What was the attitude of Brazil's government towards the Spanish Civil War?
score:4
Secondary sources suggest the hostility Vargas had for the Soviets and communism and a strong Catholic influence puts his sympathies solidly in favor of Franco and the nationalists. Stanley Hilton uses contemporary US sources to suggest that the delay in recognizing the new Nationalist Franco regime was due only to a desire not to anger the US.(1)
Colin MacLachlan also argues that Vargas was under US and British pressure "keep a distance" from fascist powers, and that the temptation to recognize Franco compounded by Brazilian diplomats reporting on Republican atrocities committed against Catholic clergy.(2)
(1) Brazil and the Soviet Challenge, 1917–1947 by Stanley E. Hilton (Gbooks)
"The Vargas regime delayed recognizing the Nationalist government but only because, as the American embassy correctly surmised in September 1938, it did not want to 'displease' Washington." (page not listed on Gbooks)
(2) A History of Modern Brazil: The Past Against the Future By Colin M. MacLachlan
"The Spanish Civil War put almost irresistible pressure on Vargas to join Germany and Italy in recognizing General Francisco Franco's regime. Diplomats in spain reported every atrocity commited by republicans against the clergy. Vargas promised to recognize Franco once he captured Madrid and established effective control. In the face of pressure, Vargas managed to avoid agreements that limited his options, expressing support to be formalized at some vague date in the future." (109)
More from the primary sources is likely to be found in Portuguese language sources.
Upvote:1
During the build up to WWII (which of course includes the period within which the Spanish Civil War happened) Vargas oscilated, probably on purpose, between a closer alliance with the US and UK, and increased relations with the Axis. This was reflected in his cabinet, with, for instance, Oswaldo Aranha being a fierce Americanophile, and Felinto Muller a staunch Germanophile.
But about 1937, he was moving to the right, both internally (having staged a self-coup and rescinded political rights) and in foreign affairs (with many signs of rapprochement toward Italy and Germany). At that time, with the US and the UK being neutral, and France only timidly pro-Republican, there would be little reason for him to be shy about pro-Franco sympathies. This was certainly reflected in his propaganda, that systematically demonised the Republicans and blamed the war on the left and on democracy.
On the other hand, the complete unpreparedness of the Brazilian armed services, the long distance from Spain, the small importance of Spanish imports and exports, the absence of any real objectives to be attained by the Brazilian State in the conflict, probabably combined with a comprehension that the SCW was merely a rehearsal for a more important pan-European conflagration, would counsel him towards neutrality, to keep a good negotiating posisition for the years to come. So Vargas' position reflected these contradictory tensions. Militarily, he didn't contribute to Franco's war effort; diplomatically, he maintained an official pretence of absolute neutrality but dialogated with the Nationalists, not with the Republicans; commercially, he was happy to deal with an illegal uprising; internally, he used the conflict for his own ideological needs (and sternly repressed any pro-Republican positions within the Spanish immigration to Brazil).
Upvote:4
On the Brazilian political spectrum, Vargas was basically a "centrist" (during the 1930s). Like some other leaders, including President Roosevelt, he was caught between extreme right- and left-wing movements. Of the two, Vargas considered the left wing Communists potentially more de-stabilizing, so he mainly aligned with the right to crush the far left in 1935-36. Then he set up a dictatorship in 1937 that curbed the right as well (while drawing on its implicit support).
To the extent that he had sympathies for anyone in the Spanish Civil War, it was Franco. But he had too many problems at home to exercise strong convictions either way. Vargas did not give Franco a strong show of support, unlike Portugal's Salazar.
Salazar and Portugal were Franco's "neighbors." Brazil was not. That would cause the two leaders to act differently toward Franco.
More post
- 📝 What was Bess of Hardwick’s net worth?
- 📝 How did people categorize each other in the middle ages, how did racism work?
- 📝 What was the significance of changing the name of "Persia" to "Iran"?
- 📝 Was the act of servicemen exchanging their weapons for enemy weapons common during WWII?
- 📝 Why wasn't San Marino unified with Italy?
- 📝 Is there a relationship between the Pelasgians and Sea Peoples?
- 📝 Could Magna Graeca have expanded beyond the Mediterranean sea region?
- 📝 Are there extant rancho budgets (original or contrived) for Mexican California?
- 📝 Did Jefferson and Washington smoke weed?
- 📝 Did the Canadian Tuxedo emerge out of the Wool Shortage of 1973?
- 📝 How can prices be compared over time?
- 📝 Why didn't the eunuch faction improve stability in Imperial China?
- 📝 The most awesome army: 80 men left and 81 returned. Is it true?
- 📝 When did chairs with arms and backs develop in Europe?
- 📝 How was plate armour attached and secured?
- 📝 Why were the cities of the Eastern European Plain founded much later than those elsewhere in Europe?
- 📝 What were conditions like for Chinese men subject to recruitment by the army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War?
- 📝 Could any Habsburg kings of Hungary speak Hungarian?
- 📝 Has Britain's 1940 invasion of Iceland been downplayed by historians?
- 📝 Did S. Korea choose petroleum refining as part of WW2 reconstruction?
- 📝 What were Greek and Roman sails made from?
- 📝 How much tax revenue did the British Empire receive from its colonies in a given year?
- 📝 Can anyone identify this European uniform? Likely Belgian or French
- 📝 What do subjects in Hellenistic and Renaissance art suggest about the average human physique throughout history?
- 📝 Was there ever an occurrence of diplomatic communication using food?
- 📝 The economic prosperity of former colonies and their demographic make up
- 📝 Why did Operation Market Garden go ahead when the allies knew German armor was in the area?
- 📝 What is known about the possibility of a "real King Arthur"?
- 📝 How did the african kingdom of Carthage adapt to their environment?
- 📝 Name of Kingdom that was formed after marriage refusal?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What was the attitude of Brazil's government towards the Spanish Civil War?
- 📝 What was the attitude of English knights towards their longbowmen counterparts?
- 📝 What was Hitler's attitude towards the Aryans of India?
- 📝 What was the English Civil War called during the Protectorate?
- 📝 What was the effect of the Civil War on the cost of cotton?
- 📝 In American Civil War era paper cartridges, what was taking up the space between powder and bullet?
- 📝 What was the attitude of leaders of the Ionian Greeks towards Persia?
- 📝 What was the significance of the Mississipi River on the Civil War and Westward Expansion?
- 📝 After the split with Stalin, what was Yugoslavia's official attitude towards Soviet history before Stalin's takeover?
- 📝 What was the attitude towards Martin Luther among early non-Catholic Christians in Britain?
- 📝 Does the expansion of the U.S federal government after 1865 support the argument that U.S civil war itself was about states' rights?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 Was the American Civil War the “bloodiest civil war in history”?
- 📝 What was the longest a World War II submarine stayed at sea without being resupplied at a port?
- 📝 What was the cleanest war ever fought?
- 📝 What was the Seven Years War called at first?
- 📝 What was the ratio women to men after World War 2 in the Soviet Union
- 📝 What was the first known war in history?
- 📝 What was the Hundred Years' War called at the time?
- 📝 What was the Mantineian form of government and what praise did it receive?
- 📝 What was the church's attitude to "magic" prior to the 15th century?
- 📝 What was the original cause of the Camel War in Islamic history?
- 📝 What was El Greco's relationship with the Spanish Inquisition?
- 📝 What was the attitude of Mongols to conquered peoples?
- 📝 What was the official attitude to Cromwell after the Glorious Revolution?
- 📝 Approximately what was the short-term economic loss to Britain as a result of the Revolutionary War being lost?
- 📝 What was the civil weapons legislation under Hitler?
- 📝 What was the social status of a man who failed the civil service exams in Imperial China ( 1200 - 1800 AD )?
- 📝 What was the South actually afraid Lincoln or Congress would do that precipitated the Civil War?
- 📝 What uniforms did each of the American Civil War regiment wear during First Bull Run / First Manassas