Brazil and the United States: Convergence and Divergence

CHAPTER 3. The New Era

55 3 The New Era “It is just,” commented a Rio newspaper in 1905, “that the United States should receive us from now as equals in the guarding of the destinies of the American continent.”1 A convergence of national interests during the first decade of the twentieth century meant that the diplomatic relationship between Brazil and the United States was visibly strengthened. The Brazilian diplomats, Rio Branco and Joaquim Nabuco, formulated a strategy that sought to “approximate” their country’s foreign policy as closely as possible to that currently pursued by the United States. The high point of mutual good feeling was the 1906 Rio Pan-American Conference. For the United States, however, the region of primary strategic concern was still Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean. Washington’s long-standing desire not to become involved in South American affairs was reaffirmed in its unwillingness to support Brazil against Argentina over naval armaments. Rio Branco and Nabuco were deeply disappointed, and the limitations of their policy of approximation were exposed. When war broke out in Europe in 1914, both the United States and Brazil responded with declarations of neutrality. Taking advantage of the closure of European markets, U.S. business grasped a signal opportunity for increasing trade with Brazil and displacing the formerly dominant British competition. Brazil’s decision to join the war against Germany in October 1917 not only was influenced by the submarine threat but also reflected a desire to revive the strategy of approximation. Brazilian leaders reckoned that close wartime association with the United States would bring material economic benefits and assist their country’s ambition to be the leading power in South America. The resulting economic gains were mixed, but Brazil’s prestige was boosted by being on the winning side in the war and thereby receiving an invitation to send a delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference. However, in the hierarchical structure that prevailed in world affairs, Brazil was not regarded as a great power like the United States. Far from enjoying a position of influence at the conference, the Brazilian delegation was relegated to a minor role. 56 chapter three Beginning of Approximation In the early years of the twentieth century, visiting U.S. journalists, businessmen , and diplomats exhorted their countrymen to exploit the apparently boundless commercial opportunities offered in Brazil. The most celebrated publicist was Theodore Roosevelt, who took part in a scientific expedition through the Amazon region in 1913–14. “This country and the adjacent regions , forming the high interior of western Brazil,” he wrote, “will surely some day support a large industrial population” and “will be a healthy home for a considerable agricultural and pastoral population.”2 The American public, however, still knew very little about Brazil. If anything, the ex-president’s travel account, with its descriptions of hacking through jungles and encountering poisonous snakes, swarms of flying insects, bloodthirsty piranhas, jaguars, and native peoples, merely confirmed its stereotypical image as a dangerous place more suited for intrepid adventurers than settlers. During the heyday of mass emigration to Brazil at the beginning of the twentieth century only onequarter of one percent of immigrants originated from the United States. From 1890 to 1919 fewer than seven thousand Americans were recorded as entering the country as immigrants in comparison to more than a million Italians for the same period.3 In Roosevelt’s opinion, the Brazilian republic had made “astonishing progress ” since its formation in 1889.4 This was especially evident during the first decade of the twentieth century when a combination of political stability and economic prosperity facilitated the desire of the Brazilian elite to improve the nation’s image. Rio was “regenerated” based upon French architectural ideas. Wide publicity was given to the construction of modern dock facilities and the completion in November 1905 of the splendid Avenida Central. Linked to the latter was the Avenida Beira Mar, which provided a picturesque boulevard stretching for several miles along the bay. Even more famous was the successful campaign organized by Dr. Osvaldo Cruz to rid the city of yellow fever. The fear of disease still remained, but visiting foreigners were greatly impressed by the visible changes. “No nation can show a more conspicuous example of modern energy and enterprise than is seen in the new federal capital of Brazil,” stated an American traveler.5 57 The New Era The rebuilding of the capital was matched...