Brazil–United States relations during the João Goulart government
Relationships between the United States and Brazil detreeating from 1961 to 1964 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brazil–United States relations during the presidency of João Goulart (1961–1964) gradually deteriorated, culminating in American support for the ousting of Goulart in the 1964 coup d'état in Brazil. Although the crisis' dynamics were primarily Brazilian, American actions progressively increased the chances of the occurrence and success of a rebellion against the government. Historians differ on the inevitability of a clash between the Goulart and John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson administrations, the relative importance of the attrition points, and the timing the U.S. government's decision to support the Goulart's ousting - earlier, as in 1962, or later, only in 1963.
Jango, as the Brazilian president was known, took office already distrustful of the Americans because of his connections with the radical left in the unions, although he was not considered a communist. Even so, the year 1962 did not start out negative, and Goulart managed to have a good relationship with Kennedy. There were several points of attrition. Internationally, the Brazilian government continued its Independent Foreign Policy [pt], expanding its ties outside the Western bloc and disagreeing in part with the American proposals against Cuba. Domestically, it paid less attention to economic stabilization and limited the remittance of profits from American companies in Brazil. In 1963, Goulart made concessions and an attempt at stabilization, the Triennial Plan, but did not find the necessary American support for its success and hardened his position with the U.S. In Washington there was also concern about leftist forces such as governor Leonel Brizola, who took over subsidiaries of American companies, and the Peasant Leagues.
The U.S. used several instruments to alter the course of the Brazilian government and subsequently to weaken it. Kennedy's visit to Brazil was successively postponed, while opposition candidates in Brazil received millions of dollars in the 1962 elections and economic assistance was redirected to opposition state governments, the "islands of administrative sanity". The U.S. Embassy in Brazil, under Lincoln Gordon, became involved in Brazil's internal affairs. The important release of credit was hindered, different from the attitude taken for the previous government of Jânio Quadros. Finally, the U.S. government sought allies among the Brazilian military, who were already plotting a coup d'état and offered support for their military operations [pt] in the form of Operation Brother Sam. It never reached Brazil due to the rapid deposition of Goulart beginning on March 31, 1964, but the withdrawal of the president was in part due to the knowledge that the U.S. State Department would recognize a parallel government organized by the insurgents. The Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985) was quickly recognized, and the U.S. acted diplomatically to facilitate its recognition by other countries.
The pressure on Goulart's government occurred when American foreign policy was defined by the Cold War, the Cuban Revolution of 1959, and pressure within the country for a tough foreign policy, Washington sought to reassert its hegemony. In Latin America, it tried to influence leftist governments through economic assistance from the Alliance for Progress or to favor their overthrow by local opposition, thus tolerating several military coups.