THE ALIANZA Reassuring the Neighbors

Preoccupied with Viet Nam abroad and civil rights and the Great Society at home, Lyndon Johnson has said very little lately about Latin America. Last week, on the fourth anniversary of the Alliance for Progress, he made up for that lack. He told the ambassadors from 18 Latin American countries, assembled in the East Room of the White House, that the ten-year, $20 billion development program is near the top of his list. "This four years," said the President, "has been the greatest period of forward movement, progress and fruitful change that we have ever made in the history of this hemisphere. And that pace is now increasing."

Banners of Reform. In four years, the U.S. has handed out $4.2 billion in grants, loans, goods and technical assistance -of which $3.9 billion went to the OAS nations, and the rest to British Guiana, Jamaica and other smaller countries and colonies. In turn, Latin American nations have invested from $22 billion to $24 billion in development projects, and more than $1 billion more has come from foreign lenders and international agencies. "Twenty-five million people -13 million of them little children are now receiving food from the Alliance program,"Johnson reported. "More than 1.5 million people have new homes. A million children have new classrooms, and 10 million textbooks have been produced." Even more important, "the banners of reform, of social justice, of economic progress have been seized by governments and by leaders and by parties throughout the hemisphere." Fourteen nations now have tax and land reforms under way; ten nations have submitted full-dress development programs for Alianza study. As an overall result, Latin America's gross national product has spurted steadily higher over the past four years, rising as much as 40% in Nicaragua (see box).

The Alianza still has its problems, of course. In a recent report, the Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress (CIAP) cited three key troubles: the slowness of some countries to execute reforms, poor local planning, and the declining market for basic Latin American commodities. President Johnson proposed action on several CIAP recommendations. The U.S., he said, "stands willing to help" in the economic integration of Latin America. (This week in Buenos Aires, the Inter-American Development Bank will launch an economic integration study unit -its first branch office in Latin America.) As for sagging commodity prices, Johnson promised to strengthen the international coffee agreement and seek ways to stabilize the cocoa market. That very afternoon, he added, he would ask Congress to eliminate the 1-c--per-lb. sugar-import fee -which would guarantee Latinos another $40 million a year in sugar revenues.

A Major Milestone. Latin American diplomats warmed to L.B.J.'s words, calling the speech his most forthright and successful yet on the Alianza. Dr. Carlos Sanz de Santamaria, CIAP chairman, said it "marks a major new milestone in the Alliance for Progress." It also assured Latin America that the U.S. is prepared to support social and economic progress throughout Latin America, regardless of its commitments and involvement elsewhere in the world.

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