ORIGIN/ACTION W7 DEPARTMENT OF STATE

RM/ R R EP A F / FOR RM USE ONLY ARA EUR FE A-1199 CONFIDENTIAL N E A CU INR NO. HAN Ot- IN G INDIC ATOR 3 TO Department of State 0 F P' "'OF STATE E p IO Y O- L FBO AID INFO ; BELO HORIZONTE, , BRASILIA, RECIFE, 3 SALVADOR, SAO PAULO, USCINCSO

ANALYSIS LiM

AGR COM FRB FROM DATE: J Amembassy INT LAS TAR SUBJECT Viewsof Labor Minister Jarbas Passarinho on

TR XMB AIR, 's Political Scene REF f*7 ARMY CIA N Auy 4 r OSD USI A NSA 1. Labor Minister Jarbas Passarinho is one of the most active, articulate, and politically sensitive members of the Costa e Silva Government. Recently he has been cited increasingly as a potential presidential candidate. During an encounter about two months ago, he indicated to the Political Counselor his interest in having an informal session with us on political subjects.

2. In the enclosed memeon, Passarinho (1) expresses concern over danger from the right, (2) accuses Interior Minister Albuquerque Lima of being a potential Nasser, (3) bemoans the fact that the workers are carrying the burden of fighting inflation alone, {h) criticizes unenlightened employers for their failure to support him, and (5) labels Brazil's Northeastas a potentially explosive area, Passarinho also urges the U.S. to stress social change in its programs in Brazil• He particularly suggests that we place NO emphasis on land reform. He warns the U.S. not to become associated with extremes; otherwise, he notes, "you will find yourself supporting ro a dictatorship." i o CM o

TUTHILL

Enclosure; Memorandum of Conversation of November^l9, 1968

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UrafterTTiy: V' Contents and Classification Approved by: POL:FCCarlT/c#i^es u/21/68 DCMtWBelton i,\ Clearances: BRASILIA: MT . /Us^^X ) ^ LAB: Mr.'Snyder t

DECLASSIFIED Authority ft/tVQ Vjb^OQfi C0NF3_DENTIAL Rio de Janeiro A-1199 Page 1 of Enclosure

MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION

SUBJECT: Brazilian Political Scene

PLACE:& DATE: Ambassador's Apartment (Lunch), American Embassy Office, Brasilia, November 19, I968

PARTICIPANTS: Jarbas Passarinho, Minister of Labor

Stephen Low, Principal Officer, Brasilia

Frank Carlucci, Political Counselor, Rio de Janeiro

Danger from the Right

Carlucci noted that Passarinho had been one of the first to warn publicly of the danger of a move to the right in Brazil. Taking as an example the fact that a year ago there had been few if any arrests under the National Security Law, and that today such arrests are commonplace,- he asked the Minister how he would assess the pressures from the right at the present time.

Passarinho replied that when Costa e Silva had come into office, the radicals had anticipated that he would move immediately to the right. They have since been frustrated by Costa e Silva's insistence on pursuing a middle course. Recently there is no question that the extremes of both right and left have become more active. For example, wild charges of communism were being made against Passarinho. (Passarinho discussed at some length his personal anti-communist convictions.) In addition, the military was rife with rumors of corruption directed against the Presidentj and more specifically, Minister of Transportation Andreazza. These rumors were false, but they contributed to increasing tension. Passarinho said that the President was counting on him for support in fending off pressures from the right. Nevertheless, he admitted that the President lacks an effective political base and has no appetite for politics. Passarinho showed concern over the President's ability to withstand pressure from "radical" elements.

Albuquegque Lima

Passarinho said that Albuquerque Lima frequently seeks him out and tells him that the two of them should work closely together. Passarinho is polite to Albuquerque Lima, but has no intention of becoming involved

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DECLASSIFIED Authority jViVQ Hb^Ofifi CONFIDENTIAL Rio de Janeiro A-1199 Page 2 of Enclosure with him. "In my judgment," Passarinho said, "Albuquerque Lima is a potential Nasser." Later in the conversation, he reflected on this remark and changed his analogy. "Albuquerque Lima is a potential Peron since he is interested in social movements." Passarinho conceded that Albuquerque Lima had a social conscience but after a few months of power he would probably "turn over everything to the employers." Nevertheless, Albuquerque Lima was a force to be reckoned with because he was both honest and hard working. But he is not a leader. He is essentially a puppet who lacks vision. In power he would be a disaster.

Labor

Carlucci noted that the Labor Minister had been criticized for the 50$ wage increase awarded to the bank workers. Passarinho bemoaned the fact that the workers had carried the burden of fighting inflation alone. The decision on the JQfy increase had been made by the labor court, not by the Minister. What could he do if the court decided on 30$? The Minister believed in observing the rulings of the judiciary, and if the 30^ increase is not sustained, he will submit his resignation.

Passarinho complained bitterly that he receives no support from the industrialists, and indicated that his recent speeches to the Rio and Sao Paulo American Chambers of Commerce had been designed to elicit some cooperation. Employers in Brazil, he said, are years behind in their concepts, and consider ideas that are widely accepted in such countries as Germany and the United States attempts to implant communism in Brazil. Thus he, the Minister, is accused of communism not only by the right-wing military, but also by a number of employers. Yet when he went to the employers during the Osasco strike, told them of Marighella's activities and asked their cooperation, they were all too afraid to help him. Not one of them was willing to have his loyal employees seek out information which could be passed to the Minister.

Passarinho showed sensitivity to other expenditures which contributed to inflationary pressures, while he was being obliged to keep the lid on wages. He particularly singled out expenditures for Brasilia and "Andreazza1s" Niteroi Bridge for criticism. While he regarded Andreazza as a capable Minister he was not enthusiastic about Andreazza's capacity to be . Northeast

Passarinho expressed serious concern over the plight of workers in the Northeast. He had informed Costa e Silva that he could not return to the Northeast unless action was taken by the Government to relieve the economic plight of the workers. The situation in the Northeast was so bad that if Miguel ArrSes were to return he could generate an uprising in ten days (he compared him to Napoleon). Carlucci noted

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL Rio de Janeiro A-1199 Page 3 of Enclosure this view ran counter to views he had continuously heard expressed by the Brazilian military to the effect that they have the situation in the Northeast under control. "The military are totally unrealistic in this assessment," Passarinho replied.

U.S. Programs in Brazil

Observing that a new administration in Washington would undoubtedly wish to re-examine its programs throughout the world, Carlucci asked the Minister what he thought the U.S. should be doing in Brazil. Passarinho said the U.S. should not be involved in supplying funds to a number of uncoordinated projects. Our efforts should be directed purposefully toward promoting social change, and we ought to let the people know through propaganda that this is what we are doing. Passarinho suggested that we particularly concentrate on the area of land reform.

Carlucci responded that there were two essential conditions before the U.S. could undertake successful programs involving social change. One was that there must exist Brazilian institutions through which we can work. The second is that the Government must give us political support. In the case of land reform, IBRA had so far been ineffective and it was difficult to see how we could be really useful if the Government did not plan on a serious effort in this direction. Passarinho replied that the Government did want land reform, but that IBRA had indeed been a total loss. He characterized the Minister of Agriculture as "a little Prussian." His Ministry was so badly run that Passarinho was certain that a recent fire which had destroyed the Ministry's records had been started by one of the Ministry's employees.

Carlucci said that the U.S. hoped to make a greater effort in the educational field, but that we had been "burned" once with the failure of the Government to give us political support. Passarinho became quite excited at this point. When Costa e Silva was forming his Government, he said, everybody was urging Costa e Silva to name Passarinho Education Minister. Passarinho told the President he was not seeking any Ministry but would accept one if the President wished him to. Had he been named Minister of Education he would have strongly defended the US-MEC accord from the outset. He characterized Tarso Dutra as a totally ineffective Minister who runs away from problems rather than face the challenges of his job.

Discussing U.S. programs, Passarinho also lamented that the labor scholarship program had been cut by 50$ at the time he was issuing new regulations on the International Trade Secretariats. He was prepared to recognize that this was done for administrative reasons but noted that everybody had interpreted it as retaliation for the ITS regulations. He said the labor scholarship program was one of our best programs and should be expanded. He also urged us to take Brazilians to the U.S. in

CONFIDENTIAL COWIDENTIAL Rio de Janeiro A-1199 Page k of Enclosure large numbers—not just in the hundreds but in the thousands—and to train them in our educational institutions. Some may return with a distorted view, but most would return with a far greater understanding of the U.S.1/

Finally, Passarinho warned the U.S. to avoid becoming associated with extremes. Though he used the word in the plural, it was clear that he was more concerned about the right than the left. He warned that if the U.S. did become involved with "extremes" it would end up supporting a military dictatorship in Brazil.

Carlos Lacerda

Walking to the car the name of Carlos Lacerda came up in connection with an article he had written on the U.S. elections. Passarinho said it was good that Carlos Lacerda was now friendly to the U.S. Passarinho had great respect for Lacerda's ability and has always tried to keep Carlos Lacerda on his side of the fence. If I were you, he said, I would keep in touch with Lacerda. Costa e Silva had been angered over the Tuthill-Lacerda lunch, but this was primarily due to the fact that it came at an unfortunate time. Nevertheless, Passarinho said, "if I were in your shoes I would have made the same decision." He concluded by observing that Lacerda would make a phenomenal Minister of Transport. He would also be a good Minister of Education, although he was not well liked by the students.

l/ Passarinho is glossing over the question of timing on labor scholarships. He was informed the program would be eliminated prior to the ITS fracas. Subsequently NCr$ 15 million was restored to the program—after the decree on ITS's had been issued.

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