Conflicts of Interests and Strategic Alliances between Brazilians and American Trade Unionists during the Civil-Military Dictatorship in Brazil

Seeking to establish ties with Brazilian trade unionists, the U.S. government, the AFL-CIO, and U.S. employers financed exchange labor educational programs and regular visits to the United States, amongst other activities. In practice these actions counted on the support of the most anti-communist and conservative sectors in the Brazilian trade union movement. This paper aims to analyze the reaction of the Brazilian labor movement regarding the U.S. labor policy conducted by the AFL-CIO during the Cold War-era dictatorships. I also intend to discuss how the national political changes shaped the U.S. diplomatic labor relations. The examination of the U.S. labor policy in Brazil during the heydays of the Cold War in Latin America seems to be an interesting case study of the contradictions and paradoxes of the AFL-CIO and American international relations during that period, as well as a stimulating example of transnational trade union relations at that period.