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September 7, 1977

Report, Brazil, 'Official Mission to Washington, DC, While Representing Brazil at the Treaty Signing Ceremonies on the New Agreements Over the Panama Canal'

This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)

This report was submitted from HIS excellency the VICE PRESIDENT, TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT, CONCERNING THE OFFICIAL MISSION TO WASHINGTON D.C., WHILE REPRESENTING BRAZIL AT THE TREATY SIGNING CEREMONIES ON THE NEW AGREEMENTS OVER THE PANAMA CANAL, ON THE 7TH OF SETEMBER, 1977.

  

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17. On the morning of the 7th of September, I received, in the embassy’s chancellery, the representative Robert Findley, a Democrat from the state of ILLINOIS. [Ed. Note: almost certainly Paul Findley, Republican from Illinois.]  He declared that he was acting on his own initiative, representing neither the United States nor the Democratic Party, and that his objective was to communicate his ideas on the matter of Brazilian -Argentinian cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.  After a few brief and vague comments, and then referring to a meeting he had on the matter with a highly placed member of Itamaraty, [the Brazilian Foreign Ministry] he handed me a letter, which I hereby included with this correspondence to your Excellency.  I mentioned, in response, Brazil’s political position on nuclear matters, as was defined by your Excellency, reaffirming, as a matter to conclude the conversation, that Brazil was not interested in obtaining nuclear arms, but rather in obtaining nuclear energy, which is essential to its growth.

 

18 Right after that, I received a courtesy visit from Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Chancellor Oscar Antonio Montes, who came to pay his respects for Brazil’s Independence Day.  During the meeting, he referred to the continual state of friendship between the two countries.  I became interested in Admiral Guzetti’s state of health, which according to the Chancellor is steadily improving.  While we were talking, the Argentinean Chancellor revealed to me he also had objected to the final paragraph of the “Washington Declaration,” calling to my attention the mutual position of our two countries on this matter.  Finally, Minister Montes said that he was unaware, until now, about any objections from American senators about the signing of the new agreements, as previously referred.

 

19. Starting at 12:00 p.m., I, along with my delegation, participated in a reception at the Brazilian Embassy, offered by the Ambassador and Ms. João Baptista Pinheiro, for the Brazilian Independence Day, which was presented in great style, following a lunch that Your Excellencies kindly offered me.

 

20. At the end of evening of 7th of September, I went to the Headquarters of the Organization of American States, where the signing ceremony would begin at 7 a.m..  All the heads of the delegation that were there (document attached) signed, before the ceremony began, the “Washington Declaration,” in accordance with the negotiated model.  The declaration, (which follows attached)  states that the Panama Canal Treaty is based on the recognition of the sovereignty of the Republic of Panama over all of its national territory; that the solution on the matter of the Canal represents a transcendental step towards strengthening relations between countries in the Western Hemisphere, based on common interests, equality, and mutual respect for the sovereignty of each state, recognizing its  importance for hemispheric and global commerce and navigation, of the understandings that guaranteed the permanent access and the

 

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Vice-President Adalberto Pereira reports on a meeting with Republican Congressman Paul Findley, who proposed, on a personal basis, the creation of a nuclear mutual surveillance system between Brazil and Argentina, with a view to allaying doubts about a possible arms race. Findley had already presented the proposal to Ambassador Geraldo Holanda Cavalcanti, (aide to Minister Silveira) on the occasion of the visit to Brasília on August 23 1977. According to the agreement he proposed, Brazil and Argentina would renounce the intention to develop a nuclear device and would accept mutual inspections of their respective nuclear facilities.


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Source

CPDOC Archives, Antonio Azeredo da Silveira, AAS 1974.04/23. Obtained and translated by Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

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Original Uploaded Date

2013-04-15

Type

Report

Language

Record ID

116859

Original Classification

Secret

Donors

Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)