The author of this small volume had already gained considerable attention in his country by the publication of Rio Grande do Sul: Um nôvo Nordeste, a socio-economic-political treatise pointing out certain catastrophic dangers of group sectionalism in Brazil. Now follows the present study giving nationwide scope to the same thesis.
Following an introduction in the form of scattered quoted extracts drawn from the four-volume work of the old master João Francisco Lisboa on the Law of Revolution come the three divisions about which the comments are centered. The first section is devoted to an analysis of the public statements of Jânio Quadros upon his renunciation of the presidency soon after taking office and of the real reasons for the precipitate act. The author’s conclusions are that Quadros was more a victim of historical forces than of his impetuous personality.
Chapter Two is a discussion of the Punta del Este Conference, particularly the facets of the meeting having implications for the socio-economic problems of Brazil.
The final division—in the opinion of this reviewer, the best of the three—is an analysis of the unchanging socioeconomic forces which have operated throughout the independent history of Brazil. Using French nomenclature, these forces are the right and the left; in more modern terms, they are the conservatives and the liberals. The author argues that these alignments, with few changes in principles, have run the entire range of Brazilian history. He pleads for unity rather than disastrous separatism for his country’s future.
The dissertation is presented in clear, objective language.
