Presidential Papers, Doc#79 Secret To Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, 21 March 1957. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Document #79; March 21, 1957
To Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira
Series: EM, AWF, International Series: Brazil ; Category: Secret
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVIII - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace
Part I: A New Beginning, Old Problems; January 1957 to May 1957
Chapter 1: The Mideast and the Eisenhower Doctrine

 

Excellency:1 I was very happy to meet with Ambassador Peixoto on March 12, 1957, and to receive from him your gracious letter of February 11, 1957, as well as the welcome assurances of friendship, support and collaboration which you asked him to convey in behalf of yourself and of the people of Brazil.2 You may be assured that these sentiments are warmly held and fully reciprocated by the people of the United States of America, and by myself.

The conclusion of an agreement to establish a guided missiles tracking station on Fernando de Noronha Island was most gratifying to me and I sincerely appreciate the personal actions you took to bring this negotiation to a prompt and mutually satisfactory conclusion.3 As you are aware, this installation will play an important role in the development of weapons vital for the defense of Brazil and the United States, as well as of the entire free world. Its establishment on Brazilian territory is an important step toward realization of this great purpose. You may be confident that in connection with further negotiations you have entrusted to Ambassador Peixoto, he will find on the part of representatives of the United States Government the same good will and spirit of cooperation which have always been fundamental in our approach to relations with Brazil.

Please accept, Excellency, assurances of my highest regard, and best wishes for your personal well being, and for the continued progress and prosperity of the people of Brazil. Sincerely

1 Kubitschek de Oliveira, a physician and former president of the Brazilian Society of English Culture, had been President of Brazil since January 1956.

2 At the top of the translation of President Kubitchek's letter (AWF/I: Brazil) Eisenhower had written: "Mrs. Whitman. Pls give following to Gen. Goodpaster 'Before filing, ask State whether we should make any reply. While this is really only an answer to a former message of mine, we might want to keep open this channel for the moment.' D.E." (see also Herter to Eisenhower, Mar. 6, 1957; and Memorandum of Conversation, Mar. 12, 1957, both in ibid.). A response to President Kubitschek, Dulles said, "would support our interests in negotiating other defense facilities" mentioned in the Brazilian president's letter; he enclosed a State Department draft, which Eisenhower approved (Dulles to Eisenhower, Mar. 19, 1957, ibid.). Erani do Amaral Peixoto, former leader of the Social Democrat party, had been Brazilian ambassador to the United States since July 1956.

3 The Air Force had first expressed interest in a guided missiles tracking station in Brazil in 1952. Although upheavals in the Brazilian government had prevented the conclusion of a military facilities agreement, Defense Department officials had conducted site surveys on the island of Fernando de Noronha in 1954 and 1955. In December 1956 the State Department had advised Eisenhower of further negotiation delays by the Brazilian government. On December 14 Eisenhower had urged Kubitschek to "find means to assure that the construction of these essential facilities will be allowed to begin without further delays, so as not to imperil the testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles." The United States and Brazil had signed an agreement establishing the missiles facility on January 21, 1957 (Eisenhower to Kubitschek, Feb. 14, 1956, AWF/I: Brazil; see also Galambos and van Ee, The Middle Way, no. 1925; and State, Foreign Relations, 1955 - 1957, vol. VII, American Republics: Central and South America [1987], pp. 713 - 37, 747 - 55). The text of the agreement is in U.S. Department of State Bulletin 36, no. 922 (February 25, 1957), 316 - 17.

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. Secret To Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, 21 March 1957. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 79. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/79.cfm

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