The Students Speak

In Latin America, as in Europe, the university student is a politically conscious, politically active and politically important individual. While the U.S. college boy is choosing his fraternity, the Latin American student is selecting his political party. His interest in politics starts when he first puts on long pants; it is precocious, enthusiastic, often violent but always a potent force.

In Santiago, Chile, 250 of these young men were gathered last week for an Inter-American Students Congress. What they said and did furnished the best picture in years of the thoughts of Latin American youth.

Freedom, Democracy, Social Justice. The Congress left no doubt of its support of the United Nations. Its central resolution: "Youth is with the United Nations. . . . The youth of America desires . . . a better world ruled by the principles of democracy and freedom and serving the principles of social justice."

By acclamation the Congress voted to send a telegram to totalitarian President Pedro Ramirez of Argentina demanding that his Government break with the Axis. Argentine delegates repudiated the Ramirez regime. They did so with the knowledge that two of their number had been arrested before they got to the Chilean border, that they themselves would probably be jailed when they got home.*

No Imperialism. Democracy, the students resolved, cannot win the peace if Fascism is not crushed; significantly, they demanded that their governments break relations with Francisco Franco's Spain.

On one issue the Congress reached a stalemate: the character of World War II. Two motions on this were voted equally--one, that it is a democratic, antiFascist, liberating war; the other, that it is an imperialist war among the great powers for world control. Fascism had convinced Latin American students of its evils; the Allies had not yet convinced them of Allied aims.

* Later the Argentine and Uruguayan delegates withdrew when the Congress refused to permit unrestricted discussion of internal dictatorships and foreign domination.

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