Politics Brazilian Style

...Both had been close political allies of Kubitschek and senior members of his party, so the tendentiousness was obvious...

...His ability to hold at bay the young turks of his Revolution will depend on how ably he can meet the needs of the country...

...The generals continue to propagate the myth that the Brazilian military do not involve them selves in politic s, but they have been in the fore ground of every insurrection since the declaration of independence in 1822...

...In office he has proved as mode st as he had been in his 30-year military career...

...In giving in to them, Cas-telo Branco has shown that among the hardliners there may be some incipient Nassers wishing to put him into early retirement...

...they have also forgotten th at the first piece of legislation passed after the Revolution was a pay rise for the military...

...Under pressure, they have passed important and useful legislation, including a sensible new income tax bill, land reform, a housing program and bank reorganization...

...After a frustrating (but apparently not forgotten) effort against Adhemar de Barros, the probers trained their sights on Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate...

...Thus, although no revolution would have been possible without the foresight and courage of Governor Adhemar de Barros of Sao Paulo, today HERBERT CAHN, an American living in Latin America, reports regularly on Brazil in these pages...

...When he did not give in, a new target was chosen: Governor Mauro Borges of Goias, a member of Kubitschek's party and head of the state Kubitschek represented in the Senate...

...Although Borges obtained a protective writ from the Supreme Court, Cas-telo Branco, who up to this point had remained officially aloof from the controversy, moved rapidly to have the Army take over Goias...

...Whatever conclusions may be inferred from all this, and inferences vary with the observer, the one that is totally unjustified is that there will be political peace in Brazil for the next decade...

...Meanwhile, divisions have become increasingly apparent among associates of the Revolution, with conflicts in personality and political 'Style taking precedence over the single objective of overthrowing Goulart and the Communists...

...It therefore has proved itself more permanent than any party, and better able to understand the' problems of this rather than the last century...

...This is especially true because the country has an enterprising leading class, as well as large, highly industrialized areas which are spreading and will eventually absorb the backward agricultural regions into the more advanced sectors of the economy...

...Though he has been very successful in eliminating the negative aspects of his predecessor's administration, Brazil's basic problems-the problems that require positive rather than negative achievements-will become more apparent in the months ahead...

...But unlike the former Presidents, Borges was instrumental in deposing Goulart...

...The officers forget that in the long run a politician can be only a little more corrupt than his electorate...

...A few private scores have been settled, and some public eyesores have been removed...

...It is difficult to judge the relative strength of the two factions...

...many good politicians and administrators have come from their ranks...

...He hoped to win the next Presidential election by making a deal with Goulart, and while it is debatable whether he needed Goulart's support, there is no question that he would have brought back the pretentious demagogue of the Left who had just been thrown out...

...Thus the military investigations into corruption and subversion only publicized what everyone already knew, and from the start were marked by vindictiveness...

...He is fanatically ambitious for the Presidency, but his ruthless aggressiveness has made him an obstacle to public peace...

...He realized that to save Brazil he had to join his enemies in overthrowing his friends...

...One catches the occasional signal of a punch without being able accurately to determine its direction...

...THE POLITICIANS Politics Brazilian Style By Herbert Cahn RIO DE JANEIRO In the period since the Brazilian Revolution of last March 31, a good deal of violence has been done to Anglo-Saxon principles of democracy...

...The government probably was aware of his activities, bu t because he made no public noise he was not taken seriously...

...he is a partner...

...He has placed himself at the mercy of his military friends, a traditional minority in a democratically inclined country...

...President castelo branco is a moderate, and with the cooperation of the more astute politicians he should remain in full control...

...Kubitschek had been amply warned of the coming revolution and was invited to participate in the risk...

...Possibly they are not at loggerheads at all, but consciously using each other in a kiss-and-kick see-saw...

...It is fair to say, though, that they involve themselves as a caste only when the political system is in extremis...

...Even after the housecleaning that has taken place, more scoundrels remain in the political parties than the Army ever had . The military, moreover , has historically taken its responsibilities to the country more seriously than the politicians...

...Castelo Branco had been planning the overthrow of Goulart for two years...

...is being baited by smaller men-allegedly for his flamboyant corruption, but in reality because of his political strength...

...Granted the vulnerability of these two men, the investigations further became suspect when some of the officers conducting them leaked selective evidence to the press...

...For their solution, Cas-telo Branco must look to the people he has lately been forced to offend...

...He was within his legal rights, but his action represented an obedience to the letter of the law which flagrantly violated its spirit...

...The Minister of War, General Costa A. Silva, has been giving the appearance of being one of the confirmed ha rd-liners...

...The important objective was to reaccustom Brazilians to the idea that tomorrow would be another day somewhat like yesterday, to enable them to catch their breath and straighten out their thinking after the turbulent period that began with the resignation in 1961 of Janio Quadros...

...Innocent fools have been hounded, while some of Joao Goulart's most obsequious sycophants have come through unscathed...

...Actually, there is some doubt about where he stands...

...And if the investigators, who have been accused of gestapo tactics by many serious journalists, proved that the Governor was surrounded by Leftists or Communists, or that his finances were obscure, their methods merely served to cast doubt on what has long been considered obvious...

...political, sympathy or general strikes...

...The intent was to force Cas-telo Branco into repressive measures against the powers that had been...

...Nevertheless, when all due allowances are made, they represent institutionalized stupidity...

...An anti strike bill is the only measure passed so far that could be called conservative: It outlaws strikes that are not for the purpose of obtaining economic gains for the workers on strike, i.e...

...Some political soothsayers, looking over the new governors recently placed in stat es where the incumbents have been kicked out, detect signs of ambit ion for the Presidency...

...but it is no less likely that he realized spectacular programs were neither desirable nor possible...

...Perhaps his cabinet reflects Castelo Branco's preference for Unpretentious people...

...On the whole, the reform capitalism of Cas-telo Branco seems more suitable for Brazil than the oriental varieties of socialism invented since World War II for the benefit of underdeveloped countries...

...Still, the next crisis is already being fabricated...

...Both Brazilian and foreign observers would profit from accepting this as a fact of life instead of deploring it in sterile lamentations...

...Honestly elected Communists have been kicked out of Congress, together with some of the most notorious peculators who, losing their parliamentary immunity, now face difficulties in the civil and criminal courts...

...Their ability to coerce Congress at that moment might have been put to the solution of more pressing matters...

...The politicians acquiesced in the choice because they could not agree among themselves on an alternative candidate, and even if they could, the military probably would not have assented...

...The reason for the present incompatibility is the officers ' belief that the politicians fail to solve urgent problems because they are corrupt or incompetent or unwilling...

...This may be true, but perhaps true in the sense that any man in such a position wants to be President...

...Few had ever noticed the General before he was appointed to the Presidency by Congress, and the change of style that his personality has introduced may be gauged from the nearly universal ignorance of his first name, Humberto (his four predecessors were known as Jango, Janio, Juscelino and Getulio) . He was selected by the generals who had plotted the Revolution ; undoubtedly he was the "brains" of the rebel group...

...his refusal to do so makes it impossible to lament his departure...

...He has chosen an unspectacular cabinet which is completely over-shadowed by the Minister of Planning, Roberto Campos ( the Minister of War, it should be noted, was not a choice...

...People have been behind bars for days, hours or weeks without trial, accusation or any of the civil decencies...

...The military, in having preserved Brazil's political equilibrium in the past, may be worth every penny they have spent on obsolete weapons...

...Th e Army , in fact, has always bee n a major factor in Brazil's political equation precisely because it does not split apart over differences of opinion . When a controlling group loses out, it does not form a competitive corps...

...The one consequence of the revolution that has disturbed foreign opinion the most is probably the recent political castration of Kubitschek, who had been a venturesome President with a vast vision of the country's potential...

...Governor Carlos Lacerda of Guanabara, another mainstay of March 31, is falling out with everyone, corroborating what his enemies have always said of him: He cannot even live at peace with his friends...

...It is difficult to see what political advantage Cas-telo Branco obtained from so calculated an outrage against constitutional sensibilities...

...Unlike many small par ties that have atrophied with the issues around which they were created, the Arm y does not die when a set of issues dissolves...

...Brazil's legislators may not be the best in the world, but normally their intelligence is sufficient to insure their self-preservation...

...Adhemar, whose modus operandi is very similar to that of and former President Juscelino Kubitschek, was once elected governor with the support of the Communists and all the forces he has now helped to overthrow...

...Overshadowing any personal vendettas, however, is the incompatibility that has developed between Congress and the military...

...Americans should beware of blindly bestowing their sympathies upon the legislators because of doctrinaire principles of democracy...

...The major difference is that Adhemar matured and recognized that certain situations cannot be resolved by opportunism...

...As Governor of the state which has 40 per cent of the Federation's wealth, his initiative was more decisive than that of President Castelo Branco, who at the time of the uprising was an obscure general staff officer...

...Unrest has been endemic here since 1920...

...The military are split into hardliners and moderates, the latter wishing to leave as much of the government as possible in the hands of civilians...