Cry for Progress

LATIN AMERICA Cry for Progress

Ever since he was a Manhattan lawyer before World War II, the senior U.S. Senator from New York has been interested in Latin America. What makes Republican Jacob Javits' thoughts especially worthwhile is that they often coincide with the private views of the White House. Thus last week, as the New York Republican ended a swing through Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil, Government and business leaders listened attentively to his ideas.

Javits had something new and something old to offer. New was a proposal to increase hemispheric understanding by lofting into space a new satellite that would transmit television programs between north and south. Older was his plea for a barriers-down trading area in Latin America modeled on the Eu ropean Common Market. Javits envisaged a tariff-free trading zone stretching from Tierra del Fuego to the Rio Grande and embracing a population of 220 million with an annual gross national product of $78 billion. He hoped that the U.S. and Canada would ultimately join, forming a market that would dwarf the European Economic Community.

Javits need not start from scratch. Since 1962, the Latin America Free Trade Association (LAFTA) has helped increase trade 85% among its nine members. It has reduced tariffs on a cumbersome item-by-item basis. The slightly older Central American Common Marked has done better by chopping tariffs across the board. Partly as a result, trade among its five members has increased 294% since 1960.

According to Javits, Peru's President Belaunde, Chile's Frei and Argentina's Illia were receptive to his common-market concept, even if he met more hesitancy than hurrahs from many business leaders. Javits has succeeded before in pressing through unlikely schemes for Latin America. It was he who conceived ADELA (the Atlantic Community Development Group for Latin America), an altruistic investment organization whose backers include many of the most prestigious names in European, Japanese and U.S. business. So far, in less than two years of operation, ADELA has committed $22 million to 27 privately owned businesses in 13 Latin American countries. Unlike most private or public development programs in Latin America, ADELA is considered a great success.

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