The Winner

Brazilians staged the largest popular election in South American history last week. The apparent winner, ex-War Minister General Eurico Caspar Dutra, was backed by Getulio Vargas, the man who had ruled Brazil for 15 years, under a form of government the U.S. considered (but did not officially call) dictatorship. But impartial observers agreed that the election had been carried out fairly and squarely.

Handsome Brigadier General Eduardo Gomes, who had had the support of the "best people" in his campaign for the Presidency, still did not concede defeat, and at week's beginning only a third of the votes had been counted. But the latest returns told the story. Gomes' popularity in the capital, which had convinced the press, foreign embassies and correspondents that he would be the winner, was borne out--in Rio. But in industrial Sao Paulo, in Vargas' southern gaucho country, in the hinterland generally, the functionaries of the old regime had turned out enough votes for Dutra to override Gomes.

Man of Decision. Shy, quiet, grey-haired General Dutra was no political spellbinder. But even his opponents admitted that, as an officer, he had been notable for his courage and decision.

Because he admired efficiency, he was once an admirer of the Nazi war machine. That was back in the '30s. When Nazi submarines started sinking Brazilian ships, Dutra's political thinking matured. As Minister of War, he called on the Brazilian Army to repel such aggression. Soon Brazil entered the war on the side of the Allies and Dutra, who later visited the U.S., decided he liked democratic U.S. ways. Said he: "Brazil and the U.S. have chosen a common lot of sacrifice and heroism, to defend democracy and fight oppression and perfidy."

Brazil had shown its respect for free elections. Brazil could now expect that its fellow American republics would respect Brazil's elected choice.

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