345. Memorandum of a Conversation Between Secretary of State Herter and the Mexican Ambassador (Carrillo Flores), Washington, October 24, 19601
SUBJECT
- Cuban Situation
PARTICIPANTS
- The Secretary of State
- Mexican Ambassador Antonio Carrillo Flores
- Assistant Secretary Thomas C. Mann
- Ambassador Robert C. Hill
- Max V. Krebs—S
- Melville E. Osborne—CMA
After presenting the regrets of the Mexican Foreign Minister, who on doctor’s advice was unable to join the Secretary for the breakfast meeting, the Mexican Ambassador said he had spent six hours the previous day in conversation with Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos during which United States-Mexican relations and the Cuban situation had been discussed. The Mexican Ambassador said he did not feel at liberty to quote the Mexican President but he did wish to point out the current popular thinking in Mexico on the subject of Cuba. He said he had pointed out to the Mexican President that at least 95 percent of the people of the United States were opposed to the Castro regime, while in Mexico opinion was generally favorable to the aims of the Castro revolution though concerned over its excesses. He said he realized that communism in Cuba presented serious problems to the United States but over-emphasis by the United States on its anti-communist posture was frequently interpreted in Mexico as an essentially negative position and possibly a more favorable response in the hemisphere could be attained in sponsoring positive economic goals that would remove much of the danger of communism in the hemisphere. The Ambassador commented favorably upon the recent Bogotá Conference and its espousal of economic and social programs in the hemisphere.2
The Secretary remarked that communism presented a danger to all the countries of the hemisphere rather than merely to the United States where the communist danger is recognized and the possibility of a communist take-over is remote. He added that the communist threat is a political one, not fundamentally economic, for in a communist [Page 905] state no individual or political liberties are permitted. Mr. Mann commented that communists have taken over countries that were highly developed economically and the relationship between underdevelopment and receptivity to communism can be exaggerated.
- Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1779. Confidential. Drafted by Osborne and approved in S on November 2.↩
- Reference is to the third meeting of the Special Committee of the OAS to study the formulation of new measures of economic development, held at Bogotá, Colombia, September 5–13. See the microfiche supplement to this volume.↩