Evening star., 1951-12-16
Brazil
All Sorts Of Yonquis
Play Good Neighbor'
By Edword TomIinson

There is a new era Of economic,
political and even military co-opera-
ton between Brazil and the United
States.
Not since World War II, when We
built defense facilities along the
4.000-mile Brazilian coast and spent
millions on the production of rubber,
mica. chrome. quartz, industrial dia-
monds and other minerals. have the
two largest and most populous Amer
lean republics been on such cozy
terms.
Top Brazilian officials have been or
are now in the United States Among
them were Foreign Minister Joao
Neves da Fontoura and Finance Min
lister Horacio Later. The latter, on
his return home. told the Brazilian
Congress that 'it is necessary for
Brazil to maintain the closest eco
nomic collaboration with the United
States"
Army Modernizotion
A little-known but serious effort
is being made to modernize the
Brazilian military establishment.
Brazil's army chief. Gen. Goes Mon
teiro. has just returned to Rio after
several weeks in Washington. He
has intimated that Brazil, with the
United States help. may soon re-
activate key airfields along the
hump" of Brazil.
lA tc -
crowded with experts and brass hats
from Washington and almost every
plane and ship brings a new group
of economic technicians. engineers.
military men and business and in
dustrial leaders. They come to study
the needs and help make plans for
revamping Brazilian economy or to
look into the possibility of investing
private capital in new enterprises.
Congressman Visit Rio
Two congressional delegations
have been there. comforting with
high officials about problems affect
ing relations between Brazil and this
country.
An imposing Joint Brazil United
States Commission for Economic De-
velopment has been hard at work for
four months. laying out specific and
practical plans for the rehabilitation
and extension of the country's over
burdened transportation system. Our
section of the commission, made up
of top technicianS and experts, is
headed by J. Burke Knapp, on leave
from the international Bank where
he has been chief of the economic
division
Gordon Dean. chairman of the
Atomic Energy Commission. has been
in the country. No detailed official in
formation has been made available as
to what our atomic stake in Brazil
is or will be- But there is no mystery
about the fact that we are looking
for new sources. in this hemisphere,
of various minerals and metals to
expand our atomic industry. and
Brazil is known to possess consider
able deposits of several of them.
World Bonk Aid
Eugene Black, president of the
World Bank. is another visitor to
Brazil. He talked with President
Vargas and toured the industrial sec
tions of the country. Before an
nouncing that "the International
Bank /. has decided to grant credits
and substantial sums for the carry
ing out of economic projects and
plans :" The bank already has
advanced well over 500 million in
credits to private and government
owned hydroelectric projects. Bra
zilians have hopes that several hun
dred millions more will be forth
coming.
Meantime. the Vargas government
has taken steps to raise extra-large
sums of money locally to help finance
new economic developments. 1t has
boosted income taxes and added a
Surtax of Is per cent on all persons
or firms paying as much as $500 in
income taxes According to the
Ministry of Finance, these and other
levies ought to provide over a half
billion dollars in extra revenue.