Lecture: ‘Javits and Latin American Economic Integration'

Middletown — During the 1960s, Jacob K. Javits, a U.S. Senator from New York, promoted the integration of Latin American economies. His efforts coincided with the United States’ rising interest in the economic development of the Third World. Javits invested a huge amount of energy in promoting this policy, but did not operate independently from the foreign policy establishment. Salvador Rivera, professor of history and sociology at SUNY Cobleskill, will talk about this time in history during his presentation, “Jacob K. Javits and Latin American Economic Integration,” to be presented at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21, at Morrison Hall Mansion, on the campus of SUNY Orange in Middletown. Rivera is preparing a publication on the efforts to promote the political and economic unification of Latin America. The government had considered supporting Latin American integration since at least 1953, Rivera says. Indeed, the GATT treaty, of which the U.S. was the executive, called for the establishment of free trade zones and common markets. Javits helped create the ADELA bank to promote economic integration, sponsored Congressional hearings on Latin American economic union, proposed a U.S.-based Action Committee for a Latin American Common Market, the Punta del Este conference, and enthusiastically encouraged the youth of Ibero-America to become involved with unionism. Morrison Hall Mansion is located at 115 South St. in Middletown. For more information call 341-4891 or e-mail cultural@sunyorange.edu.