Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia.

My name is Jody Avergan.

This day, March 12, 1961, speaking at the White House to more than 200 Latin American diplomats,

President John F. Kennedy, called for what he was dubbing the Alliance for Progress. It was a quote

vast cooperative effort unparalleled in magnitude and nobility of purpose to satisfy the

basic needs of Latin American people for, and I'm quoting here,

homes, work and land, health and schools.

And then JFK says that in Spanish, he says,

Teco, travel, and theater, salud. case says that in Spanish he says tacho

that a tia salut e esquela and let me just say that

j fkksen was not as good as mine I'm gonna go out on the room

and he went on though to flex that accent a little bit more he said our motto is what it has always been progress yes

tyranny no progress or see did I know now do that in a Boston accent yeah exactly

probably with a drink and a half of me but let's talk about more than just JFK's

probably terrible Spanish accent.

This is really about one of Kennedy's first big foreign policy swings

trying to define the Cold War policy

in a critical part of the world.

So let's go to that moment, that gathering in 1961

here, as always, Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt

and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley.

Hello there.

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