Francisco Antonio Moreno y Escandon Quotes
This kingdom [Colombia] … does not enjoy an active commerce. It’s subsistence consists of gold taken from its mines, without trade, export of its agriculture and manufactures…. The local officials everywhere are indifferent and careless as to their duty; the people are steeped in poverty; trade is almost extinct; capital is lacking, and there are no opportunities for its investment; the only source of support is the cultivation of small patches of ground. Every one seeks to subsist on the government by procuring some little office.
This was the classic weakness of colonies where the colonial power was only interested in importing a raw material—in this case, gold. Everything else tends to be ignored—even today. With independence, things often do not change and the export of raw material like oil, tin or lumber dominates the whole economy to the exclusion of the rest of the economy
Francisco Antonio Moreno y Escandon, 1736-1792, Colombian Born South American Colonial Official, Regent of Chile, Report 1772
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This was one of the early suggestions for providing jobs for the unemployed to work at developing the national infrastructure. In this case if highways and the river could be improved, transportation would allow goods to be reach more of the country cheaper. The CCC and the Job Corps of America would use a similar reasoning for public employment.
Prevented by the Military from ever taking office
Arguing that Slavery inhibited a society from development ...
In order to develop the country she invited immigrants to come to Russia and many did at the same time that England was encouraging immigrants to develop the lands and resources of America
This quotation is interesting as it shows that and the end of the 19th century, although the United States was over 100 years old, we were first beginning to be major world traders. Not that our merchant marine was not yet world class. Another interesting facet of the quote is that the President was claiming that foreign trade was good for the domestic economy. Much of America in its first 100 years supported protectionism for American manufacturers.
The United States was desirous of providing assistance to the Benito Juarez Republican government of Mexico. Both governments were desirous of American foreign investment in Mexico. However, the Juarez government was not in real control of Mexico. State and local government, many corrupt, seized foreign owned business property, reneged on agreements. Others tried to regulate some of the abusive labor employment practices that some American firms had practiced. But little of this, both reasonable and not, was with the consent and even knowledge of the Mexican national government. Capen’s basic observation, so relevant to economic development in modern times was prescient and fundamental to the development of the third world and even the former Soviet Union. If there is insufficient government protection for business, then the high risk will drive out investors who would take reasonable returns. The only investors would then require very high returns, which themselves would inhibit the very growth and development that we want to stimulate.
