Evening star., 1935-11-26
Revolt i'm Brazil.

Revolution, said to involve all OF the
twenty states OF Brazil, is flaming
throughout the great Amazon republic.
Supported by his Senate and Chamber,
President Vargas has placed the whole
country in state Of siege. Beginning
as an alleged communist uprising in the
northeastern states of Rio Grande do
Norte and Pernambuco, armed revolt
against the government, which has
already been marked by pitched battles
with loyal troops, has broken out at
various points, inducing the Federal
authorities to proclaim the existence OF
an organized, nationwide plot to set up
a communist regime. The important
cities of Natal and Pernambuco are in
rebel hands. Rio de Janeiro is moving
in force to suppress the threat to its
power.
Present-day Brazil is no stranger to
revolutions. President Vargas himself
is the product of one. He became head
of provisional government in 1880 after
leading a successful uprising against
President Washington Luis and Presi-
dent-elect Prestes. Within two years
Senior Vargas was himself compelled to
combat revolution against his regime. 1t
plunged Brazil into three months OF the
most sanguinary hostilitieS the Western
Hemisphere had witnessed since the
Civil War in the United States. Presi-
dent Vargas triumphed only after fight
ing on three fronts, in which some
10000 troops were engaged. In 1884
he was elected by the Constituent Assem-
bly, to regular presidential term of four
years, but the scars of the civil struggle
of 1882 were never healed.
To what extent they are responsible
for the present turmoil is not yet appar-
ent. Communism has long been boring
from within in South America. Agi-
tation has become so offensive to its
various governments that only one OF
them, Uruguay, has recognized the Soviet
Union. Buenos Aires dispatches report
that precautionary measures against red
extremists will be intensified all over the
continent in consequence of events in
Brazil.
Even though President Vargas claims
to have evidence that wholesale plot
exists to "implant communism" in
Brazil and is the result of recent anti
communist moves by the government,
developments may establish that such
charges are a smoke-screen for the real
conditions at bottom Of the present out
break. 1t cannot be that the animosities
and political violence out of which sue
cessive Rio de Janeiro regimes were
born during the past five or six years are
entirely eradicated. They have been
famed by Brazil's economic difficulties,
due to the effects of worldwide depres-
sion on her coffee crop and other in
dustries.
President Vargas probably will prevail
over the rebels. He has secured from
Congress martial law legislation designed
to cope with radicals" who intend ito
disrupt by violence the political and
social order and change the form of
government established by the consti-
tuition" But by the time the soldiers,
guns, airplanes and warships sent into
action by Rio de Janeiro have subdued
the insurrectionists it may turn out that
the Communist" revolution was just an
other of those South American political
rebellions Of which Brazil has had its
full share and President Vargas himself
is conspicuous beneficiary.
The United States has extensive COM
mercial and financial ties with the giant
republic Of Latin America and will hope
for its early tranquillization. Only last
February this Government concluded
with the Brazilians a reciprocal trade
agreement which, it was hoped, would
go far toward stabilizing their economic
situation.