277. Letter From the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom) to the Ambassador in Brazil (Cabot)1
Dear Jack: Thank you for your thoughtful letter of November 5.2 I certainly agree with you that the maintenance of our traditional close and friendly relations with Latin America has become progressively more difficult as events in other areas increasingly impinge upon the United States consciousness and as the complexities of communications between governments increase. Like you, I am concerned by this trend and anxious to do everything possible to stem or at least to diminish it.
As you so aptly note, many of the major decisions which are taken at the highest levels in our Government without consultation with or prior knowledge of ARA cannot help but have an immediate effect on our Inter-American relationships, and I join with you in the [Page 743] hope that we will be able to obtain for Latin America a greater voice in major foreign policy decisions. We shall certainly continue to work toward this end.
As to your specific recommendations with respect to what we might do in order to improve the climate of relations with Brazil and to reduce the impact on Brazilian sensibilities of some of the most recent developments, we are keeping very much in mind the inauguration of Brasilia next year and I have already broached the subject with the Secretary. It seems fairly definite that we will not be able to obtain a visit by the President3—paradoxically, in fact, his present trip may make a future Latin American tour even more unlikely than might otherwise have been the case. However, we do intend to do everything possible to arrange for a visit by the Secretary. I would very much appreciate your suggestions as to alternate personages in this Government who might suitably either accompany the Secretary on such a trip or substitute for him in the event his presence turns out to be impossible.
We have been considerably bothered by recent reports, apparently emanating from Augusto Frederico Schmidt, to the effect that Brazil is not receiving proper consideration from this Government, that Ambassador Moreira Salles must deal with “underlings” in the Department, et cetera. In view of these reports, which have appeared recently in the United States press, as well as of the general feeling in Brazil which you describe, I had hoped that it might be feasible for the President, on returning from his forthcoming trip to Asia and Africa, to follow the wartime route and stop at Natal or at some other airport in northern Brazil en route home. Such a stopover was strongly recommended by Ambassador Moreira Salles,4 who viewed it not only as a friendly gesture to Brazil but also as an opportunity for Presidents Eisenhower and Kubitschek to have an informal meeting. We explored this idea thoroughly, but it was determined that it was not feasible, due not only to the great distances involved but also to the lack of airfield facilities in northern Brazil capable of handling a jet plane of [Page 744] the type which the President will use. Inasmuch as Moreira Salles had not yet had an opportunity to call upon the Secretary, who was in Europe when he presented his credentials, we seized upon this occasion to arrange for him to call, and Secretary Herter explained to the Ambassador the reasons why the stop in Brazil would not be feasible.5 I mention this as illustrative of the concern that we have for Brazilian feelings.
We shall certainly try to arrange matters so that in the future important announcements such as the President’s trip will not reach your hands late because of security classifications or priorities. I hope that the next time you will have a full opportunity to discuss such matters with the appropriate Brazilian officials.
Sincerely,
P.S. I am not giving up on the idea of a trip by the President to Brazil (and some other places in Latin America) in the late summer or early fall of next year.
- Source: Department of State, Rio de Janeiro Embassy Files: Lot 68 F 77, 320 Brazil-U.S. 1959. Confidential; Official-Informal. Drafted by William T. Briggs on November 24.↩
- In this letter, Cabot stated that President Eisenhower’s trip to Asia and Africa resulted in feelings of neglect in Latin America. He strongly urged a visit to Latin America by the President or, if this was not possible, by the Secretary of State at the time of the inauguration of the new capital in Brazil. (ibid.)↩
- Dillon stated in a memorandum of telephone conversation on November 25 that President Eisenhower suggested an OAS heads of government meeting in Brasilia just before or after its dedication as the new capital of Brazil in April 1960. (ibid., Central Files, 711.11—EI/11–2559) The idea of Eisenhower’s visiting Brasilia for its dedication was supported by Rubottom in a November 27 memorandum to Dillon. (ibid.) In a memorandum, November 27, Merchant stated that he “telephoned General Goodpaster at noon to say that recent messages make the proposed April date for the Summit appear firm and that accordingly a trip to South America centered in April would be out of the question.” (ibid., 711.11–EI/l 1–2759) Regarding Eisenhower’s trip to South America, February 23–March 7, 1960, see Documents 68 ff.↩
- Moreira Salles’ invitation for President Eisenhower to stop in Brazil on returning from his forthcoming trip to Asia and Africa is recorded in a memorandum of conversation between the Ambassador and Rubottom on November 13. (Department of State, Central Files, 611.32/11–1359)↩
- In the memorandum of a conversation on November 20 with Moreira Salles, Secretary Herter stated that “the President had reluctantly decided against a stop in Brazil because of technical problems such as the length of runways and refueling incident to the large jet aircraft in which the President would travel.” (ibid., 601.3211/ 11–2059)↩