57. Memorandum From the Attorney General’s Administrative Assistant (Symington) to the President’s Special Assistant (Schlesinger)1
RE
- Alliance for Progress—Promotion
I remember in the early organizational days that there was a consensus among the representatives of State, USIA, and other Inter-Agency spokesmen that action should precede words, and that promotion features should take a back seat to accomplishment. This philosophy has been carried out too successfully. Among the intelligentsia attitudes range from whimsy to cynicism as a new form of U.S. imperialism. Among the masses there is hardly any attitude at all.
It seems the Latin governments feel they can benefit from the Alliance without promoting its concepts—perhaps because some of them are revolutionary. But, I think the story could be told in each country in a way appropriate to the times and tides.
Even in the worse barriadas people have a number of transistor radios. I think it would be useful to stimulate a hemisphere conference of leaders in the Broadcasting Industry on the subject of the Alliance and the need to explain its purposes, its direction, and its results to-date. It should be held not here but in Latin America and perhaps Leroy Collins and some colleagues could attend it on our part, with USIA observing but not participating.
I have heard many Latin announcers selling soap, and beer, and reporting soccer games; they do this with gusto and excitement. I think it was time the Alianza receive this kind of treatment across the board.
I read the much edited yet very interesting report on the Inter-American Symposium you attended. I think we need much more of this kind of effort in the private sector.
- Source: Kennedy Library, Schlesinger Papers, Writings, Alliance for Progress—General Memoranda. No classification marking.↩