But like any intellectual, Romero still has a good deal to say about the foreign affairs of his country. Romero complains that all United States investments are in areas which yield the highest profits and not in those which induce the economic development of Argentina. There are eight different kinds of cars being manufactured in Argentina today, Romero continues, and although this looks impressive statistically as heavy industry, it does almost nothing for economic progress in Argentina.
Romero sees three groups of Argentines, each with a different approach to the influx of foreign capital. First are those who are after all the investment they can attract. Second are those who would bring in industries which will eventually be phased out but which will train the Argentine middle class in special entreprenurial skills. Finally there are those who remember the days when England owned all the Argentine transport system and many of the valuable resources. This is the group which is against any U.S. investment because it probably will exploit a resource Argentina is already rich in instead of developing an industry the country needs. Romero says that he finds himself somewhere between the second and third groups.
The lure of Castroism and independence from the influence of the U.S. has captured the imagination of many a Latin American nationalist. However because of the relative in significance of the Communist Party in Argentina and the workers monetary mentaity, Romero finds that most of the Argentines are anti-Castro. A few of them he admits may feel twinges or sympathy for their Latin American brothers who have had the courage to tell the Yankees off.
As for Argentine opinions on U.S. involvement in Vietnam, Romero says it varies with political convictions and that there is no universal denunciation of "American imperialism." The Right is glad that the U.S. is killing Communists while the Left is none too pleased.
Romero's analysis of Argentine politics is not an optimistic one. With the dispassionate eye of a man who knows he will not live to see his country governed in the way he thinks it should be, Romero forsees an Argentina which will continue under military control until the capitalist elites have the support of the organized unions. He forsees no chance of a fundamental social revolution, but rather the growth of a wealthy class of entrepreneurs who live off trading and not investment in their country's future.
Evaluating the present military regime under General Ongania, Romero finds it clearly unacceptable. The coups will continue until an appropriate leader is found--and that will almost certainly mean Ongania will have to go.