BRAZIL'S STAND

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 285, 2 December 1941, Page 3

BRAZIL'S STAND

' FRIEND OF BRITAIN NEW CONSUL IN AUCKLAND Brazil, fourth largest country in the world, with a population of 50,000,000, was 95 per cent pro-Allies, stated the Hon. Mario Santos, Brazilian Consul in San Francisco for the past four years, who has recently been appointed ConsulGeneral for Brazil to 'New Zealand and Australia, when interviewed in Auckland today. Senor Santos, who is accompanied by his wife and two children, will, make Sydney his headquarters, but will revisit the Dominion shortly to present his credentials to the Prime Minister. Thereafter he will make regular visits. The post he was to fill was only recently created, said Senor Santos, and was similar to the diplomatic post recently accredited to Canada. The purpose was not commercial as far as New Zealand was concerned, as trading was impossible under war conditions. It was his intention to promote goodwill and understanding and pave the way for a closer understanding after the war. There was intense sympathy for Great Britain in Brazil, said Senor Santos. Many of the country's products, principally food, were going to England. There was no Nazi element. Brazil was the only country in South America where Spanish was not spoken, the national tongue being Portuguese. This language isolation, he said, had resulted in the closest relations with the United States, and there was general cooperation and friendship to-day. In conjunction with the United States Brazil was building huge naval and air bases and sent the bulk of its produce to U.S.A. While the national policy was one of strict neutrality in the war there was no doubt where the sympathies of this democratic republic lay, said Senor Santos.

Speaking of his native land, Senor Santos said that Rio de Janeiro, the capital, was the most beautiful in the world. It had a population of 2,000,000. Its streets were of mosaic, its harbour was world-famous, its playgrounds, parks and beaches delightful. In size Brazil was exceeded only by the Soviet, China and Canada, and it was one third bigger than the United States.