574. Memorandum of a Conversation, Embassy Residence, Panama City, July 23, 19561
PRESENT
- The President
- The Secretary of State
- Dr. Milton Eisenhower
- Asst Secy Holland
- Mr. Bernbaum
- Mr. Neal
- Lt. Col. Walters
- President Perez Jimenez
- Foreign Minister Arismendi
President Perez Jimenez opened the conversation by thanking the President for receiving him and expressing his satisfaction at seeing the President looking so well. The President said that considerable enthusiasm had been shown during the meeting the previous day but that he felt that the speeches had been interesting and that the meeting was a useful one.
The President of Venezuela said that he felt that it was valuable as a first contact between the Chiefs of State and that he agreed with what the President had said that such meetings were useful. After preliminary contacts further meetings could be helpful.
The President said that he was very happy that the Venezuelan President had been able to attend the meeting. He had sent Mr. Holland down to say how important he felt this meeting was. The President of Venezuela said that this was a great honor and had convinced him he should come.
The Secretary of State then said to the President that President Perez Jimenez had produced more than oratory on the previous day, [Page 1135] he had offered to “put cash on the line.” The President said that he much appreciated this gesture on the part of Venezuela.
President Perez Jimenez said he felt that besides talk there was need for something concrete. He said that the speeches had been very long the previous day and that the South Americans had much to learn from the United States in this respect; that is, less talk and more concrete performance.
Asst Secy Holland said that the Venezuelans did not have much to learn in this respect. A year ago when he had been in Venezuela they had shown him a mountain and told him that they wanted to build a cable car up the mountain and a hotel at the summit. He had felt that this was something that might some day come to pass, but when he had been in Venezuela two weeks ago the cable car was already built and ten stories of the eighteen story hotel were already up.
President Perez Jimenez said that this was true but that they still had much to learn from the United States.
The President then referred to the allusion in his speech of the previous day to the benefits that might accrue to human society from nuclear science in the fields of power, medicine and agriculture. Nuclear power on a competitive basis was probably still some years away, yet there were areas where there was no other possibility of furnishing power and if there was no alternative source then nuclear power was the only possible answer. In the field of medicine great strides had been made in locating brain tumors through the use of radioactive isotopes. There were other uses for these products. He felt that every doctor should attend a course on the contribution of nuclear science to medicine. In the field of agriculture it could be determined whether more or less fertilizer was required to obtain maximum production. This science opened up whole new perspectives.
President Perez Jimenez said that they had had many contacts with U.S. experts in this field thanks to the good will of the U.S. Government and that they had an institute which studied these matters in Venezuela, this was the Neurological Institute. The President expressed his satisfaction at this.
President Perez Jimenez then said that within their own Venezuelan framework they had found a system which they believed was effective because it “took the wind out of the sails” of the communists. Of course in some cases repression was necessary but they felt that this should be resorted to only as a last measure. More effective was giving the working class more than the communists promised. He recalled that in 1945 there had been troubles in Venezuela and that the embittered workers had sacked the Paraiso Club which to them was a symbol of advantages enjoyed by the [Page 1136] upper class. Today alongside of the Paraiso Club was the headquarters of the Labor Union, which was much more magnificent than the Paraiso Club, and he added humorously that if there were other disturbances it would probably be the members of the Paraiso Club sacking the Labor Union headquarters.
The President said that in the United States also the labor unions had fine headquarters. He knew of a recent case where a branch of one of the unions had paid a million dollars for a building site.
President Perez Jimenez then repeated his conviction that “taking the wind out of the communists’ sails” was the most effective means of combatting them. Their efforts now tended towards creating trouble between the United States and the countries friendly to it.
President Eisenhower then said that the communists were now preaching nationalism rather than their old style internationalism, and the Venezuelan President said that this form of communism was perhaps the most dangerous one.
Secretary Dulles then said that the declaration of solidarity against communism2 had been adopted at the Caracas conference; and the President said that we had tried to write a citation that would express what we thought of the fine work that the Venezuelans had done in this connection.
The President and President Perez Jimenez then spoke briefly of their experience in the military and civilian spheres of activity. They agreed that it was not sufficient to issue orders. Their execution had to be checked constantly.
The Venezuelan President then indicated that he would be delighted to have his picture taken with the President and repeated his desire for close and friendly relations with the United States; and the President expressed the same disposition towards Venezuela.
The President then escorted President Perez Jimenez to the door of the Embassy where photographs were taken.
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text.↩
- Reference is to Resolution XCIII, entitled “Declaration of Solidarity for the Preservation of Political Integrity of the American States Against the Intervention of International Communism,” approved on March 28, 1954, at the Tenth Inter-American Conference which met at Caracas, March 1–28, 1954. For text of the resolution, see Tenth Inter-American Conference: Report of the Delegation of the United States of America with Related Documents (Department of State Publication 5692, Washington, 1955), pp. 31–158. For documentation on the conference, see Foreign Relations, 1952–1954, vol. IV, pp. 264 ff.↩