Brazil and the Soviet Challenge, 1917-1947

This study sheds new light on the Brazilian communist movement and how the specter of the USSR influenced mid-twentieth century Brazilian foreign policy.

Between 1918 and 1961, Brazil and the USSR maintained formal diplomatic ties for only thirty-one months, at the end of World War II. Yet, despite the official distance, the USSR is the only external actor whose behavior, real or imagined, influenced the structure of the Brazilian state in the twentieth century. In Brazil and the Soviet...