Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–11, Part 1, Documents on Mexico; Central America; and the Caribbean, 1973–1976

35. Memorandum of Conversation¹

Washington, October 9, 1975, 4 p.m.

PARTICIPANTS

• President Ford
• Alejandro Jose Luis Orfila, Secretary General of OAS
• Amb. William Mailliard, U.S. Representative to the OAS
• Lt. General Brent Scowcroft, Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

[The press was admitted for photos. There was small talk about Orfila’s trips, and his transfer from Ambassador to Secretary General. The press was ushered out.]

Orfila: You are a very busy person. I thank you very much for taking the time to see me and for the letter you wrote me.

We are faced with a great opportunity or a great fiasco. The Organization is one that could be a big help to your foreign policy and Latin America, but which isn’t used. It is very bureaucratized. What do you want to do with the Organization? It is really up to you. You are not only the number one contributor, but also the driving force behind it. You have to show it is an important organization for you. That is, use it for initiatives, rather than going outside it.

If you could drop by the Pan American Union, it would show your interest.

I don’t mean to replace bilateralism, but to complement it. If we don’t give a sense of importance to the Organization, we have no hope. The optical aspects are important. Just 30 minutes of your time for a visit to the building would be great.

President: I will give it the most careful consideration.

Orfila: I think the restructuring is not worthwhile. It is mostly cosmetics and not very useful.

Mailliard: They have directed the organization to reform itself and obviously nothing is going to happen. There are 2,000 people in the Secretariat. And for what?

We are as much at fault as anyone. I have been there a year and a half and I still don’t know what we want the OAS to do. Diplomacy is a dying function now—telephones, cables, etc., are making it obsolete.

President: What has the OAS done that is useful in the last twelve months?

Orfila: In recent years it has kept the small countries from going to war with the big ones. It hasn’t been wasted there. But that doesn’t take me and a 2,000 man staff.

President: How old is it?

Orfila: It was founded in 1910. It is the oldest operating international organization in the world. We have some big issues in Latin America which will determine the future of the hemisphere. We will either get together or drift apart. This is a moment of expectation—what is the United States going to do? One big issue is Panama. They are willing to wait until 1977, but they need some optics to show that progress is being made. The France Field turnover was helpful for a few months; sending Bunker back was also helpful. We need more.

President: We’ll take a look. There are 14–15 land and water issues. We’ll see what we can do.

Orfila: But not all at once. Dole them out so Torrijos can show progress.

In June 1977, there will be a big celebration in Panama. I am trying to get the United States invited. They say unless the United States can go down there in 1976, to the meeting of the Central American Presidents, no way.

President: I can’t do that in an election year.

Orfila: I agree, but you should know it will be a meeting of activists.

Next is the Bolivian corridor. It is a Venezuelan proposal for a corridor 10-kilometers wide. It would separate Peru and Chile.

Next is the conflict between Honduras and El Salvador. There is no fighting but the dispute has never been settled.

President: What about Echeverria’s successor?

Orfila: Mexico invariably follows a “rapid” President with a consolidating one. That has happened here. He is a money man.

The only real leader in Latin America is Perez. Otherwise it is a vacuum.

Another issue is holding an OAS Assembly in Chile. Two countries have said no. The others will probably try to stay aloof and try not to take a position.

Mailliard: A decision on it must be made in November. I think it will look bad for the Secretary of State to go there. The Hill would be upset.

Orfila: The human rights pressure is very severe. All these problems show you that OAS could be a very useful vehicle.

Mailliard: Tell about the Trade Bill.

Orfila: That caused a big fracas.

President: Justifiably.

Orfila: The reaction was overdrawn. Some change there would be very helpful.

Another issue is having an OAS without the U.S. There now are ideas for an Economic Community of Latin American (the SELA). I am not worried about it because I think it will be useful to get a forum to discuss these problems.

If the U.S. doesn’t demonstrate that it cares, I worry about how Latin America is going to go. Latin America needs the United States, but the United States also needs Latin America.

President: I agree.

Orfila: So we must either get together or drift apart.

Mailliard: If we can’t find answers to the problems of developed and developing with the most developed of the developing in our own back yard, how can we do it worldwide?

President: I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. I will look seriously about your idea to visit the Organization. It is a distinct possibility.

1. Summary: Ford and Orfila discussed U.S.-Latin American relations and the role of the Organization of American States.

   Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Memoranda of Conversations, Box 15. Secret; Nodis. The meeting was held in the Oval Office. All brackets are in the original. An undated briefing memorandum from Kissinger to Ford stated the purpose of this meeting was to “demonstrate the importance you attach to the OAS and our relations with the countries of the hemisphere, and to exchange views on the primary issues in our relations with Latin America.” (Ibid., Presidential Country Files for Latin America, Box 1, OAS 3)