Chapter 1531 Negotiation
The East African government had an idea, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly took action and communicated with Chile and Argentina. The Argentine military government rejected East Africa's proposal without hesitation. Therefore, East Africa focused on Chile.
At this time, Chile's political situation was not stable. Affected by the economic crisis, Chile's agricultural and mineral product exports dropped significantly. In particular, the withdrawal of British and American capital caused the export price of saltpeter, an important source of income for Chile, to almost halve.
Saltpeter exports account for almost 40% of Chile's foreign exchange earnings and more than half of the government's fiscal revenue. When Chile's economy was once prosperous, Chilean saltpeter even accounted for 80% of the global market share.
During the Great Depression of 1929, the main buyers of Chilean saltpeter, Britain and the United States, saw a large number of domestic companies go bankrupt or reduce production due to the economic crisis. This was one of the important reasons for the reduction in Chilean saltpeter exports.
East Africa and Germany also saw a significant reduction in imports due to breakthroughs in the field of synthetic nitrates, which is one of the main reasons for the sharp drop in Chile's saltpeter exports.
In addition to saltpeter, Chile's second largest mineral resource is copper. In 1931, Chile was the world's third largest copper producer, after East Africa and the United States.
Chile's copper mines are mainly controlled by American capital. Although East Africa has tried to expand cooperation with Chile in related fields in recent years, the results have not been significant.
The reason is very simple. One is the obstruction of Britain and the United States. The historical origins of Britain, the United States and Chile are much earlier than East Africa. Just like Chile's saltpeter mines, which were previously dominated by Britain, while the copper mining field was dominated by the United States. The two countries jointly excluded East African capital from entering.
Another reason is that Chile is a country on the Pacific coast, which gives the United States a greater advantage than East Africa in regional competition. Although Chile can conduct trade with East Africa through the Strait of Magellan, the Strait of Magellan has poor navigation capacity after all, and the area it passes through is not the core economic area of Chile, and even the population is very sparse.
In addition, Chile itself is also very slippery. Its diplomacy is more flexible than that of Argentina, and it basically does not offend the three major countries of Britain, the United States and East Africa. However, this has also led to the fact that East Africa's trade with Chile in recent years has not been as active as expected.
Regarding this point, we can see from the construction of the Asuncion-Lima railway that the terminus of this railway was chosen to be Peru rather than Chile, which has richer mineral resources.
Although Chile has good relations with East Africa, it cannot let down its guard, especially when it comes to infrastructure such as railways, which involve regional balance and have military strategic significance.
Previously, Chile did have the capital to reject East Africa. If Argentina was the richest country in South America before the economic crisis, then Chile was the second richest country in South America.
Argentina, the richest country, is arrogant and has tense relations with Britain, the United States and East Africa. It also wants to be the regional leader. Chile, the second richest country, is also arrogant, but it does not have the same ambition as Argentina.
Santiago, the capital of Chile.
The current president of Chile is Montero, who just took office at the end of last year. However, he did not catch a good time because 1931 was the stage when the world economic crisis further worsened.
Currently, Chile's unemployment rate is as high as 30 percent, even higher than that of powerful industrial countries such as the United States and Germany. Riots frequently occur in the northern mining areas to protest against the current Chilean government, so that the Chilean Labor Party has become very powerful.
In the presidential palace, the haggard President Montero forced himself to stay awake and warmly welcomed the East African ambassador Huge with a smile.
"Ambassador Huguet, I haven't seen you for some time. You are still so energetic. Unlike me, I am entangled in various problems. These days you have made a fool of our country." President Montero said with some self-mockery.
The East African Embassy in Chile is located in Santiago, the capital of Chile. In recent times, various violent incidents, workers' strikes, and urban conflicts have occurred frequently. The whole of Santiago is like a chaotic city, so Montero made fun of the situation in his own country in this way.
Ambassador Huguet and other East African diplomats were naturally well aware of the chaos in Santiago and Chile as a whole.
He did not criticize the current situation in Chile, but comforted President Montero by saying: "Mr. President, you don't need to blame yourself too much. I can only say that your election this time is somewhat inappropriate."
"Since the economic crisis, even many industrial and economically powerful countries have not been much better off, such as the United States, Britain, and Germany, where various chaos and violent incidents have continued despite repeated bans."
"So this is caused by the overall environment, not your own fault. Moreover, you have only been in office for a few months, so it is too late to adjust your country's economy."
"Chile's previous presidents are largely responsible for the current collapse of the Chilean economy."
Although Huger's statement was not entirely correct, President Montero was very pleased to hear it.
He said: "Ambassador Huguet, you understand my difficulties better. After all, the economic crisis is an international event, not caused by Chile's own economy. The United States is the main driver of this round of global economic crisis. Chile has been affected by the world economy."
"I may look successful now, but I am actually just a scapegoat. The last president, Ibanez, just walked away and left the mess to me."
Ibañez is a political strongman who was born in the military. He came to power in a coup in 1927. During his presidency, he tried to promote Chile's modernization and national governance through authoritarian rule. He established a police agency, suppressed the opposition, controlled Congress, and suppressed the media and trade unions.
Of course, he was not without achievements and ambitions. For example, he tried to promote the nationalization of Chile's mineral resources, thereby gaining autonomy over saltpeter and copper mines and promoting the construction of roads and ports.
At the same time, Ibañez was not a fan of imperialism. He treated the United States, Britain and East Africa, the three main imperialist countries that Chile dealt with, equally. At the same time, he tried to reduce the influence of the three countries in Chile and maintain a neutral position.
In short, Ibañez was not a mediocre person, but he came to power through a coup, and his rule was naturally disliked by the Chilean people. He was also unlucky. Not long after he took power, he encountered the world financial crisis, so that some of his economic policies could not be implemented because of the financial crisis.
As mentioned before, Chile's main fiscal revenue comes from minerals. However, during the economic crisis, Chile's fiscal revenue dropped significantly due to reduced exports. The infrastructure projects promoted by Ibañez also had to default due to the fiscal crisis.
So at the end of 1931, under pressure from domestic opposition, the Chilean president voluntarily resigned and went into exile in Argentina, after which Montero was successfully elected.
Compared with Ibanez, Montero's election was much more formal. However, precisely because Ibanez came to power through a coup and his subsequent poor economic performance, the promises he made during the election were basically the opposite of Ibanez's.
For example, if Ibanez is a dictator, then Montero naturally supports democracy and freedom. Ibanez governs the country with tough measures, while Montero chooses laissez-faire. Ibanez builds infrastructure and transportation, while Montero cancels these projects on the grounds that they are a waste of money and labor, and cuts government fiscal spending...
President Montero's approach cannot be said to be wrong, but it is definitely inappropriate. After all, if his practices were effective, the U.S. economy would not be in its current state, because compared with Chile, the United States is more free and democratic, more permissive towards businesses and businessmen, and more firmly opposed to government intervention.
In his previous life, Montero’s rule was very short. In a few months, this “democratically elected” president would be ousted.
East Africa did not care about Montero's fate and only wanted to quickly facilitate further negotiations, so Huger only said good things.
He said to President Montero: "That's it, Mr. President Montero. Chile's current economic situation has nothing to do with you. Ibanez has gone to Argentina now, but he has indeed left you a lot of mess."
"However, I believe that with your efforts, Chile's economy will improve, but it will take time for your policies to be effective."
Of course, in fact, Huguet is more optimistic about former President Ibanez. Given the current situation in Chile, the grassroots people are almost on the verge of an explosion. On the contrary, a strong man like Ibanez is likely to implement some policies that will take effect quickly and temporarily suppress the domestic political turmoil.
Unfortunately, although Ibanez is a dictator, he is not too keen on power and knows when to advance and when to retreat, otherwise he would not have resigned voluntarily. At the same time, Ibanez himself is not very good at the economic field, after all, he is a military man.
This can be seen from his previous life. In his previous life, Ibanez served as the President of Chile for two terms. The first term was a failure, just like in this time and space. In his previous life, he became the President of Chile again in 1952. As for the effectiveness of his governance, the evaluation in Chile was polarized.
Some people regard him as a national hero, a reformer, and a defender of the rights of the grassroots people, while others say he is a dictator, has failed in economic management, and relies on personal charm rather than institutions. In short, Ibanez's life is very dramatic, and he has the ability, but he is biased in one subject.
As for Montero, his personal ability is quite mediocre. To be frank, the economic policies he is currently implementing are basically what any normal person in his position can do, such as reducing government fiscal spending and increasing taxes on the people.
His social relief program basically encourages government officials and businessmen to do some charity activities and provide some free food and supplies. This approach may have some effect, but it is very limited.
Montero did not dare to implement structural reform measures, and even increased the exploitation of the lower-class people. No wonder he was overthrown by the Chilean Workers' Party in his previous life.
However, compared to Ibanez, who is difficult to deal with, or Alexandri, who is quite successful, East Africa obviously likes this kind of foreign politician who bullies the weak and fears the strong.
After the two talked for a long time, Huger finally brought the topic back to the right track: "President Montero, I am here this time to discuss military cooperation with your country on behalf of the East African government."
"We in East Africa hope to lease a piece of land in the cold temperate zone of southern Chile, that is, Tierra del Fuego, or the surrounding area, to help the East African army simulate a high-latitude combat environment."
Although he had a pleasant conversation with Ambassador Huger before, President Montero's expression changed when such a sensitive topic was involved.
He asked cautiously, "Why is your country so obsessed with high-latitude warfare? After all, East Africa is a tropical country, so there shouldn't be a need for high-latitude warfare!"
Ambassador Huge said: "Mr. President, your words are a bit biased. It is precisely because East Africa is a tropical country that we in East Africa pay more attention to the high-altitude training of the military."
"Because East Africa is different from other tropical countries. President Montero, you must be aware that East Africa is the only tropical power in the world."
"It is also the only world power in the low-latitude region. The so-called world power obviously cannot be limited to the region, but the vast majority of the world."
"East Africa's opponents are powerful countries in mid- and high-latitudes. They are more adapted to combat environments at lower temperatures. We in East Africa must also conduct targeted training so that we can better safeguard the empire's interests around the world."
"If we had high-latitude territories, we would not have been so presumptuous to discuss this matter with your country this time."
The reason Huger gave was reasonable, but Montero did not dare to agree easily. He said: "Your country also said that this kind of thing is very presumptuous. If other countries said this, I would have kicked them out long ago."
"But East Africa is a friend of Chile, so I can discuss this with you calmly. But you should also understand my difficulties. After all, this matter involves Chile's national security and cannot be ignored."
"No sovereign country in the world should allow troops from other countries to enter its territory, especially when the scale you requested is not small."
In response to this, Ambassador Huguet said: "Mr. President Montero, you must believe in our sincerity in East Africa. We have no ambitions towards Chile. If you are worried about national security, we also have solutions that can reassure you."
Hearing Huger's confident tone, Montero became interested and asked, "What solutions does your country have?"
"We just want to adapt the Wehrmacht to the high-latitude environment, so the two countries can build training grounds in the south in the name of military cooperation and exchange," Hug said.
“At the same time, East African troops and personnel coming for training do not need to bring ammunition, and your country can send people to supervise them, so you don’t have to worry that we will pose a threat to your country’s security.”
This is indeed a good idea. As long as Chile sets up a checkpoint at the entrance of the Strait of Magellan, it can prevent East Africa from transporting ammunition and eliminate the possibility of East Africa launching a war.
However, this still involves certain risks, so President Montero still dares not agree rashly.
For this reason, Huger could only continue to induce, saying: "This is also a good thing for your country. For example, when we conduct training in your country, part of the personnel's consumption can drive the growth of the regional economy and alleviate your country's current economic difficulties."
"In addition, we can also provide your country with some economic assistance. For example, we can give your country appropriate preferential treatment on the issue of copper exports. Currently, only East Africa can provide your country with economic support. Whether you can seize this opportunity depends entirely on your own choice. If you don't have this idea, we won't force you."
(End of this chapter)
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