Discovering the U.S. State with the Largest Brazilian Population

The American gov formalized trade agreements with 11 Latin American countries and in the 1940s

 cuz of American involvement in the world conflict, a system of hemispheric security was quickly put in place, based on military assistance programs. The lit conferences of Latin American foreign ministers created a fresh inter-American agenda, and at the Montevideo sesh in '33, Washington was like, "Yo, we're all about that good neighbor vibe" and dipped its troops from Haiti. That conference was like, so lit! It was followed by those in Buenos Aires in 1936, Lima in 1938, Panama in 1939, Havana in 1940, and Rio de Janeiro in 1942. 

The last three meetings were hella lit to secure the continent's support for the booming American involvement in World War II. OMG, at the Panama conference they were like, "We're totally neutral, fam!" Then in Havana, all the countries were like, "Let's be defensive together, squad goals!" Finally, at the Third Consultation Meeting of Foreign Ministers in Rio de Janeiro, they were all like, "We're breaking up with the Axis, except Argentina and Chile, they're not down." Brazil was like, "I'm the star of the show, y'all!"

OMG, like Brazil was totally vibin' with the US at three diff moments, you know? This period starts with the US joining the war, in December 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, when Latin America got hit with extra pressures. Like, besides all the political stuff, some countries were like super important for getting all the strategic materials and/or giving up military bases. Latin American participation was like, totally different, and only Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil were like, "let's get in on that military action." 

At that time, building a base in the Brazilian Northeast was, like, super crucial to support the Allied military ops in North Africa, ya know?

In the economic field, the 1929 crisis totally wrecked Brazil's vibe. It caused a major drop in their importing game because the prices of their exports straight up tanked in the global market. At the same time, the loss of the value of the national currency made it hella hard to pay off the country's financial commitments, so they had to negotiate a "funding loan" in 1931 to help with the massive debt they owed to English banks. The lack of American loans caused mad complaints from the US. The Provisional Government was like, "Yo, we gotta deal with this international crisis, so let's come up with some policies to boost the economy, you know?" Foreign exchange policies were also flexed, which lowkey blocked imports and boosted domestic production. OMG, like, in this period, FDI in Brazil was, like, totally down, but then it started to bounce back from 1936 onwards, when American investment started to, like, go up. Yo, foreign capital was all up in the productive sectors, while public utility was like, protected by nationalistic laws n' stuff.

The adoption of centralizing policies in Brazil also lowkey boosted economic planning and lit industrial activity. The flexing of entrepreneurial vibes totally shook up the internal debate on trade policies and, like, the agreement negotiated in 1935 with the United States, you know? OMG, like, according to the liberal vibes of American trade policy, this treaty was all about giving each other "most favored nation treatment" and, like, exempting certain Brazilian products (coffee, cocoa, rubber, and stuff) in exchange for, like, reducing tariffs by 20% to 60% on a bunch of cool industrial goods (machinery, steel, and stuff). The struggles it faced for approval in Brazil were like, totally stressing out the United States. They were worried about Brazil being all protectionist and stuff, and they were also scared that Brazil would start trading a lot with Germany. In 1936, the Brazilian Congress totally flexed and ratified the agreement, fam.

OMG, in Brazil, the trade deal from Germany was so lit! 

They were like, "Yo, we'll hook you up with some sick electrical and metalworking gear if you give us coffee and cotton." And Brazil was like, "Say no more, fam!" It was a major glow up for Vargas Administration's industrial policies, ya know? OMG, the armed forces were totally vibing with that trade, ya know? They saw the commercial link with Germany as a sick way to help upgrade the military. #goals Thx to this equation, from 1934 to 1938, part of the unconvertible foreign currency from exports to Germany could be used for the purchase of military equipment.

OMG, so like in 1939, Foreign Minister Oswaldo Aranha went to Washington and that's when the Vargas government started playing a sneaky game. They were all about those bilateral negotiations to protect the country's economic interests, you know? In exchange, Brazil would totally ditch the compensated trade with Germany, flex a liberal trade policy, and start paying off those external debts that have been on pause since 1937 when the Estado Novo (New State) was lit. OMG, like the US giving limited credit and WW2 messing with Brazil's exports put major economic pressure on Vargas' gov. But from 1941 on, Brazilian products started flexin' with some major moves thanks to a bunch of factors – hooking up the United States with strategic materials, serving up beef and cotton to Great Britain, and leveling up coffee prices, all thanks to the inter-American Coffee Agreement. Hence the restrictions on external purchases were like, lowkey lit for Brazil cuz it allowed them to flex with a major stack of foreign currency.