Alô, Amigos’ (1941). RKO RADIO PICTURES INC (El País)

Unidades do 2 Escalão da FEB desembarcam na Italia, 1944 (CPDOC) 

During World War II, both the United States and Brazil attempted to use the extraordinary times to change the nature of the relationship between the two nations. At first refusing to align with either the Allies or the Axis powers, Getúlio Vargas positioned Brazil to win commercially by courting trade favors from both blocks, as both Germany and the United States tried to win Latin America’s largest country into their camp. Germany became a prominent trade partner in the period, much to American disliking. Eventually, however, Vargas had to make a choice and sided with the Allies. With Brazil on its side, Americans had to worry less about appeasing that nation, and thus Brazil increasingly found itself making unreciprocated concessions. Many intellectuals and politicians at the time thought that the country was falling prey to American cultural and economic imperialism. However, there is an argument to be made that even as the United States gained larger cultural, military, and economic presence in Brazil, through organizations such as Rockefeller’s Office of Interamerican Affairs (OIAA), Vargas and other authorities often guided the terms under which the alliance would happen. They made sure that the country would make make gains, such as having the Americans fund construction ofthe Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), an important kickstart to the country’s increasing industrial independence, and a move by the Americans that cannot be neatly labeled as simply imperialist.

Readings:

Frank D. McCann, “Brazil, the United States, and World II: A Commentary” | English

Ursula Prutsch, “Americanization of Brazil or a Practical Wartime Alliance? The politics of Nelson Rockefeller’s Office of Inter-American Affairs In Brazil During World War II” | English

Documents:

Helena Solberg, dir. Bananas is My Business (1995), 1930. | Video