Latin American perspectives II; Episode 15 of 38

Latin America perspective is a series of information and comment about Latin America with Dr. C. Harvey Gardner research professor of history at Southern Illinois University. These programs are recorded by station w s r u FM. Here now is Dr. Gardner. A handbook is something special and I'm not referring to the kind in which you put down five bucks on that sure thing in the fifth race at Aqueduct rather I'm referring to the hand book that is a compendium of information a storehouse of facts many handbooks of colas are the equivalent of your books. By which I mean to say that the new record at a certain golf course enters in the place of the old record that the man who has hit more home runs this year than anyone had previously had. Now take the line in this year's book. There will also be that statement of the individual who ran a hundred two yards returning a kickoff Sunday pro-football game. It is not that kind of the yearbook

or handbook for the kind of sharp crisp bare facts the kind that. And the argument that begins with the fourth round of the beers that I'm referring to. Rather it is the handbook that dealing with large issues comes up with us patiently and thoughtful discussion of a matter that it becomes a reference book. Not for a year but for a considerable period of time. There is such a new handbook that has just been released entitled Latin America and the Caribbean handbook edited by Claudio. They lease spelled the Allies e the latter and accomplish and this work is published by Frederick A. Prager Company of New York. The very title Latin America and the Caribbean is a strange one and deserves a word.

Most of us think of the Caribbean as automatically a part of Latin America but of course by strict definition Latin America becomes that part of this hemisphere in which the people of the Latin races have come to have the preponderant position in establishing the cultural pattern. This in the Caribbean would exclude certain English held islands. Certain Dutch held positions and since this were Latin America and the Caribbean is including everything in the Western Hemisphere south of the United States. It has this clumsy title that goes beyond Latin America to embrace some of Anglo America and Dutch America etc.. It is a fat volume treating five different parties the countries the political affairs the economic affairs the social background and the art is.

Under the countries there is by an acknowledged authority in each field. And incidentally there are more than 75 contributors to this book and essay dealing with the colonial history. The early independent history and indeed the contemporary historical LIFE OF THE NATION. In other words there is a concise historical survey of the areas. Then in part where in contemporary politics becomes the theme the political affairs within the continent become one subheading and you have discussions of the party systems in Latin America the monopoly of one here the presence of a dozen and a half there. The a Marxist nature of the permanent structure of others you have within the political affairs also a discussion of the role of the military. And this too is a strange and changing thing from decade to decade in country to country as one can see.

There's also an analysis of the role of the students in politics of the working class in politics. Indeed a brief assessment of the continuing territorial disputes that exist in Latin America and then all political affairs not being of the internal sort. Foreign relations are dealt with and one sees the basic statement of the foreign policies of Latin America particularly their policies and dealings with the United States with Spain with France with Britain with the Soviet Union and indeed one senses to the role of the Sino-Soviet dispute in Latin American foreign relations and in the revolutionary movements of Latin America. On the present timetable. Moving from political affairs on to economic matters. The Handbook by way of background summarizes the economic problems of the hemisphere

deals in some depth with the geography and the geographic factor in economic development. There is a hard look at the agrarian problem and the problem of inflation. Both of these have long been there and both seem to be almost insurmountable as far as permanent solution anywhere is concerned. There are essays on aid to Latin America and it will come of course as a surprise to some that all aid that has gone to Latin America has not been from the United States. We sense too in this matter of economic affairs. The relationship that Latin America has to various World Bank organizations to the alliance for progress to the Economic Commission for Latin America the U and agencies indeed every organizational approach to aiding the economic development of this Latin American world. There are some specific case studies where in you sense

that the leading countries with the greatest potential those which in part by the concern of the editor in chief because he believes there is a future in Latin America and hence an awareness of its presence is very important. And so there is an article in the industrialization of Mexico the industrialization of Argentina and the same for Brazil and Chile and a very sane approach to the economics of the human revolution. There are specialized treatments as with such a crop as coffee in Brazil and such a product as copper in Chile. And oh yes that fishing industry which suddenly has moved the in fishing from 17th on the world scene to number one much to the dismay of the Japanese who for a long time it held that and the able number one spot. Beyond the economic effects as discussed in this handbook the social aspects come into focus with attention on the people in much the

anthropological sociological approach to the Indians to urban life to agrarian working classes to population in general and then some of the social institutions are praised. The role of education generally and universities in particular the Roman Catholic Church the trade union movement and then in the fifth part which becomes a bit of a catch all with that heading the Argus. One reads of the present day developments in the writing of the novel of Latin American poetry of Brazilian literature and its differences from Spanish American the kind of the high points in the literature of Argentina of Mexico and then of course the theatre painting architecture music cinema the press all receive attention. One of the articles and let me refer now to something more specific than the generality of this handbook entitled The

Alliance for Progress is written by an American who was one of those who conceived of the alliance. But at this stage more than a half decade beyond its birth he starts his article with this very harsh statement. Latin America is the graveyard for U.S. foreign policy and the Alliance for Progress is the most recent policy to be. And so he continues talking about the historical origins of the alliance the relationship that Latins had to it as well as citizens of this country. He talks about the fundamental purposes the countries in which there was initial emphasis how we somehow becoming Chand disenchanted with the Brazilians with the people of Argentina. We shift to chill a we shift to Colombia. We become disenchanted all over again. We shift to support a military hunta and Ecuador and find that nothing particularly good comes of it. It is

noteworthy that this condemnation this appraisal of the alliance that suggest it is a failure indicates that we have suffered an illusion regarding the importance of the Democratic left in Latin American politics that we have suffered and even greater illusion about the number and the role the significance of the Latin American middle class that our failure has been as great as it has been in part because Latin America is squeezed between the jaws of uncontrolled population growth and productive agriculture. Agriculture doesn't get the attention it should receive nor does birth control in Latin America. Indeed it is stated that Latin America is sliding rapidly towards a catastrophe. It is in this forthright blunt statement of fact developed into thoughtful essays that this work continues its appraisal of Latin America at

large. There is for example under the general heading of universities a very thoughtful essay in the totality of a hedonist of the criticisms that can be directed at Latin American universities. They include too little research especially in the sciences. Not only does this teach harm the teaching in Latin America but as a result new Professors are not even being trained adequately whether the educational program at University level is condemned because laboratories and library resources are very inadequate and badly organized. Recently in the news was word that a library and medical school library in Brazil had not operated for six months because the salaries of the employees had not been paid and they had just closed up shop. There is too little post-graduate work in Latin American universities. There are too many part time professors who spend most of their time and energy outside trying to make a living because the

salaries paid at the universities are miserably low. Hence the teaching the contact with the students. Lecturing all suffer. Indeed there are too many part time students who expend too little energy on their studies and among whom the discipline is poor and the tendency toward strikes are paramount. The teaching is almost entirely verbal dogmatic with an emphasis on memorization. It takes one back to the teaching methods of three or four centuries ago with a simple regurgitation of certain names and facts as the evidence of mastery of material. A number of years needed to obtain professional qualification is too great in many schools and consequently there's a very very high percentage of dropouts in Latin American university programs. There's also no well-planned organized system for selecting students and allocating them to the faculties where they can prepare themselves to meet the national need whether it be an agriculture

industry or something else. Many countries are small and cannot maintain some of the specialized services as nuclear physics and astrophysics archaeology. There should be some banding together in consequence in their total effort. This my comment about the universities suggests then that there is depth in all of the articles in Latin America and the Caribbean. The handbook edited by Claudio valleys of Chile published by Praeger. This was another programme in the series Latin America perspectives with Dr. C. Harvey Gardner research professor of history at Southern Illinois University. Join us for our next program when Dr. Gardner will comment on another interesting aspect of Latin American affairs. These programs are recorded by station w s r u FM and are made available to this station by the National

Education o Radio Network.