327. Memorandum of a Conversation, February 19, 19591

SUBJECT

  • Conversation between President Eisenhower and President Lopez Mateos on Board Yacht “Sotovento”, February 19, 1959

PARTICIPANTS

  • The President, President Lopez Mateos, His Excellency Mr. Manuel Tello, Foreign Minister of Mexico; Dr. Milton Eisenhower; The Honorable Robert C. Hill, United States Ambassador to Mexico; Assistant Secretary Rubottom; The
  • President’s Press Secretary, Mr. Hagerty; His Excellency Lic. Antonio Carrillo Flores, Mexican Ambassador to the United States; Lic. Ramón Beteta, former Mexican Secretary of the Treasury

The President, accompanied by Dr. Milton Eisenhower, Ambassador Hill, Mr. Rubottom and Mr. Hagerty, boarded the President’s yacht at about one p.m. from small craft departing from the docks of the Club de Pesca Hotel.

The discussion while on the fantail of the yacht was quite general in nature, the various members of the two parties joining the Presidents from time to time.

President Lopez Mateos led the President to the yacht’s dining salon at about 1:45 after the yacht had gotten underway and then dropped anchor in Puerto Marques.

The Mexicans took little initiative during the luncheon discussion. President Eisenhower told of the time that he had spoken to General Bedell Smith when the latter had conveyed orders to him in the early days of World War II to report for duty in Washington. The President also recounted some of his experiences in dealing with officials of the Soviet Union, especially their tiring techniques of going through the same monotonous story every time about how much they want peace, and ignoring in their presentation what they really could do if they were to carry out their responsibilities. The President also related his experience with Marshal Stalin during a short visit to Moscow shortly after the occupation of Berlin in 1945. General Eisenhower had found that it was difficult to do business with Zhukov in spite of the friendly relations between them, due to the failure of the Soviet Government to delegate him any authority. By playing up to Soviet pride and alluding to Zhukov’s ability to get things done, when exactly the opposite was the case, General Eisenhower had brought about precisely what he wanted, i.e., authorization to Zhukov to work with the allied commanders in Berlin without having to clear everything with his superiors in Moscow. The Mexican officials listened in rapt attention to the President’s story.

After lunch, the two Presidents moved out of the dining room to resume their discussion over coffee in the adjoining salon. The serving of coffee set up discussion on that subject with the Mexicans emphasizing its importance in the Mexican economy and their concern over price declines in that commodity. Ambassador Hill said that coffee had moved up to become Mexico’s most important export commodity after cotton, adding that Mexico is now a leading producer after Brazil and Colombia. Mr. Rubottom told of his discussions with the Colombian officials recently in Bogota and of the necessity that the producers hold the line agreed to in the International Coffee Study Group, unless chaos is to ensue in the market. Foreign Minister Tello said that the International Coffee Group’s efforts were impaired because of the [Page 864] attitude of Great Britain and Ethiopia. He voiced a belief that Britain’s position was weakened by their sending only government officials rather than knowledgeable members of the trade. The President suggested that the United States might encourage the British to add trade experts to their representation.

Ambassador Carrillo Flores stressed the desirability of the closest possible cooperation between his country and the United States on all economic matters. The United States probably sells more goods to Mexico than any other country except Canada; virtually every dollar earned by Mexico from whatever source is spent in the United States. He alluded to the cooperation given his Government by the State Department, and hoped that other departments of the United States Government might cooperate as well.

The President declared that other United States departments were also interested in cooperating in international economic problems, although they had their own responsibilities under our system of government which required that they take different factors into account than those weighing on the State Department. The President also referred to the pressure from interested groups with which the United States Government has to contend, just like any government.

Foreign Minister Tello commented on the seriousness of the cotton problem for Mexico and Mexico’s regret that the United States had not consulted with her before putting the new price support program into effect. He acknowledged that we had done all that we could in respect to lead and zinc with Mexico’s full cooperation, and that Canada had been the obstacle to agreement. He also alluded to the coffee problem. Then, saying that he might be indiscreet, the Foreign Minister referred to the recent meeting of Agriculture Ministers from the countries of Central America with their own in Mexico City. They not only talked about the problems of pests and plant diseases but also about the specific problem of marketing cotton. They all felt that an international agreement was necessary.

Ambassador Hill underlined the need for the United States to consult in advance with its trading partners and close neighbors, like Mexico, before adopting a new program. The President expressed his view that we had blundered in not consulting in advance.

The Foreign Minister expressed his concern, not only over the subsidy increase, but that great uncertainty will prevail in the market because the United States prices may change from month to month. This has given buyers advantage over sellers and Mexico has heavy stocks on hand.

The President said that neither he nor anybody in his party was expert on the subject of cotton, but he would see to it that the Departments of State and Agriculture got together on the cotton problem.

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The President expressed the interest of the United States in a large new dam project on the Rio Grande and his understanding that Mexico was equally interested. President Lopez Mateos, who made very few direct comments on any substantive matter during the whole afternoon’s discussion, confirmed his country’s interest in the project known as Diablo Dam and said that the pertinent studies were moving ahead.

The President mentioned the possibility of a joint effort in establishing an international park in the Big Bend area, citing the example of the United States-Canadian cooperation in a similar effort and stressing the benefits from such joint enterprise. President Lopez Mateos replied that Mexico had encountered constitutional obstacles to this kind of joint endeavor and that constitutional amendment might be required if they were to participate. The President acknowledged that this could indeed be a political obstacle. President Lopez Mateos said that the project had been started 15 or 16 years ago, that a committee had been established and that it had decided that an amendment would be required—thus, the subject is a delicate one.

Ambassador Carrillo Flores said that, in spite of the cotton matter, there were great areas of satisfactory cooperation between the two countries. He had seen this while the Secretary of the Treasury and knew that we had again been helpful in the recent financial talks. He complimented the attitude of the Export-Import Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the private banks, citing the latter’s recent loan to Pemex.

The President declared that nobody knew better than he himself what our cooperative efforts had done to the benefit of both countries. His objective now was to try to solve some as yet unsolved problems; with respect to cotton, he would be communicating with Washington and hoped to have a message by the next day on the current status of the cotton matter.

Turning directly to President Lopez Mateos, the President said, “Each of us has great power. By working together, we can multiply our strength.” He offered to listen to any matters the Mexicans might wish to bring up. President Lopez Mateos seemed appreciative but did not take the initiative.

Foreign Minister Tello told the President that he was beset by much heavier problems than Mexico’s. He wondered what they might do to help him more.

The President replied by wondering how we could both be better partners. He cited progress in recent years—the aviation agreement, the fishing boat problem which, while not permanently settled, had been brought under some measure of control, and the migrant labor agreement.

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President Lopez Mateos acknowledged that much progress had been made, but expressed the hope that the solutions to such economic problems as cotton would not be too long delayed.

The President answered that solutions to our problems would be easier to encounter if they were left only to Mexico and the United States. He said, “I hope you and I can have a close personal relationship. Write me whenever you wish, irrespective of the State Department.” The President then laughed and said that actually the Department had encouraged him to establish this kind of relationship with President Lopez Mateos.

The President and his party left the yacht about 4:45 p.m.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.12/2–1959. Confidential. Drafted by Rubottom and approved by Major Eisenhower on March 13.