Coming of Age

Latin America gave fresh proof that it had come of age. In three nations, citizens voted, and hardly a shot was fired.

Mexico celebrated the most peaceful election in its history this week. The very dullness was newsworthy. Gone were the old early morning battles for control of polling booths. For the first time, soldiers stood guard on election day. As returns poured in, Candidate Miguel Aleman claimed certain victory. The support given him by the Government bureaucracy and the big labor unions made his claim sound valid. Opposition Candidate Ezequiel Padilla shouted "fraud!"

Ecuador elected a Constituent Assembly and swung right. Socialists and Liberals boycotted the election, but the Conservatives would probably have won anyway. The new constitution was expected to back clerical schooling and keep the Indian in his semifeudal place, but not to sacrifice recent social and economic gains by city workers. The assembly would also choose the next Ecuadorean President. It was an even-money bet that they would not re-elect the erratic incumbent, Dr. Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra.

Peru ran off congressional by-elections. The dominant Apra party picked up a few seats in the House, but failed to gain a majority in the Senate. The chief congressional issue: re-servicing of bond issues floated in the U.S. in 1927-28. Apra wants to pay up, then get more U.S. credits. Apra's cotton and sugar baron opponents fight any scheme that would give Apra funds for its industrializing and irrigation plans.

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