The Foreign Service Journal, January 2008

drove the 10-ton truck to the airport to take delivery of the vault door. One wonders how Personnel makes as- signments like that. We tried to alert the department, but the deed was done, and it was too late. At Erdos’ trial, his defense at- torneys refused to take my hus- band’s testimony because our exten- sion request undermined Erdos’ claim of extreme hardship and threat driving him to temporary insanity. As a postscript to the whole dreadful business, after Erdos was released from prison and living in San Diego — on full medical disability, I might add — he actually had the audacity to ask the director general to be reinstated in the Foreign Service! Carmen Cunningham FSO, retired San Rafael, Calif. A Lasting Tale Thanks for Len Shurtleff’s vivid account of the tragic, albeit intriguing, story of the murder of Donald Leahy. I first heard about it as a student at FSI; then again as regional consular officer (covering Malabo from Lagos); and then when I met the former Mrs. Erdos, who was consul in Accra two decades ago. Even now, via two friends (both former envoys to Equatorial Guinea), the story continues to have legs. Indeed, prompted by a notice in the DACOR Bulletin a year or so ago, I had a peculiar telephone interview with someone who is writing a book about it. As disturbing as the details were, the piece served a useful purpose for this reader. Thomas R. Hutson FSO, retired Thurman, Iowa Equatorial Guinea Today As the regional psychiatrist cover- ing West Africa, I found the story in the October Journal about the murder of Donald Leahy to be of great interest. In an odd coincidence, I happened to be in Malabo on a routine TDY visit when this issue was published. In discussing the article with the officers currently serving at Embassy Malabo, it was most striking to observe how conditions there have changed since the incident. Equatorial Guinea is undergoing a dramatic transformation, and the cur- rent lifestyle there contrasts sharp- ly with the harsh conditions present over 30 years ago. I see it as a rather beautiful place with enormous poten- tial, and feel that a tour in Malabo could be both personally and profes- sionally rewarding. Hopefully the article won’t deter bidders from con- sidering a greatly changed Malabo for assignment. Paul Beighley Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatrist Embassy Accra A Marshall Plan for Mexico: Bad Idea Geoffrey Chalmers, in “A Marshall Plan for Latin America” (November FSJ ), correctly identifies the income disparity, both between Mexico and the United States and within Mexico itself, as driving the illegal immigrant problem in the U.S. He states: “For the past several decades, U.S. support for economic development in Latin America has been effective in some cases, but not overwhelming and certainly not transformational.” He then suggests (as have many others) that the answer lies in a U.S. Marshall Plan, in this case for Mexico. To suggest that the success of the $13 billion Marshall Plan (1948-1952) can be applied to Mexico demon- strates a fundamental misunder- standing of the historical and cultural circumstances of post-World War II Europe compared to the circum- stances prevailing in Mexico. And to imply that any U.S. aid and assistance to Mexico (or the rest of Latin America, Africa, etc.) can result in “transformational” economic develop- ment reveals a misunderstanding of what drives development. The Marshall Plan delivered necessary financial assistance to help European countries get back on their feet. Although devastated by war, they shared a long history of devel- oped economies, educated and highly skilled populations, rational labor laws and efficient judicial systems. All that was needed was the financial in- jection to get the engine running again. Mexico has none of the ele- ments in place that contributed to the success of the Marshall Plan in Europe. The answer to Mexico’s develop- ment dilemma lies not in yet another massive U.S. aid program. Instead, the country’s political, economic, legal and cultural elites must demon- strate the will to make the structural and cultural changes that can lead to economic development. In short, nothing will change until the Mexi- cans themselves decide to change. As a final thought, Mexico could do worse than study and emulate the model of Chile, a country that got its economics right without huge injec- tions of financial and technical aid. William H. Barkell FSO, retired Arlington, Va. 10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 L E T T E R S Send your letter to the editor or “Speaking Out” column to: journal@afsa.org. Note that all submissions are subject to editing for style, format and length.