April 4th, 1937

SANTIAGO - General Blanché today authorized the redeployment of two Divisions of the Chilean Army to Argentina, following the dreadful economic news coming out of that country.

"We had originally supposed that the Argentinians could secure their own affairs after our withdrawal. However, we now see that we were mistaken," Blanché said.

The Chilean Army's 2nd and 3rd Divisions began their journey by train to the capital of the fledgling Syndicalist Argentina, Buenos Aires. The commander of the 2nd Division, General Óscar Molina, shared that his division, the more combat-experienced of the two, would be deploying to the North of the country to help quell an insurgency led by the former leader of Argentina, General Ramirez.

The 3rd Division, meanwhile, is to deploy to the farmlands around Buenos Aires and the La Pampas region. After reoccupying this region, a military government is to be set up based in Buenos Aires. The military governor, named as General Oscar Escudero, will resume the post he held briefly during the occupation of Argentina at the end of the conflict there.

Escudero has been charged with implementing land reforms similar to those performed in Chile over the last five years. When asked for comment on his role, Escudero noted: "The former Junta in Argentina was very destructive on its workers and economy. Our plan is to reorganize the land in a way that is fair to the workers, and repair the damage done by the destructive conflict."

International sources noted that Argentina has been slow to recover from its war. Many buildings in Buenos Aires and Cordoba are still uninhabitable. Blackened hulks of tanks and trucks still litter many roads in the countryside. The Chilean military government hopes to restore order and peace to the land of Argentina, and to get the Argentinian economy back into gear.

To this end, the Minister of Industry Sotomayor has sent several representatives along with the 2nd Division to survey the remains of Argentinian industry. In particular, Sotomayor expressed interest in the revitalization of the Argentinian meatpacking and oil industries. He noted that the production of the Argentinian state-owned oil company, YPF, had been reduced to near zero during and after the conflict. "Rectification of this is very important to the future of South America," he said, "so that we do not depend on countries abroad for our growing oil needs."

Mining officials also have begun the trip to Argentina. In particular, the possibility of mining coal in the La Maltide formation in Santa Cruz province piqued the interest of the Chilean mining industry.