One of NACLA's primary functions is to sponsor research projects which have an "intelligence" rather than "academic" aim. The projects it sponsors will thus attempt to identify in as specific a runner as possible the levers of control which U.S. individuals institutions exercise over Latin America. Due to a lack of time, NACLA staff will not be able to function as research consultants for those who wish to undertake such projects. The staff will, however, keep a central file of project descriptions and will regularly publish in the Newsletter summaries of topics being undertaken. Those who are researching a subject which falls underr the above definition should send to the NACLA office, Research Division, a project description giving as much information as possible on both the tonic pursued and the methodology used. Such descriptions should include as many of the following criteria as possible: sources being used (books, special libraries, consultants, interviews, etc.); length of tine needed to complete the project; the nature of the finished product (i.e an article, book, pamphlet or thesis); source of monetary support secured; travel being undertaken; and known prospects of future publication with table of contents or outline.
Brief summaries of three project descriptions already submitted follow The Dynamics of U.S. Power in the Dominican Republic, 1960-66 Fred Goff, Mike Locker, Procter Lippincott
This project will attempt to uncover the power structures in the United States that have determined the course of Dominican history in the 1960's. It is sub-divided into three parts, two of which are described below.
The Sugar Lobby The USA sugar quota established a system of competition between producing countries (and companies) for subsidized, highly profitable prices. The allocation quotas mean millions for the countries involved as well as the US. and/or national sugar firms operating in that country. Quotas are set by Congress every two years, but in between the U.S. Department of Agriculture has the prerogative to reallocate quotas according to the ability of a country to meet the set quota demand. Therefore countries and companies vie for influence in the halls of Congress as well as the executive branch of government through hired lobbyists (i.e., US. law firms, public relations firms and ex-government officials).
The Dominican Republic has been one of the largest exporters of sugar for years. With Cuba's turn left and the cancellation of her huge quota, the Dominican Republic, still under Trujillo's rule, received the largest increase in its set quota. But NACLA until Trujillos assassination (engineered with the aid and assurance of the CIA), the Dominican economy, which is overwhelmingly dependent on sugar sales, could not take full advantage of the quota increase because the O.A.S. had placed economic sanctions on Dominican exports.
With Trujillo's downfall, the nationalized (i.e., ex-Trujillo) sugar firms and the U.S. South Puerto Rico Sugar Company lobbied successfully for retention of their large quota. The specific individuals and organizations that lobby for Dominican-American interests are the center around which power circulates when it comes to political decision-making in Washington concerning the Dominican Republic. A close examination of the people utilized in this power network, their method of operation and interests (public and private) will most likely yield many insights into the forces shaping U.S. policy toward the Dominican Republic.
The South Puerto Rico Sugar Company South Puerto Rico's Central Romana Division in the Dominican republic plays a significant, yet overlooked role in the nation's power and decision-making structure. It is the largest single private employer in the country. It may be the largest single producer of sugar and sugar by-products in the world. Its Landholdings in the Dominican Republic are in the range of 300,000 acres (not all in sugar production) and this includes some of the choicest agricultural and real estate development acreage in the entire Caribbean.
I plan to identify how and through whom the sugar industry in the Dominican Republic is controlled. I will focus in particular on the operations of the South Puerto Rico Sugar Company through its agents: the banks, subsidiary companies, contracted companies, hiring and labor relations agents, lobbyists, public relations firms etc.,
The time span of the study will extend from Trujillo's assassination in 1961 through the Constitutionalist's revolt and the U.S. military occupation of 1965.
Brazil: Case Study of U.S. Aid, Corporate penetration and Monetary Dependency Edie Black Brazil will be used as a case study to show: 1. That the public aid poured into the underdeveloped nations by U.S. Government agencies and by international agencies for "development" actually perpetuates the dependency of those nations upon the economies of the advanced industrial nations. It will be shown how such aid is geared, not so much to the growth needs of the under-developed nations as to the growth needs of the developed nations, in that its primary purpose is to nourish conditions favorable to foreign investors, assuring access to needed raw materials and markets. 2. That the Western dollar-based monetary system is likewise structured in such a way that it perpetuates the dependency of the have-not nations upon the have nations. It will be shown how the big ten industrial nations, whose chief financial representatives meet monthly at Basel, Switzerland, manipulate the worlds monetary reserves to their own political and economic advantage through their dominant voting power on the Board of the Internationa1 Monetary Fund. The focus of this study will be upon the mechanics (or "politics") of IMF "currency stabilizing" loans and AID and Export-Import Bank "balance of payments" loans.
