Top Man in the Clearinghouse

Latin Americans have long complained that the Alliance for Progress is less an alliance than a series of bilateral aid agreements between the U.S. and 19 hemisphere nations. The U.S. now agrees, and at an Alianza meeting in Sao Paulo last November, an eight-man inter-American executive committee was set up to act as a clearinghouse between the U.S. and its Alianza partners. Last week in Washington, the Inter-American Economic and Social Council of the OAS chose Carlos Sanz de Santamaria, 58, Colombia's Finance Minister, to boss the committee.

Working indirectly with Assistant Secretary of State Thomas C. Mann (TIME cover, Jan. 31), Sanz and his committee will tackle the ticklish, difficult task of pinpointing aid needs, channeling requests and making recommendations on how Alianza funds should be spent. He has high credentials. Educated as a civil engineer, Sanz was a successful builder for ten years. Moving into politics, he became one of the best mayors Bogota ever had, served in four different Cabinets, was twice Ambassador to the U.S. (1945-47 and 1960-62).

Taking over the Finance Ministry in 1962, Sanz proposed the toughest austerity program in Colombia's history. He slapped an export tax on coffee, a 20% surcharge on personal and corporate income taxes, even pushed through higher taxes on beer, races, lotteries and gasoline. Rich and poor alike bellowed with pain. But Colombia expects to balance its budget by next year, and international bankers back what one of them called "the greatest tax reform in Latin America." Sanz will now have an important if slim chance to work some reforms on a broader scale.

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