Significance of Brazil

Taranaki Daily News, 24 August 1942, Page 2

Significance of Brazil

Brazil's declaration of war against Germany and Italy is an important event in the history of the world war; It will have bearing upon three key spheres in the conflict of nations — economic, strategical and political. In the first mentioned sphere the new development is unlikely to cause any immediate radical alteration in the existing arrangements because the naval blockade imposed on the Axis Powers has directed the trade of Brazil almost entirely to Great Britain and the United States. There it will continue to flow, and under conditions eased and facilitated by Brazil's entry into partnership with the nations combating Nazi and Fascist aggression. Brazil's rubber and manganese >are two commodities vital at the present time and their free and accelerated supply will be a valuable economic contribution from the new ally. * * ♦ It will be, however, in the spheres of strategy and politics that the role to be played by Brazil will be of greater importance. The geographical position of Brazil causes these two factors to overlap. South America spreads out fanwise from Brazil on three sides and what Brazil does must inevitably have an effe»t upon its neighbours, and particularly upon the Argentine. At the same time the fact that Brazil reaches out its easternmost bulge towards Africa so far that commercial planes once regularly flew from Dakar to Brazilian Natal in about eight hours will have an important strategical bearing. A transAtlantic ship can make the crossing from Natal to Africa in a little more than half the time required by the same ship to travel from New York to Southampton, and in one-fourth the time needed from New York to Rio de Janeiro. ( The superlative geographical position of Brazil has made it a tempting object of Nazi diplomacy and strategy. * # * Hitler's plan against Brazil has combined external and internal pressure. In making Brazilian ships a special object for U-boat attacks Hitler has applied his external pressure. Since January last 19 vessels flying the Brazilian flag have been sunk. Internally, Hitler has relied upon a powerful fifth column. This he calculated would keep Brazilian affairs in a condition unable to be directed to serious measures against his external pressure. The internal forces with which Dr. Vargas, the President of Brazil, has had to deal are tremendous. The Nazi or Nazified elements in Brazil find their most numerous expression in colonies numbering possibly 800,000 of Germanic descent. These ar^ located chiefly in the south, along the Uruguayan and Argentine borders, with other concentrations around Sao Paulo, the great industria! metropolis of the coastal highlands. * * * Given a.free hand this mass of German sympathisers could make serious trouble. But fortunately they have not been given a free hand. For almost four years now the Brazilian authorities have been engaged in the systematic dismembering of a gigantic organisation. This action has been accelerated since the Rio Gonference, at which Dr. Vargas took the lead in affirming Pan American solidarity in the face of Axis aggression. Upon an encouragingly sound framework the declaration of war may be expected to result in further stringent action against the Axis fifth column in Brazil. Indeed, the very fact that the astute Dr. Vargas has taken the extreme step is in itself an argument that Hitler's internal pressure methods are not regarded as sufficiently menacing to cause action against the external methods to be deferred. Reports from Brazil during the past few months have suggested that Brazilians were well on the way to regaining possession of their own country from Nazi infiltrators, and the drastic measure that President Vargas has felt able to pursue confirms that the reports were well founded. * * * There will be sighs of relief at Washington that events have turned out so because, although no Argentinian or Chilean would agree that Brazil is the heart of the defence problem of South America, yet this is the fact. Brazil marching firmly at the side of the United States is the finest guarantee that could be given of eventual Pan American solidarity. The action of the Brazilian Government will result in awkward dilemmas for the Castillo Government of the Argentine, which is already flying i» the face of popular Argentine sentiment in its proAxis tendencies. The direction of the political wind in other South American Republics is shown by reported strong indications that Uruguay will immediately follow Brazil into war. The importance of this lies in the fact that although Uruguay is a small nation it is the neighbour of the Argentine across the River Plate, and the significance of Uruguay's swing towards Brazil is that the Argentine aspires to leadership in Latin America and has sought to dominate her small neighbours. * * * In the complex weave of Latin American politics the Argentine must either be content to witness her prospects of leadership dwindling for ever as Brazil is built in strength by active partnership with the United States in war, or she must take steps to stabilise her own position. The reaction of the Argentine to Brazil's declaration of war is, therefore, the next important move on the South American scene. But

whatever happens, Brazil's act has provided the United Nations with a vital first foot into the continent. Moreover, students of the policies and politics of the Brazilian President, Dr. Vargas, will see his act as a vote of no-confidcnce in Hitler's ability to win the war and consequentially as an event not only of great value, but also of high encouragement to the peoples of the United Nations.