Modern History Sourcebook:
President John F. Kennedy:
On the Alliance for Progress, 1961
Address by President Kennedy at a White House Reception for Latin American Diplomats
and Members of Congress, March 13, 1961PRELIMINARY FORMULATIONS OF THE ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS'Address by President Kennedy at a White House Reception for Latin American Diplomats
and Members of Congress, March 13, 1961…We meet together as firm and ancient friends, united by history and experience and by
our determination to advance the values of American civilization. For this new world of
ours is not merely an accident of geography. Our continents arc bound together by a common
history-the endless exploration of new frontiers. Our nations are the product of a common
struggle -the revolt from colonial rule. And our people share a common heritage - the
quest for the dignity and the freedom of man. . . .As a citizen of the United States let me be the first to admit that we North Americans
have not always grasped the significance of this common mission, just as it is also true
that many in your own countries have not fully understood the urgency of the need to lift
people from poverty and ignorance and despair. But we must turn from these mistakes-from
the failures and the misunderstandings of the past-to a future full of peril but bright
with hope.Throughout Latin America-a continent rich in resources and I n the spiritual and
cultural achievements of its pecple-millions of men and women suffer the daily
degradations of hunger and poverty. They lack decent shelter or protection from disease.
Their children are deprived of the education or the jobs which arc the gateway to a better
life. .If we are to meet a problem so staggering in its dimensions, our approach must itself
be equally bold, an approach consistent with the majestic concept of Operation Pan
America. Therefore I have called on all the people of the hemisphere to join in a new
Alliance for Progrcss - alianza para Progreso - a vast cooperative effort, unparalleled in
magnitude and nobility of purpose, to satisfy the basic needs of the American people for
homes, work and land, health and schools - techo, trabajo y tierra, salud y escuela.First, I propose that the American Republics begin on a vast new 10-year plan
for the Americas, a plan to transform the 1960's into an historic decade of democratic
progress. . .And if we are successful, if our effort is bold enough and determined enough, then the
close of this decade will mark the beginning of a new era in the American experience. The
living standards of every American family will be on the rise, basic education will be
available to all, hunger will be a forgotten experience, the need for massive outside help
will have passed, most nations will have entered a period of self-sustaining growth, and,
although there will be still much to do, every American Republic will be the master of I .
ts own revolution and its own hope and progress.Let me stress that only the most determined efforts of the American nations themselves
can bring success to this effort. They, and they alone, can mobilize their resources,
enlist the energies of their people, and modify their social patterns so that all, and not
just a privileged few, share in the fruits of growth. If this effort is made, then outside
assistance will give a vital impetus to progress; without it, no amount of help will
advance the welfare of the people. . . .Secondly, I will shortly request a ministerial meeting of the Inter-American
Economic and Social Council, a meeting at which we can begin the massive planning effort
which will be at the heart of the Alliance for Progress.For if our alliance is to succeed, each Latin nation must formulate long-range plans
for its own development-plans which establish targets and priorities, insure monetary
stability, establish the machinery for vital social change, stimulate private activity and
initiative, and provide for a maximum national effort. . . .Third, I have this evening signed a request to the Congress for $500 million as
a first step in fulfilling the Act of Bogota. . . . The money will be used to combat
illiteracy, improve the productivity and use of their land, wipe out disease, attack
archaic tax and land-tenure structures, provide educational opportunities, and offer a
broad range of projects designed to make the benefits of increasing abundance available to
all. We will begin to commit these funds as soon as they are appropriated.Fourth, we must support all economic integration which is a genuine step toward
larger markets and greater competitive opportunity. The fragmentation of Latin American
economies is a serious barrier to industrial growth. . . .Fifth, the United States is ready to cooperate in serious, case-by-case
examinations of commodity market problems. Frequent violent changes in commodity prices
seriously injure the economies of many Latin American countries, draining their resources
and stultifying their growth. Together we must find practical methods of bringing an end
to this pattern.Sixth, we will immediately step up our food - for-peace emergency program, help
to establish food reserves in areas of recurrent drought, and help provide school lunches
for children and offer feed grains for use in rural development. For hungry men and women
cannot wait for economic discussions or diplomatic meetings; their need is urgent, and
their hunger rests heavily on the conscience of their fellow men.Seventh, all the people of the hemisphere must be allowed to share in the
expanding wonders of science-wonders which have captured man's imagination, challenged the
powers of his mind, and given him the tools for rapid progress. I invite Latin American
scientists to work with us in new projects in fields such as medicine and -agriculture,
physics and astronomy and desalinization, and to help plan for regional research
laboratories in these and other fields, and to strengthen cooperation between American
universities and laboratories. . . .Eighth, we must rapidly expand the training of those needed to man the economies
of rapidly developing countries. This means expanded technical training programs, for
which the Peace Corps, for example, will be available where needed. It also means
assistance to Latin American universities, graduate schools, and research institutes.We welcome proposals in Central America for intimate cooperation in higher education,
cooperation which can achieve a regional effort of increased effectiveness and excellence.
We are ready to help fill the gap in trained manpower, realizing that our ultimate goal
inust be a basic education for all who wish to learn.Ninth, we reaffirm our pledge to come to the defense of any American nation
whose independence is endangered. As confidence in the collective security system of the
OAS [Organization of American States] spreads, it will be possible to devote to
constructive use a major share of those resources now spent on the instruments of war.
Even now, as the Government of Chile has said, the time has come to take the first steps
toward sensible limitations of arms. And the new generation of military leaders has shown
an increasing awareness that armies can not only defend their countries-they can, as we
have learned through our own Corps of Engineers, help to build them.Tenth, we invite our friends in Latin America to contribute to the enrichment of
life and culture in the United States. We need teachers of your literature and history and
tradition, opportunities for our young people to study in your universities, access to
your music, your art, and the thought of your great philosophers. For we know we have much
to learn.In this way you can help bring a fuller spiritual and intellectual life to the people
of the United States and contribute to understanding and mutual respect among the nations
of the hemisphere.With steps such as these we propose to complete the revolution of the Americas, to
build a hemisphere where all men can hope for a suitable standard of living and all can
live out their lives in dignity and in freedom.To achieve this goal political freedom must accompany material progress. Our Alliance
for Progress is an alliance of free governments-and it must work to eliminate tyranny from
a hemisphere in which it has no rightful place. Therefore let us express our special
friendship to the people of Cuba and the Dominican Republic-and the hope they will soon
rejoin the society of free men, uniting with us in our common effort.This political freedom must be accompanied by social change. For unless necessary
social reforms, including land and tax reform, are freely made, unless we broaden the
opportunity of all of our people, unless the great mass of Americans share in increasing
prosperity, then our alliance, our revolution, our dream, and our freedom will fail. But
we call for social change by free men-change in the spirit of Washington and Jefferson, of
Bolivar and San Martin and Marti-not change which seeks to impose on men tyrannies which
we cast out a century and a half ago. Our motto is what it has always been-progress yes,
tyranny no - Progreso si, tirania no!But our greatest challenge comes from within-the task of creating an American
civilization where spiritual and cultural values are strengthened by an ever-broadening
base of material advance, where, within the rich diversity of its own traditions, each
nation is free to follow its own path toward progress.The completion of our task will, of course, require the efforts of all the governments
of our hemisphere. But the efforts of governments alone will never be enough. In the end
the people must choose and the people must help themselves.And so I say to the men and women of the Americas - to the I [peasant] in the fields,
to the obrero [worker] in the cities, to the estudiante in the schools -
prepare your mind and heart for the task ahead, call forth your strength, and let each
devote his energies to the betterment of all so that your children and our children in
this hemisphere can find an ever richer and a freer life.Let us once again transform the American Continent into a vast crucible of
revolutionary ideas and efforts, a tribute to the power of the creative energies of free
men and women, an example to all the world that liberty and progress walk hand in hand.
Let us once again awaken our American revolution until it guides the struggles of people
everywhere-not with an imperialism of force or fear but the rule of courage and freedom
and hope for the future of man.
Source:from The Department of State Bulletin, XLIV, No. 1136 (April 3, 1961), pp,
471-474.
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© Paul Halsall, July 1998
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