x- ith reference B, ve are forwarding herewith the nanuacrlptarticle, tentatively enUtlod "Jacobo Arbenserensky of Centralintended for the purposes outlined inpecificallyi o be published in the news Herrlce mentioned in reference B.
ve ere not faadllar with the news service in question, we harearticle, assuming that itona fide Socialist, antl-Ccnainlst andpublication. If we are wrong In this assumption (or if you findof the articleimpracticable for thatlease make theartontealing with theand social situationrather than the second half, nore specifically devoted
to the point ve vent to
reply to paragrapheferenceConsidering the tine you need toarticle to the intended outlet snd tbe additional time required before copiespublished articls get back into the target area, we request that it bemra-awtlfSkalt speed. At ths sane tine, please arrange for madnum directat tha point of originia particular!
Bava copies sent to the "uatemajLen legations ln rarls, London andln Europe and to the other Central American legations, newspaper correspondents etc. In rarlej .
Try to give It not only optlsna publicity in newspapers etc. (which are presumably servicedews service,ut to get the article quoted over the radio, especially in French ehortwave broadcastsat Latin America;
SifRgT
rB^UIjfcS/KrBAT CLASSIFICATION
r-BSEC/ESS/RYBAT
c) Have ooplei airmailed directly to tho odltora of the GuatemalanHat attachedaa well to any other Latin *merloanwhich you may wish to add (if this cannot be arranged office of the publication itself, hare it mailed from Facta In a
form which at least Implies that it cornea from the publisher directly).
There may be additional possibilities of which we are not aware.
u. as soon as the article appears, inform us by cable, giving name and date of outlet as well as changes from our manuscript, preferably quoting key passages in French original. Hareumber of copies sent to us by fastest means available, to permit further exploitation within LEfCOLN area.
5. In view of the present rBSUCCESS time table, the article should appearthanune, at the very latest snd cabled Information,bove, ought to reach us not later thanune, if - '
WILLIAM D. rLAUXtf;
- ^Attachments
P/EPL/a
^ k
BiCtt?
.coning from the Central American republic
denooncad
O^tfyfrl of internaticoal eoavdniaa" at
y?stlrJ?of the vrganiaaticu of
States laet March, haa induced un u>
eteran of tho French labor movement whose
^ ^ ^ fficial position enables him to travels extensive
u he Hater leas, to giveonprehon-
/ . sive picture of tho situation in Guatemala. Our
-r/
friend haa obliged usery perspicacious
hie to remain anonymous.
analysis* the responaible office which he holds
THE EOXTUB.
ihe main trend of Guatemalan developments in the social and economic fields does not offer the impartial observer any reason for concern, oa the contraryi heittle country with great potential, but still largely undeveloped wealth in crops and mineral resources which until ten years ago waa ruled ln semi-feudal stylemall clique of big landowners, largely foreigners, whoostly illiterate native population of Indiana and "ladinoe" (people of mixed whl to-Indian parentage}. now thia little country is trying to catch up with the rest of the worldi the power of the landlords ia being curtailed, uncultivated land ia being expropriated andamong the landless and poor peas an ta, labor "n1 m* have been aot up and basic labor legislation hae been introduced, highwaysew port are being built to
Improve access to tho Interior of the mountainous, tropical country and to reduce its dependency upon foreign,. capital which has controlled thus far ths only railroad, tbe only port and most of the export crops (coffee, bananas) of Guatemala.
at firstatisfactory and encouraging picture. loser survey causes scava serious doubtst foreign capital is being disooureged (which is byound enough mora),but there ls no domestic capital to replace lt, nor are the resources of ths government adequate to fill the gap which la being opened by the withdrawal of both foreign and domestic capital and by the virtual standstill of ths once highly remunerative tourist traffic. The illiterate peasants seem to spend aost of their added income in unreasonable buying sprees, instead of acquiring farm implement which would enable them to grow into an independent class of small landholders, lhe campaign to combat illiteracy makes only very slow and sluggish progress, far too little to give effective ban king to the ambitious program of social and economic reforms which the government pursues.
Behind these grave shortcomings of the social-economic scene in Guatemalaand far more serious than those mistakes which undoubtedly could be corrected without too mpchirtually unique political situation. The country bas beenof being Moscow's stronghold ln the Western hemisphere, an accusation which was the main bone of contention at the conference of all American Governments which was held bast March in Caracas, Venezuela and which has been renewed meet recently, with added bitterness 'and urgency, in connection with that secret arms shipment froa Poland.
Apologists for the regime of President Arbens tell every visitor indignantly that all the stories about cceramist control are Just malicious propagandat there arefeminist deputies ln parliament, none in the cabinet, the Communist farty (called "rarty of the Workers ofIT) has at thsembers and all branches of government. Including the Armyuntouched by partisan politics
are determine! to defend the democratic constitution of ths country against any dictatorial attempts, either frcm the right or from the left*
These apologies, however, are atangerousctually, the situation inome to see it after an extensive visit to ths country and after lengthy talks with good many Qua tarns taps representing all shades of opinions
and interestscan be best understood ln terms of Russia's experiences between February and rbe country lstate of "doubleith Arbens and bis non-comeinlst ministers, officers and politicians.cast in ths role of Kerensky and the Provisional Government of Russia, while tha ccavaunlsts have ths equivalent of
Lenin's "workers and soldiers councils" (sovists) and of Trotsky's "military organl
zation of the Bolshevist rarty",
lhe Cosmunist rarty ln Guatemala controls organized labor through an iron grip upon the CGTO, the central federation of trade unions, headed by rolltbureau aenber Gutierrez; it controls the organised small landholders and farm workersimilar organization (and dominates the Government Department of agriculture,t controls the police through ths person of tbe ambitious and unscrupulous police chief, Cruz Her; it has penetrated Guatemala's diplomatic service to such an extent that It can use ambassadors and diplomatic couriers freely to foment strikes in neighboring countries (as recently Ino grant asylum to communists engaged In criminal acts (four of the sen involved ln ths attempt to assassinate Dictator Somoza of Nicaragua were sheltered in the Guatemalan embassy) and to,snuggle bales of communist propaganda into countries where the communist party is outlawed*
. IWSSBl
Host significant, the Coaaminist Party controls president Arbens himself> political' because he has no comparable independent organized force on which he could relysnd conspirator!ally, because at least two of the key men in the President's own executive office are dedicated Ccesainist Party officials. Arbenz prides himselfAo be able to
"use" the communists without baring to depend open them (rowiter bow Kerensky prided himself of being able to oaa the Bolsheviate against Kornllov and other "dangors from tha.
atter of fact, Arbenz is considerably worse off than iereneky* the latter could have relied on democratic Socialistsnd on the liberal bourgeois parties which had emerged during Kussia'a first revolutionbut tbe Guatemalan Commmlste have seen to it that the beginningsemocratic Socialiat rarty, of free non-communist labor unions etc. have been quickly disposed of, bo that Arbenz baa no independent political force which he might use once be recognizes that be is ln mortal peril from hia Communist "friends". Furthermore,ormer career army officer, understands very little, if anything, of tbe fine Machiavellian art of communist politics, knows practically nothing of international affairs and ia therefore 4or easy game for Moscow's practiced and well trained agents.
hy latestrom well-placed Guatemalan sources lead} ma to believe that the period of "double rule" (which, throughout history, has always beenbort phase of transition) will soon come to an ond in Guatemala. Comminlst preparationsull-fledged seizure of power are virtually completed! in addition to controlling tbe police, they have organized clandestine shock troops/ Russian style, equipped with Imported Soviet *rms,even managed toew senior army officers, ihey can pull all the strings in tbe executive branch of government, un tbe other hand, the
i"on-communist government has worn thin! the United States and most Latin American Governments are treating Guatemala already as if itoviet State. Arbenz' usefulness is therefore expiring.
I was told that, in recent training courses for KIT officials, special attention has been paid to the chapter on double rule and bow it ended, ln Stalin'a "Short History of the CPSU". Knowing how the Stalinists alvaya prefer to adorn their coups with
Ideological cloaks, this confinesare pointed out above. Arbena has no chance to serve his full tern as President'.{which would last7 he sajTnothance to perform at the "Central American Touth Fostival" which the Communists are preparing as an international victory celebration, to be held next September ln Guatemala City.
The only remaining question is, how they will dispone of him: by invitation toealth cure ln Russia from which he would not return, by outright use of one of those murderous cigoret etuis which seems to be the latest "improvement" of MVD Methods, ormore charitablyby putting himlane to some sufficiently remote exile? Historically, the exact disposal technique is of little interest* but the rapid maturinginiature Soviet Republic in Central America isact of the highest significance in today's world politics!
Original document.
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