Busy New Broom

When President Juscelino Kubitschek finally left his office at 9 p.m. at the end of his first full day on the job, tired Catete Palace staffers hopefully predicted that the hectic pace would soon relax. But all week long the President kept getting to his office at 7 a.m. and putting in 12-to-14-hour working days. By week's end, those who survived Kubitschek's brisk new-brooming had just about decided that the change in Catete's easygoing tropical routines was permanent.

Even before he signed a bill passed by Congress ending the state of siege imposed by an interim administration last November, Kubitschek abolished the military patrols guarding Catete. With no time to waste on pomp, he canceled the guard ceremonies traditionally held every time the President entered or left the palace. To thin out and speed up the flow of papers and persons through Catete's corridors, he personally supervised a wholesale redistribution of office space. He trimmed the Catete staff from 586 to 392, shut down the three palace kitchens that had been serving lunch (on the house) to some 200 officials. The new rule: each functionary gets one hour off for lunch, at his own expense.

On a typical day the President himself, accompanied by one adviser, rode to a restaurant in a stock-model Chevrolet, ordered a businessman's lunch of black beans and pork. Habitually hatless for the past 25 years, he wore one of the four Homburgs he bought in London during his preinauguration trip. "Nobody will recognize me with a hat on," he explained. Nobody did.

Bent on saving money in big as well as little ways in his battle against inflationary government deficits, the President directed his Cabinet ministers to scan departmental budgets and pare away any padding. He expects to cut the overall budget drawn up by the preceding administration by at least 7%.

To carry out his five-year "Power, Transportation and Food" development program. Kubitschek needs to attract foreign capital to Brazil. Last week he took time to talk with prospective U.S. and German investors, got quick action on at least one project. A team of Mercedes-Benz automen arrived in Rio from Germany one morning, conferred with the President that afternoon, promptly got a truck-factory plan speeded on its way. "No matter how busy I may be," vowed Kubitschek, "any foreign investor who comes to Brazil will find my door open."

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