University of Virginia Library

Peruvian Scholar Exhibits Political Skills

By CURT MORRIS

Pedro G. Beltran Joins University As Scholar-in-Residence

The Former Peruvian Ambassador Recounts Political Experiences

Pedro G. Beltran fits any
descriptions — diplomat, economist,
political prisoner, and prime minister.
Now he has another as he undertakes the
position of Scholar-in-Residence in the
Graduate School of Business
Administration.

Mr. Beltran is a former Peruvian prime
minister, ambassador, and publisher of his
country's largest newspaper. After
graduating from the London School of
Economics he headed Peru's central bank
in the 1940's and 1930's.

When his country involved itself in
deep financial trouble in 1959, Mr.
Beltran confirmed his expertise as an
economist by becoming both Prime
Minister and Minister of Finance and
proceeding to straighten out Peru's
economic crisis within a year and a half.

New Role

Mr. Beltran had never had anything to
do with politics before, but assumed
those roles when asked to do so by the
Peruvian president.

"The economy was in very bad shape,
prices were soaring, and the cost of living
rising. The rate of exchange was dropping
every day and, of course, there was a very
bad lack of confidence in the
government," he explained."

"The problem was clear. There was
only one thing to do. Fortunately, I was
able to pull things together, and the
economy improved—recovered—in a short
period."

Housecleaning

When asked to explain his secret, Mr.
Beltran replied, I put the house in
order, like any housewife." This meant
cutting expenses the country couldn't
bear—"everything that contributes to a
balanced budget," he added.

When Mr. Beltran took over, his
appointment helped reverse the
downward trend. The rate of exchange
stopped falling and soon began to climb
again, his wife points out, and this while
he was serving in his position for less than
three years.

"Of course," Mr. Beltran says, "in a
small country, it is easier to put through
measures like that — because it is like a
laboratory. You can do something and
feel the effect of what you are doing
without having to wait too long."

Mr. Beltran had an affect on Peru's
economy long before that. In the decades
before World War Two, he helped
establish the first agricultural
experimental station in the country. He
also introduced mechanization and crop
dusting to the country's agriculture. Mr.
Beltran was in the United States when the
war broke out. "I practically lived in
Washington until 1946, "carrying out
various tasks for the embassy.

"When the old ambassador died, the
president told me, "You're the only one
who knows everything." That is how I
became ambassador."

"As we had liberal ideas, we didn't
believe in dictatorship" Mr. Beltran said.

Mr. Beltran's semester at the
University is his first as a Scholar in
Residence and rather than teach a course
within the curriculum he will lecture "as
an outsider who knows about so many
world problems."