Tomás Berreta

President of Uruguay

TOMÁS BERRETA, the new President of Uruguay, has always been one of its strongest advocates of progress. As farmer, soldier, and statesman, he has fought literally and figuratively for it. Now, in his own words, the goal of his coalition government will be "to raise the standard of living, to produce, and to work hard to build a healthy and strong nation of happy and contented citizens."

President Berreta is a man of ideas. But he is also a practical man. This rare combination enables him to follow through on anything he undertakes. He possesses a whirlwind energy-belying his seventyone years that in itself is enough to insure success.

A native of the rich agricultural Department of Canelones, Tomás Berreta comes from one of the most populous regions of Uruguay. His Italian-born father belonged to a liberal family that emigrated to the Plata River region to escape persecution at home. His mother was the Argentine daughter of a Genoese sailor who fought with the Italian patriot Garibaldi for Uruguay against the encroachments of Rosas.

During his early years, young Berreta worked on his parents' farm and on neighboring places. While he was still very young he began to take an interest in politics and joined the liberal Colorado Party. He wholeheartedly endorsed the policies of President José Battle y Ordóñez, whose advanced ideas helped to revolutionize Uruguayan laws. When civil war broke out, Tomás Berreta sided with the Government and enlisted in the National Guard to defend it. He has continued to

champion Battle y Ordóñez' ideals ever since.

Tomás Berreta soon became a political leader in his Department. He filled successively the posts of chief of police and mayor, and in 1922 became national deputy. A shrewd administrator, he carried out his duties with efficiency, dispatch, and discerning judgment. Although he adhered to party policy, his generous, conciliatory manner eased the Colorados through some difficult periods. His political prestige grew.

In 1929 he began to serve on the National Administrative Council, at that time a part of the executive branch of the government which took over most of the non-political functions of the President. He was elected Senator in 1942, then appointed to the cabinet of President Juan José Amézaga as Minister of Public Works.

In the four years of President Amézaga's

administration, Tomás Berreta traveled from one end of the country to the other, checking the progress of public works projects already under way and studying the need for new ones. Here again he demonstrated his initiative and tenacity of purpose by sponsoring an ambitious fiveyear plan, which became law on December 24, 1944. Under the plan, the Uruguayan Congress expected to spend 70,000,000 pesos for public works of a general character and 16,000,000 for drainage and drinking water in villages. Tomás Berreta's democratic convictions had always prompted him to work tirelessly to improve the lot of the little man. His five-year plan was characteristically designed to take care of the rural worker and the country people.

Last November, by a plurality of about 90,000 votes in some 500,000, Tomás Berreta was elected to the presidency to succeed Juan José Amézaga. Before taking office on March 1, he spent two weeks in the United States as guest of the Government. One purpose of his visit was to place orders with United States factories for all kinds of equipment-ranging from barbed wire to drilling machines and heavy tractors-to be used in an intensive program of agricultural and industrial development.

After stopping in Miami, New York, and Philadelphia, where he was feted by Government officials and businessmen, he arrived in the capital on February 11. During his four-day stay at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, President Truman entertained him at a White House luncheon; the Uruguayan Embassy honored him at a reception; Secretary of State Marshall was host at another luncheon; and Assistant Secretary of State Braden gave a banquet for him. Just before he left for Miami and home, he attended a special session of the Governing Board of the Pan American Union, followed by a luncheon.

Dr. Antonio Rocha, Chairman of the Governing Board, introduced the visiting President-elect, recalling his role as "head of party, government adviser, senator, cabinet member." "Wherever you have gone," Dr. Rocha said, "you have left the mark of a guiding and energetic hand." The President-elect replied as follows in an address that was an excellent statement of his democratic and social convictions and of his Pan American allegiance. He said:

It is a distinct pleasure and honor for me to accept the invitation of the Governing Board of the Pan American Union on the occasion of my visit to the United States. I come with a deep feeling of solidarity, confidence, and faith in America's destiny, which I hereby renew and reaffirm. I repeat here, with the authority conferred upon me by my fellow citizens, the watchword of democracy, without which there would be no meaning in the history of that continent which opened a new road to humanity.

A living symbol of the desire and thought of all of us is the Pan American Union, formed by the representatives of all the republics of the continent, with whom I am privileged to share today not only the courtesy shown me but the enduring ties which bind our countries together. And to you who are gathered here in the Governing Board of the Pan American Union I wish to bring a message expressing with the vigor of the old faith the creed of the new hope.

America was ready to help heroically the birth of its free countries and sovereign nations. The people followed the leaders of that epic era who were their interpreters and wrote in the flames of battle the decalogue of their will concerning the rights of man. "All America on horseback,” as Martí said, formed the squadrons of the revolu tionary armies which, through their sacrifices, opened a path to the principles of justice and liberty, identical throughout the length and breadth of the New World. Out of those struggles emerged today's sovereign nations. But even more, out of these struggles came the mandate of social justice, the foundation of democracy.

The new countries of the continent then had to be organized for a life of work and freedom. It was likewise necessary to give organic form not only to each nation but to all of them jointly, so that America might become the continent which,

because of its choice of the path of understanding and unity, would be best fitted to guide the destiny of future generations. That is our work today. And when I bring to this famous room the friendly and cordial greetings of my country, Uruguay, I reaffirm too the purpose of all to cooperate in our common tasks and to participate in our common responsibility.

Friendship, it is said, is proved by deeds rather than words. The history of Uruguay shows deeds. And may I say that it records great lives and names and that it has taken a permanent stand on social questions as its contribution to a policy and a task which identify us today to everybody, and which is expressed by two very plain and simple words: Good Neighbor.

Because of this contribution, which is added to that given by each and every nation according to its strength, I was speaking a few nights ago in New York of the part played by the heroism of Artigas and the thought of Battle y Ordóñez in the building of a democratic nationality, and of their collaboration offered to all for this work on which the future of America depends.

Very early Uruguay affirmed its adherence to the principles of international arbitration, which it proposed should be unlimited and obligatory, as a means of settling the problems that might arise among sister countries. By the way of peace and not by the violence of war; by truly American conduct and not by conduct based upon the methods of other countries and other times, the nations of America should resolve their occasional differences, just as disputes arising around the family table are settled without impairing affection. A man who fought with many others of this continent for the doctrine of unrestricted arbitration which Battle y Ordóñez championed at The Hague in 1907 was Baltasar Brum. The chronicles of America record his thought, and his name occupies a high place in the history of Uruguayan democracy.

But the drama of our days has been complex and sad.

In our own times, words have many times had little meaning. But when the world's conscience has become aware of reality, after the two great wars of our century, facts have knocked at the doors of all to demand, and justly so, that sense · of cooperation and human solidarity which must save civilization. Nobody can remain happy, notwithstanding his abundance, in the midst of the devastation and misery which today afflict half the earth. Nobody can isolate himself in his own home when in so many parts of the world

despair is the hourly guest at every hearth. And this is the moment when Democracy must show its strength. Democracy itself is in danger when the social content of its principles remains unfulfilled. In the affirmation of the right to work there resides not only an essential right but the welfare and wealth of nations and peoples. In conditions of work there is a problem to be studied and solved. Good conditions of work and returns to the toilers in field and industry must be an objective of prime importance. It cannot be denied that where poverty and hunger reign democracy is weakened. And on the other hand, no democracy is in danger as to organization and system if government and law are powerful instruments of justice for the fulfillment of social aspirations.

Furthermore, when America organizes for unity, it is not only working for its own nations but is offering its support to help the whole world enter the path of justice, and to help restore all the values which an aggressive despotism has destroyed in our time. America, all America, must be a land of labor, of factory and shop, of laboratory and school. And it must produce, and produce more, and produce scientifically, and make its economies complement each other, so as to help itself and help the world with that sense of solidarity which is inscribed on all the banners of continental brotherhood.

This has already been said in the Act of Chapul. tepec. It was proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations. This Pan American Union, whose history records such noble achievements, is entering upon a new stage. I express my hope that this institution may continue along the path of America's great past. I pay my tribute to one who for so many years held a commanding position in this house, to Dr. Rowe, whose sudden death filled the hearts of all with profound grief.

Mr. Chairman, we are surrounded in this building by the marble busts of our heroes, beneath the double row of our flags. This meeting with which you honor me takes place during my visit to the United States, on the eve of my assuming the mandate entrusted to me by my nation. On greeting through you each country of America; on acknowledging gratefully the welcome of the Chairman of this Governing Board, Dr. Antonio Rocha, I salute in the United States the democratic nation which has made itself large and strong in order to be just. And I leave with you a vow of solidarity and faith, with which we shall continue our labors for the destiny of America and the rights of man.

DEMONSTRATING its interest in new Latin American developments in the plastic arts, the Pan American Union, during the first five months of 1947, held various exhibitions, enlivened by a variety of nationalities, styles, personalities, and materials.

Djanira

To begin the year, a group of twenty-one works by the Brazilian painter Djanira Gomes Pereira-who signs her canvases simply Djanira-occupied the exhibit hall in January. She is now living in the

United States, and her first one-man show in this country was held at the New School for Social Research in New York in 1946. Her work has been widely shown in Brazil.

In her painting, Djanira does not set out to please others, and her work breathes a remarkable freshness and spontaneity. Color is used freely and brilliantly, and her manner of expression is clearly related to that of the primitive painters. Largely self-taught, Djanira goes straight to the description of her subjects, producing work which at times is of uneven quality but very often is delightful. Her interpretations of large groups, amusement parks, children playing, and interiors reveal a great sense of harmony, related elements being arranged in a happy rhythm rich in mobility. In her portraits, Djanira strives to give a serious psychological description of her subject, simplifying the outline with firm drawing and resolving the forms into planes of clear color. In this aspect her

work resembles that of her fellow countrymen Milton Dacosta and José Pancetti who, with Djanira, are outstanding members of the notable group of painters which Brazil can count on today for a position of importance in the world's contemporary

art.

Eduardo Kingman

After the large exhibition of Eduardo Kingman's work in the San Francisco Museum of Art, he was the featured artist at the Pan American Union during February. Born at Loja, Ecuador, in 1913, Kingman began his study of painting at the Quito School of Fine Arts. He soon abandoned academic ways for a style related to the painting of the Mexican School, which, with its revolutionary themes, has had so important an influence in Peru and Ecuador.

Following the canons of that school in his early works, Kingman toiled to reflect the indigenous life of Ecuador, with a cer