In this text, Manoel Bomfim criticizes the European attitude toward Latin America. According to the author, this attitude is due to sheer European ignorance about Latin American countries. He acknowledges that this posture had been changing, with Latin America getting more attention in the old Continent. The change, however, was not necessarily for the good, since it was not based on in-depth study but on accusatory advice. Europe’s negative mindset was a result of Latin America being seen by Europeans as the “richest continent in the world,” with a wealth of space and natural resources. These resources were wasted on a few million lazy people, while Europe could no longer provide for its huge population. For Bomfim, European’s lack of knowledge about Latin America was evident; for instance, in the erroneous belief that revolutions on the continent were a reflection of Latin American military spirit. The author questions this idea, writing that the Latin American phenomena, such as caudillismo were, in fact, manifestations of a lack of militarism. Bomfim argues that Europe’s discontentment could be more aggressive if it were not for the United States and the Monroe Doctrine, although he cautions against “North American protectionism,” seeing it as a threat to the sovereign authority of the southern countries. The author states that all would benefit from a better understanding of Latin America on the part of Europeans, especially the Latin American populations, which suffered from the negative European judgment. He did not, however, see European attitudes as the cause of Latin America underdevelopment. Acknowledging Latin American problems, the Brazilian writer affirms that the continent is the least developed of Western civilization. The true causes for this lag were yet to be discovered and he does not offer a possible explanation.
