102. How did the Latin American countries vote on this Partition Plan?

The countries that stand out among the 33 (58%) that approved the Declaration 181 are Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The one that stands out among the 13 countries (23%) that voted against it is Cuba. There were 10 countries (18%) that abstained. Among them are Argentina, Colombia, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico. The Latin American block represented 20 of the 57 states and, without their massive support, the Zionists did not have a real chance. Moshe Tov, chief of the Jewish Agency for South America, discussed after the State’s establishment that the Brazilian chancellor had told him: “The General Assembly decided on the Partition because of the pressure exerted by the president of the United States”. Countries like Chile abstained because of the pressure exerted by the Palestinian community. Votes from some countries could be fundamentally explained by testimonies and bribery suspicions in diverse delegations. In a report sent by Lawlin Tomfson, director of Eastern Europe in the State Department, to Levi Handerson, he stated: “Mister Ballet said that a representative from South America changed his position from opposing to supporting the partition in exchange for 75 thousand dollars in cash. Another representative of Central America rejected the offer of 40 thousand dollars even though his government ordered him to support the partition. Mr. Ballet believes that a minister from that state bribed them from their own pocket”. Three Latin American characters were fundamental for the approval of the Partition: first, the President of the General Assembly, Osvaldo Aranha, who proposed the crucial vote because of Thanksgiving Day, allowing Zionists to reach the necessary votes. Previously, the representatives of Guatemala (Jorge Garcia Granados) and of Uruguay (Enrique Rodriguez Fabregat) from UNSCOP, were fundamental for drafting the Partition Plan.