The Primacy in South America as basis for Brazilian Foreign Policy between 1945-1964

Abstract

The Brazilian foreign policy between the end of the Estado Novo and the 1964 Coup d’état is characterized, to a large extent, by developmentalism and by the pursuit of industrialization. Analysts of this process usually focus on the economic aspect and on the civil elites’ interests, while the search for power and primacy is often downplayed. Thus, one of the main objectives of the State in the international stage is overlooked. The economic and industrial development should not be considered an end in itself, since material progress is useful to reach a specified goal, that, to the State, is the increase in power. This article seeks to re-examine geopolitics as a fundamental tenet of Brazil’s foreign policy and economic development in the 20th century, taking into account the pioneer theory of Mario Travassos, dedicated on South American primacy, and the history of Brazilian foreign policy during the Fourth Republic (1945-1964).