos Aires Intervener’s earlier decision to reject Matías Sánchez Sorondo’s resignation as president of the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires (telegram No. 1499 of July 6, 6 p.m.30).
Until a decision is reached between these two tendencies the direction of the future policy of the Government cannot be foretold and the hesitation and inconsistency will continue. For the present, nevertheless, several encouraging features should be noted. The feeling is general, and extends even to Conservatives, that Ramírez’s intentions are good and that he should be supported against any other combination possible under the circumstances (notably the totalitarian-minded in the army). Secondly, after Admiral Storni’s Independence Day remarks, which the Department will remember he later that afternoon told me were designed to bring the “other side” into the open, it was Sánchez Sorondo who was forced out of office, not Storni. Also, General Ramírez’s statement to me in our conversation of July 6 that after the Ninth of July celebrations he will dedicate himself to preparing opinion for a severance of relations with the Axis is encouraging, since if in this effort he gives free rein to the democratic papers and restricts their opponents, as he apparently plans to do, the result will be a strengthening not only of his own position but of that of the supporters of democracy, as pointed out below. That his prestige among the people has already grown considerably was amply demonstrated by the attitude of the crowds on the Ninth of July. His return from the military review that afternoon was something of a triumphal procession. Likewise, when he inspected the damage done by a great fire that destroyed a large business house in the center of town on the eighth, an apparently spontaneous demonstration took place among the passers-by who witnessed the visit. With these indications of where the people’s sympathies lie Ramírez must understand that the democratic support of the country is his if he wants it and if he is willing to assume the obligations accompanying it.
The next few weeks then will be of much importance in the development of the Ramírez Government. It still seems logical to assume that Ramírez would like to become the legally elected president and go down in Argentine history as the man who returned the country to the people. He may therefore be expected to do his utmost to strengthen his position to a point where severance of relations with the Axis and the calling of elections will not precipitate internal disorders. There is at present no way of gauging the extent of the [Page 433] opposition within the armed forces to the latter course. It is probably greater than in the matter of breaking relations. That it is considerable is apparent from some of the appointments made the past month. However, if the President handles the press intelligently and if he is clever enough to take advantage of the democratic sentiment prevailing in the country he should be able so firmly to establish his authority that the opposition within the army will be powerless to prevent fulfillment of his promise that the country will be returned to a constitutional régime. As a matter of fact, it might be difficult for Ramírez himself in the face of the popular enthusiasm thus aroused, to prevent matters developing along this line.
This will of course take some time and in the meanwhile the very fact of delay may well create internal difficulties and criticism for the Government as it did during the Uriburu32 régime. However, there are distinctions between the two cases which are important, the fundamental one being that the Uriburu revolution upset the party of the people while the Ramírez-Rawson movement had, as a first consequence, the dislodging of the Conservatives from their entrenched position of privilege. The people as a whole appreciate and applaud the Government’s evident effort to deal with administrative demoralization and corruption in official circles and undoubtedly realize they have benefitted from practical measures such as the lowering of rents and the fixing of maximum prices for a number of basic foodstuffs. In addition, there is disgust even in some Conservative circles at the extent of the graft and inefficiency, now being uncovered, in the rígime of the former government and a desire to see this blot removed from the country’s escutcheon. It seems unlikely, therefore, that any group would come forward to attempt to restore the former régime and in the absence of a suitable substitute for the present government it is probable that Ramírez’s effort will be given a fair trial.
It might be helpful here to recapitulate some of the principal measures the Government has taken since its establishment. The fourteen provinces and the territories have been intervened and army or naval officers, most of them retired officers, named as Interveners. The Department of Posts and Telegraphs, the Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales, the Department of Health, the Department of Labor, the Transport Corporation of the City of Buenos Aires, and the National Commission for the Coordination of Transportation have new presidents, two of whom are distinguished civilians and the rest members of the armed forces. The National Board of Education and the National Lottery Board are operating under interventors. The “Committee of Citizens” which was appointed by the former Government [Page 434] when the President dissolved the Board of Aldermen of the Federal Capital, has been dissolved. General (Ret.) Basilio Pertiné was appointed Mayor of the Federal Capital and subsequently was invested with the attributes of the dissolved Board of Aldermen with certain exceptions having to do with financial matters. The dissolution of Congress by General Rawson was confirmed by the Ramírez Government, as previously reported, but at least four of its special committees, three investigating the lottery, iron, and sunflower-seed scandals and one examining coordination of the country’s transportation system, have been specially authorized to continue functioning, under the supervision of Vice President Sabá Sueyro. Some four judges from the Federal Capital and one from the Territory of Chaco have been dismissed and several other members of the judiciary separated from their posts, on the ground of corruption. The Interventor in Buenos Aires Province several days ago suddenly cancelled the rejection of Matías Sánchez Sorondo’s resignation as president of the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires and proceeded to accept the resignation out of hand. The Buenos Aires English-language daily The Standard was suspended for one day for an editorial attack on Goebbels published four months previously. Maximum prices lower than those previously prevailing have been fixed on certain basic foodstuffs such as sugar and potatoes. Rents throughout the Republic have been lowered by decree from five to twenty percent. The Minister of War announced several weeks ago that charges leveled against the probity of a number of army officers in active service by the Chamber committee investigating anti-Argentine activities in a report submitted early this year for consideration by the Congress, which was to have met on June 8, should not be considered to affect the honor of the officers concerned. A decree was issued about the same time banning the use of the word “provisional” in connection with the Government. There has been a shakeup in the Buenos Aires provincial police which uncovered irregularities in that body. Special investigations are being carried on of the administrations of the former ministers of agriculture and the interior, while these ex-functionaries remain under arrest. Stern repressive measures have been taken against the Communists. These include among other things the closure of certain war-relief organizations aiding the United Nations, such as the Junta de la Victoria, in which Communistic influence is alleged to exist (telegram No. 1521 of July 8, 7 [8] p.m.34).
The future of the political parties will be discussed when the situation becomes clearer.
Respectfully yours,