At the request of the undersigned, the renowned economist Pedro Manuel Casals Victoria visited President Balaguer at the National Palace and they engaged in a lengthy conversation on the economic philosophy of Milton Friedman. This meeting was long enough because one and the other had different approaches around the thinking of this essayist on topics linked to the business world.
Balaguer understood that Keynes’s theory was positivist, because his results were pragmatic and he believed more in practice than in theory, which is why he, following Keynes’s principles, applied them to the national reality more effectively throughout the years. of his mandate.
On the other hand, Casals Victoria replied to Balaguer that he agreed with some aspects of this philosopher, but Freeman’s vision was more liberal, because it encompassed all the topics of economic thought and I remember the works published under his signature from New York, in the newspaper El Caribe, on the philosophy and thought of Keynes.
After this fruitful debate, both characters reviewed the subject of the April 1965 revolt and Balaguer pondered the personal value of Casals Victoria (renowned economist, lawyer and politician), who, according to the president, moved to the fortress of San Luis together with a group of men and weapons and went to Santo Domingo to offer his support to Colonel Caamaño.
The dialogue went further, because Balaguer brought up former presidents Rafael and Victoria who, according to the Head of State, had leading roles in the process of the wars in the Dominican Republic.
I observed that Balaguer found the conversation with Casals Victoria interesting, because they entered the process of the Cold War and in that sense the statesman disagreed with it, because that phenomenon weakened the Soviet Union and therefore strengthened the United States. United States, for his part, Casals Victoria agreed with the Cold War because it had brought about significant changes in the ideological field and that situation would produce freedom, democracy and economic development.
Balaguer then told Casals Victoria: “That will have disastrous consequences for the Soviet Union, because the economic, political and military balance is the counterweight to any military confrontation at the world level.
Casals Victoria, on the other hand, maintained that freedom and development are the columns on which human freedom rests and the Union of Soviet Republics had deprived the economic freedom of its regions for many years.
From that topic, Casals Victoria went on to explain to Balaguer the reason for his visit, which was that, for more than a year, he had collaborated with the government on economic policy issues and his work had not been paid.
Faced with this explanation, Balaguer replied that he would take “a letter on the matter”, and that Casals Victoria could leave quietly. Days later, the notable economist visited my residence to inform me that he had received the emoluments for his advice to the government.