(OUR LATIN AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT)
"How sharper than a serpent's tooth The men in Washington who almost fear to open their morning newspapers these days are the policy makers. both civilan and military, Armed Forces who are connected with the various F.B.J., C.I.A. and Army training programs for Latin American military personnel. In the last three months, many a bead of sweat has formed on the brow of the American military specialist, forced handiwork of one of his own former On October 3rd, for example, a military sudents. junta seized power from the •U.S. approved" Peruvian President, Fernando Belaunde Terry, and, before the week was out, had expropriated and nationalized the American owned International Petroleum Company whose value has been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Of the 14 member junta, 11 have received a U,S. military education, and the leader of the new military government, General Juan Velasco Alvarado, was, in 1945, a proud graduate of the Command and General Staff School at Fort Gulik, Panama Canal Zone.
Several top leaders of the Panamanian National Guard which ousted the legally elected' government of Arnulfo Arias, are, likewise, products of the best in American Military education Cols. Torrijos and Martinez were trained close to their home, in the American controlled Canal Zone. Lieut. Col. Frederico Boyde is an alumus F.B.I. Academy at Quantico, Virginia. Since 1950, the United States has trained 21,000 Latin officers and noncoms in United States military schools; 25,000 more in the Panama Canal Zone'.(The New York Times, December 22, 1968).
Dictatorship Brazilian Style If the Peruvian and Panamanian coups were the cause of a good number of sweaty brows, the mid-December assumption of emergency powers by the leadership of Brazil was undoubtably sufficient induce a full sized perspiration ring many a high level Washington shirt sleeve:
December 13th, ATHUT OR COSEe Silva, President of the military backed Brazilian government since his Victory in the 'unopposed election' of 1966, declared state of seige and took on a series of related emergency powers, drafted by the Minister emergency DOWCS These of Justice, Antonio Gama e Silva, include the power to suspend the constitution, to dissolve the National Congress and state legislatures, to replace governors or mayors with his own appointees, to impose censorship, to make arrests for 'offenses to the national security' (denying the right of appeal to a civil court), to suspend habeas corpus in the case of crimes determined by the president to be of a political nature, to suspend the political rights of individuals (more precisely, to deny to an individual during a period of ten years the right to vote, run for public office, write for a newspaper, or make a political statement in public), to confiscate the property of any public employee determined by the president to have enriched himself at public cost, to remove public employees without legal process, to appoint 'intervenors for state government, and to annul the mandates and political rights of legislators. Censorship, according to international press dispatches, went into effect immediately. Army personnel occupied newspaper, and television station in the country as well as telegraph offices handling international press cables. Included in the catagory of censored material were coverage of criticism of the new political situation, coverage arrests, and any indication that censorship was in effect.
Extensive arrests also began on the 13th. une writing, is long and impressive. Two former ISLA 40L, still growing rapidly UnIS Brazilian presidents, Juscelion Kubitschek, and Janio Quadros; sometime conservative politician and former governor of the State of Guanabara, Carlos Lacerda; Chief of Cabinate under ousted president Joao Goulart, Darci Ribeiro; former Brazilian delegate to the United Nations, Jose' de Sette Camara, (later released); prestigious tical COMTECTERTOTS Carlos Castelo Branco, Otacylio Lopes, Paulo Frances, Antonio Calado; newspaper director Osvaldo Peralva; and an undetermined number of federal deputies. These people ate number of arrests acknowledged by officia being DISOR.
Brazilian government sources is "close to 200'. However, various informants writing from Brazil say that the number of arrests reached 1,000 during the first week of the 'new coup', as the events of December 13th have come to be called, and the pace of the arrests has not slackened since that time. In addition to those held in military prisons, hundred of people have been deprived of their political rights, including 94 deputies of the official party. Although the Constitution of 1967 was declared still in effect, Costa e Silva closed the National Congress, arresting deputies of party those the Opposition, and sending scores more into exile, or hiding. Pressured by conservative military backers of his regime, Costa e Silva shut down the legislature stating, "The entire nation understands that the military does not accept criticism and abuse covered by cowardly immunity. "(The New York Times, December 17) The 'criticis, and abuse' referred to were Moreira two speeches delivered from the floor of congress, called for a boycott of the annual military parade commemorating the Brazilian independence, and urged Brazilian mothers to permit their daughters to date military men. The slur on the military by this member of congress was viewed by powerful elements within the military sector as an opportunity to force the issue of whether military civilian rule would hold sway in Brazil. Moreira Alves Wak accesed by the army chiefs of an offense to the national security and when his fellow deputies, voting 216 to 141 to affirm his congressional immunity, refused to turn Moreira Alves over to a military court, tremendous pressure was applied by the army generals to force Costa e Silva to close the legislature completely.
A History of Gentle Repression "The Brazilian ruling class,' one exile of the 1964 coup explained, 'has always been one of the cleverest of all Latin America. Many of these families have been in power for and a growing bourgeiosie. But the rules of Not only the game remained the same have those in power moved cautiously and intelligently to maintain their position, but the workers, lacking class consciousness, have allowed them to do it. "You have to remember that so much of Brazil is covered by luxuriant tropical are the dry emerged government drought poverty stricken Northeast. Since times large rallied behind protectors, bandit chiefs. Often these movements developed sufficient government For example, the Testes Coum.
following where it TOODS WCIC smash the movement. Ligas 1955, and the Northeast the region.
However, need to For "fascist rule Was completely military and, above all, progressive in the political the option of STUCTUTER political exile semi-dignified withdrawal person from Indeed, it was not uncommon, as powce, The Coup Gradually Dropped Those responsible for the coup of 1964 adhered, to some extent, to the tradition or apparent moderamon an поп yorone.
the vaguely leftist government of Joa Goulart was out, and the military, headed by Marshall Humberto Castelo Branco, Constitutional forms were conspicuously observed. Neither Congress nor the independent Supreme Court ceased to function. The Supreme Court justices were not removed, but the court was "packed" mith additad applence the home military had confidence. trust, however, turned out to be misplaced as some of the appointees moved against their benefactors when they joined with their judicial colleages in handing down decisions which freed several opposition figures imprisoned by the new regime. The 16 legally registered political parties existing in Brazil at the time of the coup were abolished by the military regime. However, the new government, anxious to maintain constitutional appearances, set up Renovating and tolerated opposition, Ene Democratic Movement. Thus the trappings of a democratic system were preserved. In the first year of the new regime there was CYCl kind of moderation in the number of arrests, and the length of imprisonment. Some of the most logical candidates for arrest were not taken. Many political enemies the regime were permitted to seek exile abroad. For some broad hint from a representative of the roxemment itself.
within two years' reported on exiled Northeastern the veil was off, and Brazilians could see naked dietatorship for what it was. In this time been thousands of arrests, imprisonments, expulsions, deportations people deprived of their political rights, etc. all by arbitrary decree or on the basis of false accusation. By the end of 1964 th new regime had virtually liquidated the entire pantheon of civilian political leadership. moderate and conservative leaders Lacerda had to come forward and denounce the regime for what it was a fascist dictatorship. The became so outspoken that on onfuse the Jornal do Brasil or the Cen da Manha with the pre-coup Communi Party paper. The people were becomin politically concious. What we could not d ten years of meetings, rallies, aborious political education, the militar coming in opposition to the regime.
upon assuming atmosphere Indeed, the Beerment encarned the fortunat reappearance reenforced pretentions of the liberalization campaign'. Many of them were even found high paying job within the government bureaucracy, and came to known popularly as the remunerated left'. The returned, exiles posed no political threat to the regime as the charges against them were still pending and, in effect, they could be imprisoned at any moment.
Business as Usual?
This then is the situation at the end of December.
In a political system based on 'clientele the legislature has been closed, and 89 million people have been left without their "protector. As the vast majority of those 89 million people are living the most marginal of lives either in the countryside or in the favelas (urban slums), the loss of their agent in government, can only be regarded as serious blow.
AP, UPI, and New York Times correspondents in Rio have reported the usual and Browne of the Times, asserted, 'Brazilians appeared indifferent today to the new order laid down by President Arthur da Costa e Silva over the weekend.' They went on to say that the weather was hot, 'the beaches were crowded, and business seemed to go on as usual. (NYT, Dec. 16) However, the word from informants in Brazil Concientzac. has the Brazilians call it, that process conscious of their oppression, political world around them, of their rights, and of the possibilities of concerted political action, has been incalcuably forwarded by the events of December. If it is true that business has gone on as usual, it is probably the business of concientizacao that has advanced most rapidly in the last few weeks.
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in Brazilian politics. Once the American Embassy had given the nod,
official majority party, the National Party Brazilian
of these people the suggestion that they seek asylum in a foreign embassy came in a
had done for us in one year. Before the coup, who understood the word fascist"
the their protector,
Brazilian people to be adopting a 'business attitude. Montgomery