“We are joined together in this Alliance as nations united by a common history and common values. And I look forward—as do all the people of this country—to the day when the people of Latin America will take their rightful place beside the United States and Western Europe as citizens of industrialized and growing and increasingly abundant societies.”
President John F. Kennedy, March 13, 1962
Excerpt from a speech on the first anniversary of the Alliance for Progress
Some sixty years ago, the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, proposed the creation of an inter-American partnership that came to be known as Alliance for Progress, Alianza Para el Progreso in Spanish. According to President Kennedy, the purpose of the prospective program was to foster “a continent-wide cooperative effort to satisfy the basic needs of the American people for homes, work, land, health and schools, for political liberty and the dignity of the spirit.” In August of 1961, in Punta del Este, Uruguay, such alliance was officially formed, with a charter that stated: “We, the American Republics, hereby proclaim our decision to unite in a common effort to bring our people accelerated economic progress and broader social justice within the framework of personal dignity and individual liberty.”
Kennedy’s chimerical alliance, however, didn’t last long or accomplish much, for different reasons, but mainly because he wasn’t around long enough to champion it. By 1973, the program was considered a failure by the Organization of American States, which disbanded the permanent committee established to implement it.
One will never know if Kennedy’s plan was a sincere effort to promote economic growth and individual freedoms in the Americas, and not just talk. After all, the United States had never before cared much for the welfare of its neighbors to the south. But judging by Kennedy’s commitment to the Peace Corps and other collaborative endeavors, of people helping people, one is led to conclude that he genuinely supported the objectives of the Alliance for Progress. He also bolstered his words with action, extending his hand and his friendship to others in the Americas, traveling to Mexico and to Costa Rica, where he personally engaged with the presidents of those two countries and other Central American leaders. And, by the way, where he was welcomed with open arms.
Unfortunately, that unexpected attempt by the United States to be a true friend with its neighbors to the south pretty much ended once Kennedy was gone. The unforeseen ideals to promote economic growth in the entire Western Hemisphere are also gone. Except for NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, an accord that has recently changed its name, and one that has benefited the economies of its three member nations: Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
Yet, there is still time to correct the course and opt for the vision thing instead of sticking to the old and worn-out status quo, and to rally to partner with our neighbors to the south, to help grow their economies and ours as we go down a path of a mutually beneficial future. To form a new alliance that includes everyone in the Western Hemisphere, from Canada to the north and to Argentina to the south, and, borrowing from President Kennedy’s words, to “convert our good words into good deeds — in a new alliance for progress — to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty.”
What we need, it needs to be added, is not a political alliance, the type that is agreed upon by the heads of state, but a program spearheaded by business leaders from throughout the Western Hemisphere, by visionary entrepreneurs that can cut to the chase and build a network of commerce that makes sense and one that benefits all the parties involved. But how do we go about creating this network? A few well-founded suggestions to come in future columns.
NOTE: On March 26 of this year, the non-profit corporation Growing The Americas was established in the State of Texas. I am the founder of the organization. Its main goal is to promote economic growth in the Western Hemisphere. It’s an idea that goes back a while, in my mind anyway. The first phase of the project has to do with getting the word out, letting others know about a strategy that can help grow the economies of every nation in our continent. The current column, as well as others to come, is part of the informative phase of the plan. Please stay tuned. Thanks.
AUTHOR: Pedro Chávez