North-American Labor Policies in the Country of the Future: The Case of the 1950s

WWII reshaped the Brazilian economy. Initially grounded on security concerns, the dictatorial regime of Getulio Vargas deepened the path of industrialization in irreversible ways. Once military operations were concluded and electoral politics had returned, the country continued on the path of state-led industrial promotion. In the 1950s, guided by a unified ideology of fast-paced substitutive industrialization that mobilized the efforts of the central government and the majority of key political players, Brazil witnessed an annual average economic growth of around 7.5%; with growth in the industrial sector averaging around 11% annually.

While still predominantly constrained by the corporatist policies implemented under the Estado Novo regime, labor dynamics were profoundly reshaped in the 1950s. The important transformations taking place in the national economy, particularly in the southeastern portion of the country, helped reshape the landscape of industrial labor. Increasingly assertive and more autonomously mobilized, industrial workers were, indeed, at the forefront of the ever more political labor activism which marked the decade.

Attentively interested in enhancing its influence in the process, the United States did not stand idle watching these important redefinitions affecting labor relations in Brazil. North-American officials were, in fact, becoming ever more involved in trying to shape labor politics throughout Latin America in the period.  By increasing its presence in monitoring and trying to influence local events – via an enhanced role to labor attaches and the opening of U.S. government and unions (e.g. AFL) sponsored regional agencies – North-American labor operatives became ever more active within local labor events. The main lines guiding the actions of these North-American actors, their means of operation, and an assessment of their levels of success in implementing their agenda will be key elements of the proposed paper as it pertained to the Brazilian case during the transformative context of the 1950s.