724.3415/4317: Telegram
The Chargé in Brazil (Gordon) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 10—10:20 p.m.]
313. The Bolivian Minister called this morning and in the course of reviewing past negotiations at some length, evidently for my benefit as a newcomer, went into the chronology of communications between him and his Government with the object of showing that the delay in communicating to Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs Bolivian Government’s consent to direct conversations with Paraguayan Minister here was due to unavoidable physical causes (including Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs’ absence from Rio over long week end, see Embassy’s 309, November 6, 6 p.m.). Bolivian Minister consequently was not inclined to cavil at the reception given to the message from his Government and said that he now presumed that direct conversations were out of the picture for the time being.
He declared that personally he was convinced that Geneva would fail to find a solution, and that he hoped such failure would be definitely established before the end of the year in order that mediation along the lines previously pursued, essential to the reaching of a permanent solution, could be resumed.
Bolivian Minister volunteered that the Argentine overtures in La Paz (your 163, November 6, 7 p.m.) mentioned “a new mediation” without indicating what countries other than Argentina were supposed to participate.
Incidentally Bolivian Minister stated that his recent instructions concerning participation in direct conversations with the Minister of Paraguay here contained no mention as to the presence of the Argentine representative (Department’s 163, November 6, 7 p.m.; Embassy’s 310, November 7, 3 p.m., last paragraph).
The Bolivian Minister proffered the view that the Liberal Party candidate had a fair chance at Sunday’s coming elections; he added that although the opposing political parties did not overtly differ on the question of the Chaco it was well understood that the Liberals if successful, while still insisting upon the soundness of Bolivia’s legal position, would be prepared to make practical concessions.
I saw the Paraguayan Minister this afternoon who agreed that direct conversations were now out of the question. He said that he favored a resumption of mediation along lines previously pursued but professed more impatience than the Bolivian Minister at the prospect of their resumption being delayed until it becomes clear that Geneva cannot proceed further with hope of effective results; he felt that Geneva would resort to various procedures consuming much time before such a stage could be said to have been reached.