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Cleaning House. One obvious key to success is how wisely the new government cleans house. Under Goulart, leftist groups were nourished by government corruption. The large Communist labor unions lived off federal doles; Petrobrás, the state oil monopoly, spent billions of cruzeiros to bankroll the National Student Union and other extremists of the left. Last week federal "interventors" were in command of most of Brazil's labor unions and state enter prises, including Petrobrás. Meanwhile, the arrests and imprisonments by the new government continued with a grim purpose that sent shivers up many Brazilian spines. No one knew how many people were locked up in jail. But the total of those stripped of their political rights climbed to 167, among them Celso Furtado, 43, the leftist but non-Communist boss of the successful development program in Brazil's impoverished Northeast.
At one point there was even talk of cracking down on ex-President Juscelino Kubitschek—on grounds of corruption. ("Juscelino! Juscelino!" cried a group in front of his Rio apartment. Kubitschek came to the window, beaming. "Thief! Thief!" they cried.) In Recife, troops searching for the sister of an imprisoned leftist governor went so far as to invade the palace of Archbishop Dom Helder Camara, Brazil's leading churchman. The angry archbishop telephoned the regional army commander, and a colonel came racing to order the troops away. That same day, Dom Helder and 16 of his bishops joined in issuing a statement urging that "the innocent who were accidentally arrested in the first moments of inevitable confusion be returned to freedom as soon as possible."
Political Voices. At week's end the worst of the purge seemed over. A graver danger to unity was the politicians. After winning the presidency for Castello Branco, the military let the politicians have a say in the Cabinet and vice-presidency. In a week of argument and political infighting, ten of 13 ministers were named; among those to come were the crucial ministers of labor and foreign relations. With their eyes on the 1965 elections, both Guanabara State Governor Carlos Lacerda and Kubitschek were in the thick of the bargaining. A Lacerda man—and a good one—landed the Health Ministry. Kubitschek's prize, voted by Congress without military interference, was a less happy choice. Into Brazil's vice-presidency went José Maria Alkmim, 62, an old crony who for 28 ill-starred months served as Kubitschek's Finance Minister, during which time scandals rocked the ministry, the value of the cruzeiro dropped 50%, retail prices soared 60% and the treasury debt to the Bank of Brazil tripled.
But Alkmim will have little to do except preside over the Senate. And President Castello Branco is not the sort to let the politicians talk on forever—not with Brazil's people in uniform squarely behind him. As tough old War Minister Artur da Costa e Silva said, "The time has now come for the army to return to its barracks. But our mission is not over. We will continue our vigilance. President Castello Branco can always count on his soldiers. At his first cry, they will be on their feet."