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So far, at least, Quadros' "democratic authority" has come down just as hard on the Castroites and Communists who seek to subvert Brazil. When leftist students rioted in Recife over the university's refusal to let Che Guevara's Argentine mother, Celia. deliver a Castroite harangue, Quadros sent in the Brazilian navy and marines. Fanning out into the inflamed northeast, they raided Peasant League strongholds to round up propaganda smuggled in from Castro's Cuba, and arms. In Brazil's labor movement, once heavily Communist-infiltrated. Quadros' men are working to cut the Reds "off at the knees." The unions used to be able to get handouts from the Kubitschek government. "Not any more." says Quadros' Labor Minister Francisco de Castro Neves. "I'm not playing games with them. I deal directly with democratic union leaders, and with nobody else. Already we have torn open the clenched fist of Communist control of many unions." Says Quadros himself: "Communists only profit from the ignorance that afflicts many of my countrymen. They have no interest whatsoever in a democratic and prosperous Brazil. They seek only to exploit misery."
Brazilians pooh-pooh any lasting effect from Quadros' flirtations behind the Iron Curtain. They argue that Quadros insists on trade first, before any serious talk of diplomatic exchanges. Of the $2 billion in paper deals drummed up in the East, realistic Brazilians expect only a fraction. Says a senior U.S. diplomat in Rio: "If Khrushchev thinks he can make a sucker out of Quadros, he's badly mistaken." Adds Foreign Minister Afonso Arinos: "Brazil will not recognize the Soviet Union offhand, and will not recognize Red China for two or three years—certainly not until it is accepted at the U.N. We are committed to vote for debate on the Red China issue, but will not vote in favor of Red China's admission."
The Fourth Force. What Quadros apparently is serious about is Brazil's emergence as a great and independent power —a "fourth force" taking cues from no one. "In five years." he says. ''Brazil will be a great power. And I will be free." Such a course naturally gratifies Brazil's —and Quadros'—sense of importance. Brazilians argue that it also benefits the U.S. and the hemisphere. At home it undercuts Red influence over Brazilians, whose natural resentment at U.S. wealth leads them left. In the hemisphere, Brazil can be a better ally of the U.S. as a strong and independent democracy dealing on equal terms. "The Americans tend to be overpowering," says Quadros. "I intend to treat them like a lover—an apache lover." Adds a ranking Brazilian diplomat: "We cannot accept Communism in Cuba permanently. But if we take sides too soon, we lose all influence. We will no longer be able to act effectively to achieve our main objective, which is the same as yours: to restore Cuba to the American community."