Full text
| |
| Author(s): |
Júlio Barnez Pignata Cattai
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) |
| Defense date: | 2011-07-01 |
| Examining board members: |
Elizabeth Cancelli;
Maria Ligia Coelho Prado;
Francisco Carlos Teixeira da Silva
|
| Advisor: | Elizabeth Cancelli |
| Abstract | |
On June, 1st, 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhowers administration founded the United States Information Agency (USIA) for gathering U.S. information programs overseas under its umbrella. The aim of the new agency was to broadcast democratic system and free enterprise values portrayed by the country to international audiences in order to garner nations to U.S. positions during the Cold War. The Agency proceedings took place in the context of disputes between the heads of government of the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in programs of cultural propaganda called the Cultural Cold War by historiography. The present study aimed at investigating USIAs performance in Brazil between the years 1953, founding date of the Agency, and 1964, when the Agencys previous issues were redesigned on account of Vietnam War, at an international level, and of the civil-military coup, in Brazil. Therefore, we analyzed the Agency material newspaper reports, articles, news, notes and photos released in Correio da Manhã and Tribuna da Imprensa newspapers, two of the most important publications of the Brazilian Press for the period edited in Rio de Janeiro. We found that the Agency has, gradually, carried out covert activities, besides the overt ones, dodging Brazilian public opinion resistance against official U.S. presence in the debate on national political issues. Although the strategies used by the USIA were held in the name of democratic freedoms, the Agency did not hesitate about resorting covert operations to achieve its political objectives in the Cold War. (AU) | |