/ACTION DEPARTMENT OF STATE
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ARA EUR FE A-52 CONFIDENTIAL
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J TO |5 AM 9 Department of State \%} jtjL 12 E P IO DEPARTMENT GF STATE / BUREAU CF L FBO AID R • N ifcjr iHCfK AFFAIRS ANALYSIS & 1 L.-. At 141953 3 AGR COM FRB FROM AmEmbassy RIO DE JANEIRO DATE: July 9, 1963
INT LAB TAR SUBJECT The Campaign Against Governor Carlos' Lacerda j? I L E No Action TR XMB AIR REF ARA:LA/BR •f r. Burton ARMY CIA NAVY r s~ SUMMARY JUL! 6 .9* OSD USI A NSA e The administration of Governor Carlos Lacerda of Guanabara has come under almost continuous attack; under a variety of pretexts. Some of these attacks have apparently been inspired by the Goulart Administration, and all of them have been exploited by those political elements who are opposed to Lacerda.
This airgram outlines a chronology of some of the more recent virulent attacks made on Lacerda and concludes with the Governor's recapitulation of the charges and his defense of his actions (See enclosure).
The administration of Guanabara State Governor Carlos Lacerda has been under almost continuous attack since its inception. At times these attacks have taken the form of con• trolled action in the vital field of food supplies, as was the case during the latter part of 1962 when the rice supply Guanabara reached such a critically low point *hat Army unils (under the direction of General Albino Silva, now President of Petrobras) had to move in to handle distribution. The^ollxical nature of this problem is pointed out by the fact thatr-onte in the State of Guanabara did suchsiyifirjrtage exist. The-rekl reasons for the.shortage were apparently l) the artiffSally low prices enforced by the federal government which made 1$ unprof• itable to sell rice in the state and 2) some reported ^pressure on shippers from Rio Grande do Sul to avoid' shipping to L-Guanabara. —I 3: GROUP Downgrade after FO/ DEPT. USE ONLY
Fl£ years. CONFIDENTIAL DS-323 VjL] In I 1 Out
Drafted byi^-r rs-nr? • 1 -i / J_ Contents and Classification Approved by:
POL:DEZwei^el/rstp DCM - Minister Meinta\. Clearances: sjri*n POL - Mr. Carson
DECLASSIFIED Authority CONFIDENTIAL .A-52, 7/9/63 Page 2 of 5 Rio de Janeiro Since the era of Getulio Vargas, Lacerda has heen regarded by the masses as the man who "killed" the ex-dictator. Although these charges are only effective among the poorly educated masses, they continue to provide an emotional base open to exploitation by the Governor's enemies. Early this year, the scandal over the killing of beggars in the state served as an issue to attack Lacerda once again, and he became the victim of a vicious campaign led by Ultima Hora which labelled him "beggar killer."
Although Governor Lacerda has not acted at any time to impair the democratic institutions In the state, he typically reaets to charges by replying in rather violent terms. Using his considerable talent as an orator, Lacerda sought to, clear himself of these charges by pointing out that the police chief who had actually perpetrated the crimes was a hold-over ("I don't automatically throw out all incumbents to replace them with my friends.") In an emotional tele• vision presentation, the Governor demonstrated a picture of ex-Presi• dent Juscilino Kubitschek arm-in-arm with the police chief.
Just when the beggar-killing scandal was beginning to die down,, a sensational murder of the son of a prominent magazine publisher rocked the administration (Embassy's A-1051, March 14, 19^3). The police system of the state (and of course the governor) again came under attack. All sectors of public opinion, repulsed by the crime, demanded some sort of action, and Lacerda responded with an energetic police campaign in which hundreds of known criminals, petty thieves and probationers were rounded up and arrested. This was what the people had been clamoring for, but while Lacerda was attempting to exploit the issue to call for much-needed police reforms, his detractors soon began charging him with police brutality, etc.
In March, the Cuban Solidarity Congress was scheduled to meet In Rio. Waiting until it was too late to make anything more than make• shift arrangements to change the site of the congress, Lacerda pro• hibited its meeting in Guanabara, backing up his decision with the Military Police (Embassy's A-1206, May 6, 1963). In this instance, another facet of the contest became apparent. This was the first time in which the authority of the Federal Government was directly challenged by the governor. There can be no doubt that Lacerda plans his moves carefully and is careful to act within provisions of the law. In prohibiting the congress from meeting In Guanabara, :Lacerda cited a law which had been drafted by the then Justice Minister, Joao Mangabeira, when he was a deputy. Mangabeira himself had to admit that Lacerda was legally justified in his action, and that the Federal Government had no legitimate cause for intervention in the case.
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Authority CONFIDENTIAL A-52, 7/9/63 Page 3 of 5 Rio de Janeiro Just as it seemed that Lacerda had won some sort of victory In the issue, a transportation strike in the city (again quite possibly inspired at least partially by the enemies of the governor) gave the Federal Government an excuse for sending Federal troops into the state to "protect" the railroad installations, etc. Lacerda made another of his speeches in defense of his action in which he included a reference to "taking the bull by the horns" which was later inter• preted by his enemies as a thinly-veiled insult aimed at President Goulart (in effect calling him a cuckold ). Emotions were whipped up over this charge, and the abortive meeting scheduled for April 11 to demonstrate solidarity with the President was the result (Embassy's 1209, April 23, 1963). ( This brought to the fore the sharpest public conflict between First Army Commander General Osvino Alves and the then War Minister Amaury Kruel.)
At this time, the supposed desire of the Federal Government to intervene in the state government (an act which would have the effect of removing Lacerda from his effective position) became the subject of such wide-spread speculation that the accuracy of the charges can hardly be doubted.
A rather severe water shortage compounded by faulty generators led to the next big headache of the governor. The result was electricity rationing which continues to plague the state. In a rather typical manner, Lacerda acted to solve this problem by contracting for the purchase of some generators in the United States. Admittedly this would be only a short-range solution, but one which would provide obvious benefits to the populace of the city. Again the Federal govern• ment moved to place a stumbling-block in Lacerda's path by proclaiming that such purchases could only be made after having been approved by the federal government (although similar cases had not been treated in a similar manner). The final resolution of this problem has not been decided.
Spearheaded by Pernambuco Governor Miguel Arrais, there has been a campaign against state and municipal agreements with foreign agencies, especially with USAID (which has always followed the prescribed proce• dures in negotiating Its agreements). Guanabara has come under especial attack as having received a disproportionate amount of U.S. financial assistance, supposedly In part because of Lacerda's political orientation. The detractors of the governor did not have to search long before they discovered that COPEG, a. mixed capital development corporation sponsored by the state, was engaging the services of a New York advertising executive, Robert Bialek, to attract United States capital to the state. Immediately there were charges that Lacerda was maintaining his own agent (an "international adventurer" as well) in the United States. The state Tribunal de Contas, a body charged with
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Authority CONFIDENTIAL A-52, 7/9/63 Page 4 of 5 Rio de Janeiro auditing functions at the state level protested that they had not been permitted to examine the COPEG accounts (a charge which Lacerda sup• porters counter by pointing out that COPEG is a company which is not. subject to Tribunal audits).
It is evident that there is_ a concerted attack against the governor and his programs. So long as the Lacerda administration continues to give the State of Guanabara an effective and reasonably honest government and so long as the governor continues to attack the federal government at every opportunity, there is reason to believe that an excuse to intervene In the state would be welcome. Thus far, Lacerda has demonstrated considerable political know-how in placing his charges and in countering those launched against him.
An underlying current in the campaign against Lacerda has been the attempt to point him out as an ultra-conservative politician who is opposed to all reform. After his stand at the UDN national conven• tion in Curitiba where he succeeded in getting his party to adopt a stand against constitutional amendment on the issue of agrarian reform he was particularly open to such attacks (Embassy's A-1332, May 20, I963). However, Lacerda can only be considered an ultra-conservative on a scale which starts in the middle of the political spectrum and runs far to the left. It is important to note that Lacerda has come out in favor of agrarian reform, including land distribution, but has opposed constitutional amendment as a necessary prerequisite, pointing out that the federal government has a super-abundance of good lands which could be used for an effective redistribution program. Lacerda has consistently tied the problem of land distribution Into the other issues of agrarian reform--rural credit, education, etc. While this stand, with its de-emphasis on land redistribution, does not have the appeal of the more demagogic position taken by many of the supporters of the federal government, it can hardly be termed a reactionary stance.
On Sunday, July 1, Lacerda responded to the continuing campaign against his administration. In a paid advertisement carried In several of Rio's newspapers he published a "Letter to the People" In which he outlined the campaign against his administration, linking it at every turn with the Goulart administration (Enclosure l). He warned that the real intent of his attackers was to defeat sound administration and prostrate the state in order to remove him. Repeat• edly he warned the people that the ones who are suffering from the campaign are the citizens of Guanabara.
In reacting to the charges against him, Lacerda obviously enjoys playing the role of a beleaguered martyr. His responses and defenses are often couched In less-than-moderate terms. However, in spite of these aspects, the solid achievements of his government stand out In marked relief to most of the rest of the nation. He has been an CONFIDENTIAL
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Authority CONFIDENTIAL A-52, 7/9/63 Page 5 of 5 Rio de Janeiro energetic leader who demonstrates considerably more courage and principle than the majority of his counterparts. The motives behind Lacerda's "Letter to the People" being pub• lished at this time are open to speculation. From his past perform• ance, it is hardly likely that Lacerda would make such a move (including references to "people who never explain where their money comes from" /an obvious reference to Brizola/ and "sons of the dicta• torship" /a charge aimed at the President himselfy7) without first considering the countermoves open to this opponent. And Indeed, the "letter" places the Goulart forces In an unenviable situation. Should they make any moveagainst Lacerda at this time, the Guanabara governor could assume the role of a prophet and true martyr. To take no action at all may be construed to be somewhat of an admission of the charges levelled by Lacerda.
It is possible that Lacerda feels under more effective pressure at this time, and that his move is an attempt to check what he consid• ers to be imminent action on the part of the Goulart administration. It is reasonably certain that his move will have this effect, at least in the short range future, and that Lacerda will further bolster his position among conservative and moderate elements in the country who are, by all indications, increasingly disillusioned with the ineffec• tiveness and inactivity of the Goulart administration. Perhaps Lacerda i_s playing for time until after the First of August, when the second half of the Presidential term begins and the rules of choosing a successor are changed.
In regarding Lacerda's actions and intent, and in readirig the "letter", it-would be a mistake to consider him as being solely on the defensive. It should be expected that the governor will take any and every opportunity to expose the failures of the federal government, and that he would support any move that would weaken or remove his arch-rival through democratic means as provided for in the Constitution.
For the Ambassador:
(/John Keppel Counselor for Political Affairs
Carlos Lacerda's"Letter to the People it
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Authority UNCLASSIFIED Page 1 of Enclosure A- 52 Rio de Janeiro
"Letter to the People"
I denounce to the Carioca people and all Brazilians the conspiracy of the dishonest ones, the incompetents, the communists and of their auxiliaries against the effort and the intergrity of an honest govern• ment, the government of Guanabara. As long as the conspiracy was aimed only at the governor, I preferred not to answer since the accusations were as false as the accusers. Now it threatens to restrict the work of the government, and this is grave.
The only persons injured will be you, Cariocan citizen. Afterwards, all Brazilians. We have, then, the duty to react. What is sought is to paralyze the state administration. They do not forgive us the labor, honesty and the efforts to find solutions to the problems that for years have defied the administrators. The visible growth of the government of Guanabara in the public concept is for certain groups a permanent pro• vocation. In contrast, we are an example that problems are resolved with tenacity and effort in an honest and efficient government. In a government that only has commitments with the public good. In a govern• ment truly democratic. We can not, therefore, spare those that preach subversion and promote, actively and passively, the disintegration of legitimate authority in Brazil.
Dishonest and renegade elements, people who will never be able to say from where they get their money, sons of dictatorship, and fathers of corruption masquarade as accusors and even moralists under the dis• guise of democrats and nationalists in order to promote disorder and betray the nation.
The circle is closing in. Provocations follow one on the other* the aggressions multiply. The lowest tricks, the most vile maneuvers all come from the hands of our enemies who are also enemies of the democratic regime. The federal government sets itself against Guanabara with the fury of those launching a war against an enemy nation. Guanabara is a beseiged state. The facts follow. Yesterday it left the Cariocans without food. The objective was to trap the state government. The victim was you, Cariocan citizen. The federal government constantly sought pretexts to intervene in Guanabara. In spite of it all, we have not deviated from our path: to prove to the people that in a government truly democratic and truly honest lies the solution to Brazilian problems} for a genuine democratic reform.
UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED Page 2 of Enclosure A- 52 Rio de Janeiro
The strikes organized by the federal government had one objective? to create chaos in Guanabara in order to justify violence. We defeated the strike officials, thanks to your comprehension, Cariocan citizens of all classes including the free workers in all areas of the city-state.
The federal government occupied the Brazilian Telephone Company to keep Guanabara from finding a solution to the telephone problem. Federal funds earmarked in the national budget for the state of Guanabara are systematicially denied. That which Congress ordered given to the Cariocan people is not even delivered as a loan. The administrative measures which we demand under a thousand pretexts are postponed when not ignored. The victim continues to be you, Cariocan citizen.
The encirclement proceeds. The pretexts follow. The purchase of generators. The sale of property on Avenida Getulio Vargas. The account: of the government. Foreign loans. The political comportment of some Ministers of the Tribunal de Contas, recognized corrupt politicians who play any role to follow their sad routine. Threats of impeachment. The creation of a federal police force as an excuse to assault the autonomy of the states. The attempt at demoralization of COPEG, a state enter• prise whose success accents the failure of others in the federal area. Other pretexts will come. Everything will have to be tried to paralyze the administrative work that we are executing. The victim continues to be you, Cariocan citizen.
The success of COPEG makes the failure of BNDE stand out, left to the devices of a misguided administration. Because of this they want to destroy COPEG.
The incompetents have not succeeded in finding a solution for the crises of energy that humiliates the people of Guanabara and threatens the laborers of Rio with unemployment. We found the only solution that the circumstances permit: the immediate purchase of generators to function during a short period. The enemies of the regime are interested in rationing; not in the normalization of furnishing energy. Because of this we acted by buying generators._ They did not dare act publicly because the people would perceive /their scheme/. They sought, then, to create a scandal out of an honest, legal and urgent purchase. The victim continues to be you, Cariocan citizen.
But the generators will come and the crises will be met. But the attempt to make us stop by demoralization and by prostration continues.
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Authority UNCLASSIFIED fiage 3 of Enclosure A- 52 Rio de Janeiro
To obtain resources and increase the rhythm of execution of public works we will have to sell at least 2 billion cruzeiros in properties on Avenida Getulio Vargas, as the law allows. To prevent our having such resources, they practice deception by announcing that there is no legal authorization for such sales. They want/frighten the buyers. They desire to stop our work.
The injured ones continue to be you, Cariocan citizen.
Some Ministers of the Tribunal de Contas participate in the decision, since before being judges they are militant politicans in full electoral campaign. They do not comply with the state constitution and create difficulties to impose their facilities. As we do not give sinecures to our favorites nor permit traffic in influence, they invent irregularities that do not exist. And using the propaganda machine mounted by the unknowing they seek to reduce us to inertia and -- uselessly — to fright• en us.
The Government of the Union, under the illusion that Guanabara is executing works solely with resources obtained from international financial agencies, does not waver in breaking the state autonomy and openly disrespecting the constitution as it seeks to impede contacts with these organisms which the states and municipalies can maintain under law. tFour projects, two of which are already in final stages of study approved by the Federal Commission, are in danger. Those pre• judiced continue to be you, Cariocan citizen.
The provocative creation of a federal police force along the lines proposed by the federal government which has been voted in the Senate signifies the destruction of that autonomy which still accrues to states and municipalies. Since it is to attack Guanabara, nothing else is important, the attack is worth everything. And you are the one who pays, Cariocan citizen.
The Guanabara government succeeded in reviving in the people a confidence in the democratic regime. The agents of subversion seek to destroy at any price the government of the state. Why? To destroy the people's confidence in the democratic regime, not in thievery, not in personalism, not in communism, not in pursuit of personal interest in politics.
The month of July will be decisive. Since, at the beginning of August the federal government will have to respect, even though it does not want to, the Constitution and the laws. After the beginning UNCLASSIFIED
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Authority UNCLASSIFIED Page 4 of Enclosure A- 52 of August any institutional crises will have its solution previewed in the constitution itself. If the President of the Republic threatens institutions such institutions will/-after the beginning of August— legal recourse. It is because of this that until then we are threatened --and threatened are the citizens that want peace and progress, law and liberty.
We have a commitment of honor with democracy and with you, Cariocan citizen, the unarmed victim of those who seek to hide their incompetence and their dishonesty by attacking the Guanabara government. Because, Cariocan citizen, we defend your right to have a free, democratic, honest and efficient government. And because we defend in the example of Guanabara the hope and the dignity of the entire Brazilian people.
They want to destroy the seed planted in the generous Cariocan soil, the hope of better days, of honesty and labor in public life*
We are showing that only honest labor resolves problems.
For this it is necessary to destroy us. It is necessary to provoke the demoralization of state credit, of our initiatives, of our efforts.
We do not have organs of pressure at our disposal, neither of one sidenor the other. We do not make collections of money from industries and businesses for plebicites. And the people know this.
Today it is necessary to react. Today we are using the money of the people to alert the people, buying space and time for this announce• ment in order to bar the attempt to destroy our administration. Our work cannot be interrupted and has to be respected by the thieves, by the communists, by the cheap politicians, by the incompetent ones.
There is an attempt to open a series of fronts to immobilize and discredit the government of Guanabara. This maneuver also seeks to distract the attention of the people from the inertia and the administ• rative disorder of the federal government.
It is because of this that they want to destroy us. It is because of this that we have to resist, with your support and the protection of God. Neither will let us down. And because of this we have done—in spite of everything--many things. We need to defend what we have done and what we still can do together.
Carlos Lacerda
Translated from Jornal do Brasil, July 7, 1963 UNCLASSIFIED
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