Coming of Age

Ever since the reign of Dictator Getulio Vargas, a pair of Vargas-founded parties--one a left-winging, Communist-infiltrated labor party, the other the nationalistic party of President Juscelino Kubitschek--have had things pretty much their own way in Brazil. Now a conservative, middle-roading party is challenging the old leaders. It is the National Democratic Union (U.D.N.), whose president, Juracy Magalhaes, 53, has suddenly become a dark horse worth watching in the 1960 race for the presidency.

Red Surprise. In last month's midterm congressional and state elections, the U.D.N. scored a stunning victory. It picked up two new governorships, added six Senate seats to its 13, seven more Chamber of Deputies posts to make 81. The win was a massive upset for Brazil's leftist labor party and its demagogic boss, Vice President Joao ("Jango") Goulart, who also has his sights on the presidency. Goulart openly wooed the votes of Brazil's Communists. It cost him thousands of votes; Brazilians flocked to the U.D.N. Said Juracy* last week: "Our party has obviously prospered."

The victory was all the more impressive because the U.D.N. and Juracy were political also-rans for years. Once Vargas' governor of the important state of Bahia, Juracy broke with the dictator in 1937, helped found the U.D.N. to fight the dictatorship. But in its first campaign, U.D.N.'s candidate was quoted--or misquoted--as saying: "I don't need votes from lunch-pailers." Ever after, U.D.N. was considered a silk-hat, antilabor party.

Back to the Streets. The revival came in 1954, when Juracy took over. He came out strongly for "stimulation of foreign investment." For the "lunch-pailers" he plugged "free, autonomous trade unions." Brazil, he said, must be a "cordial, independent ally of the U.S." By 1955 the campaign was taking effect; in that year's election U.D.N. made a good showing against Kubitschek, who won on a minority of the vote, edged by with 3,077,400 votes to the U.D.N.'s 2,620,000.

In last week's vote tally, U.D.N. harvested more than 3,000,000 votes, nearly enough to have won the presidency three years ago. What about 1960? Juracy shrugs off the idea as "premature." His big aim right now is to put an end to Brazil's rigged economy. But there will be no letup in the campaign for votes. "We are returning to the streets and to direct contact with the people. Nobody ever loses trusting the people."

* As with most politicians, Brazilians call him by his first name.

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