282. Memorandum of a Conversation, Presidential Palace, Brasilia, February 23, 1960, 8:30–10:30 a.m.1
SUBJECT
- U.S.-Brazilian Relations
PARTICIPANTS
- U.S.
- The President
- Secretary Herter
- Ambassador Cabot
- Dr. Eisenhower
- Gen. Goodpaster
- Col. Walters
- Brazil
- President Kubitschek
- Foreign Minister Lafer
- Ambassador Moreira Salles
- Et al.
Toward the end of the dinner President Kubitschek said he wished to express his great satisfaction for the President’s visit to Brazil. He also said the President would get a tremendous reception the following day in Rio as the representative of the American people and also as the Commander of the Armies of Democracy. The President’s personality was so revered in Brazil that had he not been President of the United States, he would still have received the same warm welcome.
President Kubitschek said that he regarded the President and Sir Winston Churchill as the two greatest men of the century. They had been the paladins of the cause of freedom and thanks to them it had survived. The President expressed his gratitude for the kind words the Brazilian had spoken. He said this was his second trip to Brazil. His first had been in 1946 when he had come to thank the Brazilian people for their efforts during World War II. And now he had come to express the warm interest of the American people in the development, prosperity and increasing living standards for all the people of Brazil. He had been deeply impressed by the vision and tremendous drive which he had seen in Brazil and the construction of this great city was an inspiration to the world.
President Kubitschek said that he felt there was not a single serious problem at the present time to mar US-Brazilian relations and they were, in fact, better than at any time he could remember. The Brazilians were anxious to develop their country and would welcome foreign capital which would be treated on exactly the same basis as national capital. He himself believed in free enterprise and his belief in it had been strengthened with every year he had spent in the presidency. In only one field of activity had there been any increased state participation since he became president.
President Kubitschek said that he had campaigned on the slogan that he would try and advance the progress of Brazil 50 years in 5 years. He had fixed a series of developmental goals and in nearly all cases they were up to schedule or ahead of schedule. He had pushed a great road building program and a great hydroelectric program. The desire to speed development was great in Brazil and throughout Latin America. This was one of the reasons why he had proposed Operation Pan America and he welcomed the support the President had given this.
Discussing the choir which sang at the dinner (Madrigal Renascentista) the two presidents agreed that exchanges of groups such as this were very desirable. They also agreed that exchanges of this type were greatly beneficial to both countries and increased the knowledge of both concerning the other.
After further amenities, the dinner concluded.
- Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1596. Confidential. No drafting information is given on the source text. The source text bears the notation: “Received from the White House 3/12/60.”↩
- The designation US/MC indicates a U.S. memorandum of conversation. Thirty-three memoranda of conversation (US/MC/1–33) dealing with Brazil were generated during President Eisenhower’s trip to South America. They are all filed ibid.↩