Half-a-Billion Loan?

Burdened with debts and hobbled by a shortage of capital, Brazil urgently needs help from the U.S. Last week a mission headed by Engineer Lucas Lopes, who is President Juscelino Kubitschek's No. 1 economic-development braintruster, arrived in Washington from Rio to ask for massive loans from the U.S. Government's Export-Import Bank.

Within the next few months, the Brazilians hope to get from Ex-Im: 1) aid in refunding part of Brazil's $1.2 billion foreign debt so as to ease the repayment strain during the next five years; and 2) long-term loans, actual or promised, covering a large part of the dollar cost of Kubitschek & Co.'s five-year "Power, Transportation and Food" development program. Kubitschek himself plans to make a straightforward appeal to President Eisenhower at the Western Hemisphere Presidents' meeting in Panama. Another Brazilian of distinction who will work for the Ex-Im loan is Rio's new ambassador, to Washington, Ernani do Amaral Peixoto, who arrived in New York last week with his wife Alzira, daughter of the late President Getulio Vargas. Amaral Peixoto took a leave of absence as chief of Brazil's top political party, the Social Democrats, to accept the post. With Kubitschek, Amaral Peixoto and Lopes all working on an already well-disposed Eisenhower Administration, it is likely that the Brazilians will get much of what they ask for--something like half a billion.

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