Office of the Historian

173. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Argentina1

Washington, September 27, 1961.

575. 1. President Kennedy and President Frondizi talked privately on September 26 for about two hours2 and with their advisers for almost two hours more.3

2. Argentines submitted a long memorandum in advance requesting following loans:4

(a)
$146.7 million for El Chocon-Los Colorados hydroelectric project, estimated to cost a total of $262 million;
(b)
Equipment and construction to renew entire meat-packing and meat transportation system with several items totaling $220 million;
(c)
Ditto for poultry raising and processing industry, totaling $15 million;
(d)
Ditto for fruit storage and transportation industry, totaling $65 million;
(e)
For savings and loan and other low cost housing credit institutions, $200 million;
(f)
For fish storage and processing, $20 million. (Appended to memorandum were lists of other hydroelectric projects totaling $149 million, and irrigation projects totaling $187 million.)

3. President Frondizi said his Government determined to proceed with El Chocon complex and wished “political” if not financial commitment from US. President Kennedy agreed to favorable response concerning US participation this project, conditioned on favorable recommendations by current IDB survey.5 Final communique6 also included statement of US favorable disposition toward additional assistance in low-cost housing field and manifested sympathetic attitude toward good projects in other categories, although no indication was given that assistance in agricultural processing industry could go beyond medium term credits for equipment.

4. Argentines emphasized their concern for larger US markets for meat. President Kennedy assured that scientific recheck by independent scientists on basis for US quarantine on pickled and cured meats now proceeding completely objectively.

5. President Kennedy offered to talk personally with Moore of Wilson Packing Co. to determine possibilities of constructive action.

6. In response to Secretary Rusk’s direct query, Foreign Minister Carcano said that he did not know enough about the bilateral aviation agreement to be able to discuss it usefully. No mention was made of possible airport loans.

7. Only passing descriptive comments were made by Argentines concerning steel production projects, and comments concerning railroad re-organization were even more casual.

8. President Frondizi emphasized his belief that multilateral action concerning Cuba should be postponed because it would be extremely difficult until practical results could be shown to the people from Alliance for Progress projects.

9. President Kennedy emphasized that striking self-help measures, such as in taxes and land reform, will be necessary if his Administration [Page 359] is to obtain additional large appropriations required from US Congress for assistance in economic and social development.

10. Argentines appeared to be comparatively unimpressed with documents (Deptel 561) and doubted their authenticity.7 Department arranged to have a complete set of photostats delivered by de la Torre directly to Argentine visitors, since Cuban exiles are very anxious to release texts of the documents and this direct contact would relieve Department of responsibility for repercussions from such publication.

Bowles
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.11-KE/9-2761. Confidential. Drafted by Woodward, cleared by Goodwin, and approved by Woodward. Repeated to USUN.↩
  2. The memorandum of the private conversation, held at the President’s suite in the Hotel Carlyle, New York City, 9-10:15 a.m, is ibid. Kennedy and Frondizi were at the United Nations for the General Assembly session.↩
  3. The second meeting with advisers (Rusk, Woodward, Martin, and Goodwin for the United States; Foreign Minister Caraco, Ambassador del Carril, Minister of Economics Alemann, Ambassador Arnaldo Musich, and Cecilio Morales for Argentina) also took place at the Hotel Carlyle from 10:15 to 11:30 p.m. (Johnson Library, Rusk Appointment Book) The memorandum of conversation of the meeting, September 26, is in Department of State, Central Files, 611.35/9-2661.↩
  4. Rusk sent President Kennedy a memorandum, dated September 26, explaining that the Argentine request totaled over $1 billion. He noted that only a small percentage of the projects had been mentioned before and “the new ones appear to have been hastily conceived and haphazardly presented—apparently for the purpose of affording us an opportunity to provide financial assistance if we are anxious to do so.” Rusk recommended that Kennedy give Frondizi only a general commitment for assistance. The specific projects would have to be discussed with U.S. advisers. (Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, Countries Series, Argentina, General, 1961)↩
  5. Not found.↩
  6. The text of the communiqué is in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1961, pp. 627-629.↩
  7. Reference is to documents obtained by a member of the Cuban Embassy staff in Buenos Aires, who defected. The documents allegedly provided evidence of Cuban subversive activities in Argentina. (Memorandum from Goodwin to the President, undated; Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Countries Series, Argentina, General, 1/61-7/61) Telegram 561, September 25, is not printed. (Department of State, Central Files, 373.00/9-2861)↩