LATIN AMERICA

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 December 1940, Page 11

LATIN AMERICA

NAZI STOCKS WANE BUENOS AIRES, November 10. Hitler’s Nazi agents are being gradually discredited throughout South America. The Fuehrer has abandoned hope of being able to set up a Nazi protectorate, as was attempted in Uruguay, from which coups were to be engineered in Chile and Brazil. But a last effort is now being made, in line with Hitler’s attempt to create a European bloc against Great Britain. Strong pressure from Berlin is being brought to bear on Nazi leaders in South America to secure the election of candidates favourable to the regime of the Third Reich. But the battle is already lost. When he failed to honour his loud-ly-voiced promise to defeat Britain in August Hitler got a bad setback throughout South America. Latin Americans had been impressed by his succession of conquests, and were influenced by the vast propaganda machine of the Nazis, which guaranteed the subjection of the British Empire. The stalemate came when Hitler failed to disturb British morale. Nazi stocks waned in consequence. September and October passed, and Hitler’s guarantee of delivery of goods contracted for not later than mid-October was dishonoured. The United States threw its influence bodily into the picture, with its “hemisphere solidarity” policy. Next came the offer by America to share her defence plans with the 21 Latin-Ameri-can Republics. . Hitler’s last hope failed when he did not honour the penalty clause in his contracts for delivery of goods.' It provided for the payment of 10 per cent, of the value of the contracts. This turned out to be only another scrap of paper. Germany offered its cash guarantee to the Argentine Government and two large importers in Buenos Aires. The guarantee was given in writing, but neither the Government nor the two firms accepted it. The recent announcement by the Argentine Government of its agreement with the British Government for the supply of 40 million dollars’ worth of meat—the largest contract in the history of the Argentine meat industry—paved the way for a general repudiation of Nazidom throughout South America.