Evening star., 1961-07-12
U. S. Officials Study SeIf-HeIp Plan
For impoverished Section of Brazil
By GEORGE SHERMAN
Star Staff Writer


Star Staff Writer
Officials from 10 Govern
ment agencies and a special
Brazilian envoy are holding
discussions here on a vast pro-
gram of Self-help for the pow
erty-Stricken northeastern sec
tion of Brazil.
The area. plagued with
drought and Spanned by
feudal-type sugar plantations,
lies in that Brazilian bulge"
which juts out into the South
Atlantic. 1t has been the scene
OF recent student riots where
pro-CaStro sentiment is rising
among the landlesS peaSantry.
Twice the size of Texas, the
section has about 20 million
Observation-Disclosures one-third
Brazil'S total population-moSt
of them earning less than $100
a.year.
MULTIPLE approach
American officials concerned
with the situation are thinking
in terms of a many-pronged
practical" approach, rather
than large outright dollar
grants.
Such an approach would in
clude everything from Food for
Peace grants to impoverished
peasants, Peace Corps road
building and community de-
Velopment projects and con-
struction machinery and tech
nical advice from the Interna-
tional Cooperation Admins
tration.
IDr. Celso Furtado, director
Of the Superintendency of the
Northeast, arrived here Sunday
as an emisSary of Brazilian |
President Quadros to discuss
how American aid can best be
channelled.
DR.. Furtado, 36, has been
raised to ministerial rank in
the Brazilian Cabinet by PreSi-
dent Quadros.
Has Five-Year Plan
The basis for discussion is
DR.. Furtado's five-year devel-
opment plan which calls for
spending about 5000 million,
$500 million Of which would
come from the Brazilian
budget. The rest would be
drawn mainly from private
Brazilian and foreign capital
investment.
Direct United States dollar
contributions are expected to
be only a small fraction of
this $400 million. Most aid
would be in surplus food gifts
and loans taken from what
Brazil already pays the United
States in Brazilian currency
for surplus wheat shipments.
Mass Migration Proposed
Much discussion is centering
on what probably is the most
spectacular part of DR.. Fur
tado's plan-a state directed
mass migration of landlesS
peasants to rainy and fertile
territory more than 1000 miles
to the south.
In the first year, DR.. Furtado
would move 125,000 persons.
Estimates have placed the total
migration over five years at
more than / million.
Brazil would like to ICA to
supply road construction equip
ment, house building materials
and technical advice for the
reSettlement. While American
officials say they are dubious
about moving so many people
so quickly, they have proposed
sending a team for an on-the-
spot survey.
Possibilities for a Peace
Corps unit to help build roads
to the interior also are under
discussion with DR.. Furtado at
headquarters here.
Fits Progress Plan
DR.. Furtado's vast develop :
ment scheme-which also in
cludes industrialization and ir-
rigation projectS-fitS perfectly
into President Kennedy's con-
ception of the Alliance for
Progress. 1t emphasizes self
help and social development,
where primary responsibility is
Brazilian and only auxiliary
help comes through American
aid.
The only disturbing feature
of the project in American eyes
is the lack of immediate land
reform. President Quadros has
appointed a task force to look
into the problem, but no i'm
mediate action Is in the offing.
American officials believe
that the large feudal sugar
plantationS-run on a colon
ial" basis by absentee land
lords-is one of the most basic
problems of the area. And this
need for Brazilian land reform
is a smaller reflection of drastic
rural reforms the Alliance for
Progress hopes to stimulate all
through Latin America.
American officials do not
hide their belief that a stable
and prosperous Brazil is the
LOST