In February 1976, the general received . The Brazilian president told the American Secretary of State that he was uncomfortable with what was being said about Brazil in the USA: “Our image is an image of violence. This does not correspond to the reality of modern Brazil.”
The dictatorship had no problems with the government of Republican Gerald Ford, who followed a doctrine that treated the regime as an ally against communism. In the conversation, Kissinger told Geisel that domestic issues were a concern for Brazil, a sign that the Americans would not create tension over human rights violations.
The secretary also stated that he was convinced that Ford would be re-elected. Geisel agreed, showing a certain relief. They were both wrong. Nine months later, Democrat Jimmy Carter won the race for the White House. In the following years, the American presidency would begin to disrupt the region’s dictatorships.
convictions that broke with an excess of Cold War pragmatism. Before the election, in an interview with Playboy magazine, he cited the Brazilian dictatorship and said that the American government should not give up moral principles “in exchange for temporary advantages.” In his inauguration speech, he stated that the country could not be indifferent to human rights violations in other countries.
The message was also delivered by hand. In 1977, according to a report by Elio Gaspari, First Lady Rosalynn Carter took the defense of democracy to Geisel and indicated that the time in which the United States “unrestrictedly” supported any anti-communist regime, “no matter how repressive it were.”
The following year, Jimmy Carter himself avoided the issue in a conversation with Geisel, but later met with opponents who denounced arbitrary arrests and torture, such as Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns.
Carter lost the 1980 elections. He left power with the grace of a few losers and built a career as a former president, maintaining his conviction in defending democracy, peace and human rights. , at 100 years old.
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