A Lusophone World

[Lusitania]

1950 – 1959 (cont)

World (cont)

Marrocos (Morocco)​

Starting in 1912 Morocco came under French and Spanish control. The French protectorate was ruled by French governor under the Moroccan Sultan’s name. To all appearances the country was governed by the Sultan. Meanwhile in the Spanish zones of control the Spanish had for most part followed the same path as the French, although it was much less developed than the French side.

At the end of 1949 when the Portuguese Federation had assumed the Spanish protectorate it had promised both the Sultan and French Officials that Portuguese Federation would adhere to all previous Spanish treaties. Both the French and the Moroccans protested the Portuguese move and stated that it was illegal, but the Portuguese simply ignored their concerns. The Portuguese occupation of these former Spanish territories had the effect of accelerating independence movements underfoot on both sides of Moroccan border. While Portuguese Federation publicly stated it would adhere to the same agreements and nothing would change in the territories the arrival of the Portuguese also brought the DGS, GNR and PSP along with thousands of administrators. They were followed by thousands of settlers who were brought to the territories and large parts of Portuguese Morocco were confiscated by private enterprises and settlers. Those who protested were arrested, convicted of insurrection and instead of imprisoned sent to other provinces. For next few years tens of thousands were deported or moved to other parts of country including Iberian Peninsula. Schools were opened and all children (male and female) from ages of 6 to 16 who were forced to attend the government schools where Portuguese and Catholicism were both taught. The only exception being children of other Christian denominations or Judaism who were allowed to be taught their religions. The parents who objected or kept their children home were arrested and deported to other parts of the Federation. The penalty for keeping their children out of Portuguese schools was seizure of their children. During the same time thousands of Portuguese (European, African, Indian, and Asian) and emigrants were brought to the new Portuguese zones. Revolts and demonstrations were dealt with a heavy hand and military and security kept a very close eye on the people and border zones.

Meanwhile in the French Protection Zone the Sultan and other leading Moroccans protested Portuguese actions while the call for Independence from France grew louder. When the Sultan voiced his support for Independence from France the French forced the sultan into exile. On 20 August 1953, Mohammed V and his family went into exile on Corsica. His uncle, Mohammed Ben Aarafa, was placed on the throne instead. Mohammed V and his family were then transferred to Madagascar in January 1954. Sultan Mohammed Ben Aarafa was very unpopular, and the people of Morocco demanded his abdication and the return of the popular Mohammed V.

The Portuguese meanwhile were playing for additional time to continue their Portugalization programs and it was thought by senior security officials the best way to achieve that was through the elimination of Morocco’s one unifying figure the Sultan. Members of Portuguese government devised a plan to get rid of the Sultan and place the blame squarely on the French. DGS agents posing as Egyptian agents were able to convince one of the Sultan’s staff members that France was poisoning the Sultan and his family and that an antidote had been discovered.[1] The poison administered by the Sultan’s staff member killed not only the Sultan but also the entire staff and almost all his family.

On 12 March 1955 Sultan and his family all got sick, a doctor was called, and food poisoning was suspected. On 13th of March two of Mohammed V daughters died as did his wives. The next day his eldest son and other two daughters also died. On 15th of March Mohammed V died as did most of his staff and domestic help. Only his youngest son Prince Moulay Abdellah who was 19 survived. For four months, the French kept the deposed Sultan’s death a secret. French investigation into Mohammed V death failed to uncover who had poisoned the Sultan. Although some suspicion fell on the DGS no proof or rumor was ever found.[2] When French officials told the Portuguese government the Portuguese foreign Minister sat shocked for several minutes and then immediately called the Defense Minister who when told of the news ordered the immediate callup of reservist and the sending of additional troops from Africa to Portuguese Morocco. French officials came to conclusion that if the assassination had been carried out by Portuguese it was not the Defense Ministry who had ordered it and the general government was unaware.

The French also built up their forces in Morocco and waited till after Ramadan before announcing that their most loved Sultan was dead. As expected, riots broke out and demonstrations occurred in most Moroccan cities when news broke. In October, six months after the Sultan’s death he and his family’s bodies were brought to Morocco along with the very weak Prince Abdellah who six months after poisoning still had not fully recovered. The whole country observed one month of mourning. Moroccans continued to demand independence while the French continued to refuse saying that the country was not ready. For the next two years demonstrations and civil disobedience continued to grow. In March 1957 France granted independence to its other North African protectorate, Tunisia, and pressure to grant independence to Morocco intensified. Meanwhile in Portuguese Morocco the Portuguese kept a very tight grip on the provinces and continued to move thousands of Arabs and Berbers to other provinces. The number of Portuguese citizens reached 500,000 while cities continued to grow at very fast rate and industry sprung up in most cities.

On 6 November 1957, Sultan Mohammed Ben Aarafa abdicated after surviving his second assassination attempt. The French governor allowed Prince Abdellah to become the Sultan and signed an agreement on behalf of France proclaiming Morocco’s independence on 1 January 1958. Special allowance was made for continuation of thousands of French colonists in Morocco and respect for their rights and property.

Morocco celebrated the New Year with a huge independence celebration. For next three months Morocco waited for the Portuguese to begin discussions regarding returning their protectorates but Portuguese Federation which had not recognized Morocco’s independence ignored Morocco’s demands. Most pressing for the Moroccans was access to the enclave of Tangier which was cut off from Morocco by Portuguese territory. On 1 April 1958, Morocco formally requested UN to intervene and the motion was debated with Portuguese Federation stating that the territories were Portuguese territory and Portuguese citizens living in these provinces had voted overwhelming in provincial legislatures by proclaiming their support for the Portuguese Federation. A motion calling for the unification of Morocco was passed but it did not carry any weight.

On 5th of June Morocco’s military began preparing to attack the Portuguese provinces, soviet military hardware continued to be unloaded in Moroccan ports and thousands of new recruits trained. On 1 October 1958 Morocco launched its 3-prong attack. Its Northern army attacked the Northern provinces while Morocco’s Southern army launched an attack on the Portuguese enclave of Ifni and Bens province. Portuguese warships and planes provided the defending troops with additional support. Portuguese bombers attacked Moroccan airports and bases. In the north, the Portuguese 2nd and 3rd Infantry divisions repulsed the Moroccans in the Rif Mountains but along the Atlantic coast the Portuguese 2nd Armored Division smashed through Moroccan forces and pushed them back all the way to Casablanca opening the whole central Morocco to Portuguese forces. Tangiers was captured in two days of fighting. In the south, the Southern Moroccan Army besieging the province of Ifni had the province surrounded on three side but were unable to push the Portuguese back. Their forces sent against the Portuguese province of Bens had been limited to 4 regiments more as a way to keep the Portuguese occupied till the Portuguese in Ifni were defeated. Unbeknown to them the Portuguese regular and reservist units had been merged into the 10th reservist division and when the Moroccans attacked, they quickly countered attack and defeated them. On 7th of October, the 10th division hit the Southern Moroccan army on the left flank, and it crumpled in the fast-moving Portuguese attack. Meanwhile Portuguese forces from Ifni also attacked the retreating Moroccan forces and those units not wiped out tried to retreat but ran into other Moroccan units. On 8th of October, General Hammu surrendered the Southern Moroccan Army to Portuguese General Silva.

The UN met again on 9th of October and demanded that a cease fire be implemented. Both Portuguese Federation and Morocco agreed. When suggestions for a return to pre-war borders were proposed, the Portuguese refused. Diplomatically Portuguese occupation was objected but many Europeans and even many newspapers, radio and television commentators sided with Portuguese Federation that they had been the ones invaded and were simply defending themselves. In the Northern Morocco, the Portuguese offered to remove all troops from Morocco and withdraw them back to Portuguese territory. In return, they demanded a 50-kilometer demilitarized zone along Portuguese Morocco border. The area would continue under Moroccan administration. The UN would patrol the demilitarized zone with the cost of the force to be paid by Portuguese Federation and be comprised of equal number of UN troops from Christian and Muslim countries. In the South Portuguese demands were different. A strip of land along coast linking Ifni and Bens would stay under Portuguese administration while the whole expanded Portuguese – Moroccan southern border would also be protected by similar demilitarized zone as the north.

Sultan Abdellah left with little choice since most of his country’s armed forces had been destroyed or captured by the Portuguese Federation reluctantly agreed to the Portuguese demands. On 1 November 1958, the Portuguese Moroccan cease fire was signed. Portuguese Federation released all Moroccan forces and withdrew to the demilitarized zone. Between February and April 1959, the UN security forces arrived and on 1st of May Portuguese troops withdrew to Portuguese territory.

In Morocco, the Portuguese Moroccan war turned the Moroccan people against all Europeans not only the Portuguese. Thousands of French settlers were forced to flee towards the nearest safety which for most was the Portuguese Federation. The majority of them once safe in the Federation continued on to the enclave of Tangier, joining them were the small number of Moroccan Christian who too no longer felt safe in Morocco. By March 1959 the French Colonial and Moroccan Christians outnumbered the original Moroccan residents in the enclave. The situation stayed tense and attacks between the different groups and Moroccan authorities grew. In August 1959 French colonists and Christian Moroccans seized control of the enclave and no longer accepted Moroccan authority in enclave. All Moroccan government personnel and security forces were forced to withdraw from the enclave as did thousands of Muslim Moroccans. The UN force in the enclave was also attacked and withdrew to the de-militarized zone to the south. On 1 November 1959 France accepted the colonists and Christians demands and put the enclave under French protection, a move that angered Morocco and many other nations in Africa and Middle East.

Map showing Portuguese Morocco and Sahara (Dark Green)​

[1] Egypt was supporting Algerian insurgents against France and opposed to continued French presence in Africa.
[2] To the astonishment of the French investigators four different poisons were found in the Sultan and family’s systems.

The Portuguese fight against the Moroccan independence was one that used the French own actions against them. iOTL in an attempt o put of the Moroccan independence they did depose the Sultan and move him to Madagascar. The Portuguese own plan while a little more fatalist was also enacted with the same goal, postpone the Moroccan independence. This all was taking place while the Portuguese development of its new territories in North Africa was taking place at rapid pace bringing to these territories hundreds of thousands of new settlers.

The Portuguese could of launched their own preemptive attack against the fledging Moroccan forces . Instead it let itself be portraited as a victim who was only protecting itself. All its actions were aimed at nocking out the Morocco military ability and attempt to gain a cease fire. Repeated attempts in the early days of the war to get UN to order a cease fire was blocked by USSR and indifference by the US and other veto powers. It was only when the Portuguese had the Moroccans on the ropes that USSR put forth "Urgent" motions for cease fire. It was then the Portuguese used their position and the previous indifference of the UN to its advantage and played the victim part (also was played throughout western world to public opinion successfully). The negotiations were difficult with many demanded a return to previous borders.

The Portuguese demands for a demilitarized zone was generally accepted, it was the zone under Portuguese administration linking its provinces of Ifni and Bens. The Portuguese offered to buy out any settler there who wanted to eave at 200% of their value or to respect them if they stayed under Portuguese control. It also offered to waive any reparation demands against Morocco in return for the strip.

The UN put pressure on Morocco to accept, its allies told it was the best way to rebuild its forces and then destroy Portugal, USSR pledged to supply it with untold amounts of weapons, so the young Sultan dreaming of revenge agreed to a cease fire and the Portuguese demands. The Moroccan government portrayed itself as the victim to its people and this only fueled more anger against foreigners especially French and even non-Muslims. Questions/ Comments?

We return in little with the next installment Guinea.

 

[Galahad]

Portugal is getting a little bit ASB. But then, this is a Portuguese ascendant timeline, so I can't argue much.

 

[Lusitania]

1950 – 1959 (cont)

World (cont)

Guinea and De-Colonization​

In 1948 the 4th French Republic proclaimed the French Union which was France’s attempt at incorporating the French Colonies into a single country with the goal of this union was "assimilation of the overseas territories into a greater France, inhabited by French citizens, and blessed by French culture. But political power remained elusive to the inhabitants of the overseas departments especially those of non-European descent. Power remained in the hands of the French parliament and even local authority was retained by elites in the various overseas territories. Discontent with the system especially in Algiers along with the loss French Indochina finally forced the French government abandon the idea of assimilation and instead favoring autonomy.

On January 31, 1956, in response to the outbreak of colonial war in Algeria and insurrections in other French colonies the French government announced the abandonment of assimilation and instead centered on autonomy. Unfortunely this neither appeased the Africans or the French colonist. In Algeria which had over 1 million French Colonist demonstration against the government policy during the summer of 1947 led to collapse of the French government and Charles de Gaulle was recalled to government. He rewrote the constitution which was approved in referendum on 25 November 1957. On 1 January 1958 the French Fifth Republic was proclaimed.

As part of the new constitution the French Union was replaced with the French Community which had the express goals of allowing territories to develop their own local government and to eventually gain their independence while under the support and guidance of the French Fifth Republic wherein France which was now a federation of states with their own self-government. A referendum of the status of each overseas territory within the French community was held on 28 May 1958, all African states became members of the new French Community except French Guinea which voted instead for complete independence.

On 2 June 1958 French Guinea declared its independence from France as opposed to autonomy within the new French Community like the other former French Colonies in Africa, surprising both France and the Portuguese Federation. Under its leader of Ahmed Sékou Touré the newly independent Guinea rejected French demands and decided that Guinea would dismantle all colonial trappings and quickly moved his country in alignment with the Soviets. He quickly banned all opposition and made Guinea a one-party state under the control of Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG). The Portuguese Federation response was to heighten its border security, but it was unsure what to do. The DGS who had several local African DGS agents in Guinea continued to monitor the situation but took no action.

Within a few months several Guinea traditional leaders who had spoken out against Touré were removed from power and some executed meanwhile the DGS moved additional agents cautiously into Guinea to get a better feel and pulse of the country. Over the remainder of the year anger and opposition to the PDG grew within the country as did the number of opposition figures fleeing the country. Portuguese Guinea became one of the safe areas for many Guineans opposed to the PDG.

At the end of December 1958 when news that Touré would be leaving the capital to tour a recently nationalized French plantation a plan was quickly put in place to attack Touré. President Touré and most of his cabinet were scheduled to tour the city of Tougue and plantation on 5 January 1959. In Portuguese Guinea about 3,000 opposition leaders and militants angry at President Touré nationalizing land and removing traditional chiefs from power were protected by Portuguese. A three-pronged attack was planned by about a thousand strong militia, the attack was to be executed solely by Guineans although the weapons were supplied by DGS (all Russian and European weapons though). The three-pronged attack was planned, and the militia crossed the Portuguese Guinea border on 4th of January and the next day launched two attacks on the town.

When President Touré toured the city of Tougue, he and most of his cabinet were attacked by a two-prong attack of about 500 heavily armed Malinké militants. Touré armed escort numbered several hundred and the towns also had its own security force in addition a military base was located less than 50 kilometers away, so the President was not in any immediate danger. President Touré angry and afraid of the attack ordered his security forces and town security to hold off the attackers while he and his entourage along with half the security forces withdrew south while the remaining Presidential security forces and town’s security forces were to hold the rebels till the army arrived. As the President, his entourage including most of the government officials and security team retreated south towards the capital they encountered a second Malinké force waiting. The retreating Presidential force was attacked about 4 km south of the town. The security caravan was stopped when several of the leading vehicles blew up when they hit land mines and the President, his entourage and his entire security team was killed in the attack.

The attack against the President and most of the government officials plunged Guinea into a civil war, pitting different ethnic groups as well as different political groups against one another. France which had the means to intervene decided to hang back and let the country slide further into anarchy. They wanted Guinea to be a lesson to the other French former colonies what would happen if they strayed from the French protection. For the next two months over a dozen groups battled each other. The DGS began supplying several groups in northern guinea on the premise to protect them from the anarchy gripping Guinea as ethnic and political rivalries split the country, the DGS kept a tight control of the groups it was supplying and slowly a unified Malinké force emerged but the DGS continued to stay out of Guinea. Meanwhile in the rest of country other groups consolidated control too and by spring three groups were in control of most of the country. In the north Colonel Diarra Traoré led the traditional Malinké ethnic group, in the center Colonel Lansana Conté led the remnant of the Guinea government forces and was aligned with the French while in the south Louis Lansana Beavogui led the remnants of the PDG. Colonel Diarra Traoré and his Malinké forces controlled most of the land north of the Konkoure River, Colonel Lansana Conté emerged as the winner in the Capital area and by April 1939 had secured all land around Conakry as far north as Kindia. In the south, the Louis Lansana Beavogui regrouped the remnants of the PDG and fought against the French as well as the other two Guinea forces.

On 20 June 1959 France decided that Guinea had suffered enough and quick negotiated with Colonel Lansana Conté and his Conakry forces to request French help. On 1st of July French forces stationed in Ivory Coast, French West Africa and Senegal moved against the Guinean forces. Expecting an easy campaign, the French sent only 2 regiments from Senegal against the Malinké forces. DGS provided intelligence and support but all fighting was done by the Guinean forces who outnumbered the French 5:1. The wounded French forces realizing their precarious situation quickly retreated back to Senegal. Only the French forces that landed in Conakry encountered no resistance. In the south, Louis Lansana Beavogui and the PDG had requested and received substantial military aid from the Soviets. Most of it had moved through Liberia and with the French intelligence caught asleep their forces were easily defeated. The French forces suffered even bigger defeat in the south against the PDG than against the Malinké Guinea.

From August to November the three Guinean forces as well as the French were involved in a three-way battle for the country. Civilian atrocities were committed by all sides. French air force flew bombing missions against the PDG and Malinké Guinea forces but in doing so killed and injured hundreds of civilians. Several French planes were also lost due to the PDG using soviet anti-aircraft guns. Over next few months Portuguese Federation continued to provide the Malinké Guinea forces with supplies and weapons so that they were able to hold off both PDG and French backed Guinea forces. As the war became a stalemate and looked like to continue for several years the French built up their forces in Ivory Coast and French West Africa deciding to deal with PDG first. As the continued Portuguese support helped unify the Malinké Guinea areas and also helped the locals by providing market for their goods and as well as supplies, fuel and weapons. In the south the French surrounded the PDG controlled Guinea but the PDG was defiant. On November 3 rumors of an alliance between Malinké and Conakry Guinea against the PGD finally convinced them to seek a cease fire and peace. The sudden request for cease fire and peace talks by the PDG which was supported by other French colonies forced the French to agree.

On 15 November 1959, the UN debated the Guinea situation and passed a motion demanding an immediate cease fire. With each of the three Guinea claiming to be the legitimate government a referendum was organized for 26th of December for the people to choose which Guinea they wanted to live. Both Malinké Guinea and Conakry Guinea agreed but the PDG refused. France then tightened its screws against the PDG. A total embargo was announced including all ships in and out of Liberia. The UK announced a similar embargo on all trade from Sierra Leona. Being a landlocked country surrounded by enemies the PDG agreed to the referendum. The referendum asked people if they wished to live in a democratic united Guinea or in one of the three independent Guineas. The referendum was a failure with the majority of the Malinké people living in the Malinké Guinea voting to leave Guinea and forming their own country. In PDG Guinea majority of the people voted to be part of the Republic of Guinea under the leadership of the PDG. In Conakry Guinea, the majority chose a democratic Guinea. No one celebrated or had any speeches prepared for the outcome, especially the French government of President De Gaulle.

On 30 December 1959 three separate Guinea were recognized and admitted to the UN: Guinea Boke (backed by Portuguese Federation), Guinea (backed by France) and Peoples Democratic Republic of Guinea (backed by Soviets). While Guinea was split in three separate countries and the part allied with the French was the smallest of the three new Guineas the French still felt vindicated with the outcome. It now showed the other French former colonies what would happen if they abandoned the French Community and chose independence instead of French protection and assistance.

Guinea 1959 following the cease fire​

The Portuguese involvement in Guinea was one or necessity due to Toure alignment with the USSR. Emboldened by their success in Morocco but also realizing they could not be perceived as to gain any territorial gains they sought to weaken Guinea and to possibly depose Toure. The reaction of both the French and the splitting of the country led the Portuguese to attempt their own "Guinea" which to the Portuguese happiness turned out very good. The Portuguese aligned Guinea provided the Portuguese with a buffer against communist Guinea and increased Portuguese strength in the region. As an added bonus Guinea Boke was rich in resources which the Portuguese were quick t exploit and develop.

The Portuguese though were careful to make sure people in Guinea Boke received benefits from these developments, be they in education, health or infrastructure and especially in jobs that allowed people to support their families. Questions/ Comments?

We will return later today with two more smaller posts on Israel & Middle East and China & USSR.

 

[Sceonn]

Guinea Boke could allow the Portuguese to gain greater influence in West Africa if they serve as proxy to the greater Mandé people.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Okay, Portugal is rolling a lot of natural 20's to go this crazy with their foreign diplomacy and not get caught red handed.

When all this gets declassified (intentionally or otherwise), the DGS will have an absolutely horrific reputation. Assassination missions on multiple national leaders? Portugal better focus on getting nukes quickly if they want to survive the next couple of years when all this data eventually leaks out to the world public.

Outside of that, I can't help but feel sorry for the Moroccans. I know that a lot of their current misery is mostly their own fault, but losing most of their major cities and having thousands being forced out of newly occupied lands will breed many decades of intense resentment. If I were Portugal, I would invest in many kilometer of concrete walls and security checkpoints to keep the inevitable terrorist attacks to a minimal.

 

[Lusitania]

Portugal is getting a little bit ASB. But then, this is a Portuguese ascendant timeline, so I can't argue much.

Okay, Portugal is rolling a lot of natural 20's to go this crazy with their foreign diplomacy and not get caught red handed.

When all this gets declassified (intentionally or otherwise), the DGS will have an absolutely horrific reputation. Assassination missions on multiple national leaders? Portugal better focus on getting nukes quickly if they want to survive the next couple of years when all this data eventually leaks out to the world public.

Outside of that, I can't help but feel sorry for the Moroccans. I know that a lot of their current misery is mostly their own fault, but losing most of their major cities and having thousands being forced out of newly occupied lands will breed many decades of intense resentment. If I were Portugal, I would invest in many kilometer of concrete walls and security checkpoints to keep the inevitable terrorist attacks to a minimal.

I wanted to talk about Morocco.

The idea was how would the Federation be able to keep Portuguese Morocco and Portuguese Sahara. Naturally when Morocco became independent it would of wanted the Portuguese territory back. iOTL Spain which had not invested anything in Spanish Morocco's development returned it minus two enclaves. When it attempted to hold on to the southern territories it faced a Moroccan siege and resulted in them being forced to withdraw. iTTL the Portuguese have invested heavily in the territories and hundreds of thousands of Portuguese have moved there therefore they were not going to return it and that left only war as the only outcome.

Any war right after Moroccan independence would of favored the Portuguese if they had the resolve to defend their territory.

Morocco did not loose any cities to the Portuguese other than the territory it occupied between Bens and Ifni. This is mostly sparsely populated land with few villages. All of Moroccan territory that had been under French mandate was returned to Morocco, (with the exception of Tangiers enclave that became part of France).

Portuguese Morocco by 1958 was population was majority Portuguese (meaning people from other parts of the Federation), with native born being less than 40%. The Portuguese industrialization of the area meant that the native Moroccans in Portuguese Morocco would represent at best 25-30% of the population. So the Federation could make the point of that Morocco was the agressor. It used the high 80% turn out for the 1956 regional elections to provide evidence of the provinces being part of the Federation and that Portuguese actions were justified to protect its people.

The Portuguese DGS was very unscrupulous, iOTL it assassinated many of the independence leaders in Portuguese Guinea, Mozambique and Angola. iTTL It is not unreasonable to think that they not have even better capabilities to carry out an assignation of a country's leader who had been deposed by French themselves and was in exile. That they could not support a rebel group and that these actions would not of resulted in Anarchy of that country.

Were the Portuguese lucky yes so far, they were able to keep Portuguese north Africa, destabilize Guinea but was that any different that what British, French or the super powers did, no. But I believe everything the Portuguese have done are within the realm of possibility. Although you right there will be diplomatic consequences.

Now regarding future, yes the Portuguese are setting themselves up for major confrontations in the future. Morocco will rebuild and re-arm. Communist Guinea will work to destabilize Guinea Boke and attack the Federation. Portuguese actions even if not detected by world leaders will be perceived as either benefiting or orchestrating them since the primary beneficiary. Therefore Portuguese actions will make its diplomatic situation in the 1960s even more dangerous.

As for nuclear deterrent it is on Portuguese minds and something that is a very important goal.

 

[Lusitania]

1950 – 1959 (cont)

World (cont)

Israel and Middle East​

In 1949 Israel moved its capital to Jerusalem and held its first elections in which the Mapai party won the most seats. Its leader David Ben-Gurion was appointed Prime Minister in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset. Hebrew and Arabic were made the official languages of the new state. For the next few decades Labor / Zionists, dominated Israeli politics and the economy was run on primarily socialist lines.

Within three years (1948 to 1951), immigration doubled the Jewish population of Israel and left an indelible imprint on Israeli society. Overall, 700,000 Jews settled in Israel during this period. Some 300,000 arrived from Asian and North African nations as part of the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries. Among them, the largest group (over 100,000) was from Iraq. The rest of the immigrants were from Europe, including more than 170,000 who came from Eastern Europe, mainly Romania and Poland (over 50,000 each). Nearly all the Jewish immigrants could be described as refugees, however only 136,000 who immigrated to Israel from Central Europe, had international certification because they belonged to the 150,000 Jews registered by the allies as displaced after World War II and living in displaced persons camps in Germany, Austria and Italy. From Portugal over half of the recent arrived Jews migrated to Israel, from 1949 - 1953 267,000 Jews living in Portugal (all given Portuguese Nationality by Portuguese government) moved to Israel.

In 1950 the Knesset passed the Law of Return, which granted to all Jews and those of Jewish ancestry, and their spouses, the right to settle in Israel and gain citizenship. Starting that year, thousands of Jews from countries opposed to Israel and Jews were secretly flown to Israel. In 1951 Iraqi Jews were granted temporary permission to leave the country and 120,000 (over 90%) opted to move to Israel. Jews also fled from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Many of the Jews left land and property behind (much of it in Arab city centers) which to this day is still a matter of some dispute.

Between 1948 and 1958, the population of Israel rose from 800,000 to 2 million. During this period, food, clothes and furniture had to be rationed in what became known as the Austerity Period (Tkufat haTsena). Immigrants were mostly refugees with no money or possessions, and many were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot. By 1952, over 200,000 immigrants were living in tents or prefabricated shacks built by the government. Israel received financial aid from private donations from outside the country (mainly the United States and Portuguese Federation). The pressure on the new state's finances led Ben-Gurion to sign a reparations agreement with Germany. Israel received several billion marks and in return agreed to open diplomatic relations with Germany, a move that was criticized by some Jews.

In 1949, education was made free and compulsory for all citizens until the age of 14.

In its early years Israel sought to maintain a non-aligned position between the super-powers. However, in 1952, an anti-Semitic public trial was staged in Moscow in which a group of Jewish doctors were accused of trying to poison Stalin, followed by a similar trial in Hungary. This, and the failure of Israel to be included in the Colombo Conference (of non-aligned states), effectively ended Israel's pursuit of non-alignment.[1] [2]

On 19 May 1950, Egypt announced that the Suez Canal was closed to Israeli ships and commerce. Then in 1952 a military coup in Egypt brought Abdel Nasser to power. The United States pursued close relations with the new Arab states, particularly the Nasser-led Egyptian and Saudi Arabia. Israel's solution to diplomatic isolation was to establish good relations with newly independent states in Africa and with France, which was engaged in the Algerian War. The relationship with the Portuguese Federation which had started during the Israeli war of Independence continued but kept low key for fear of making additional diplomatic relationships difficult.

In the January 1955 elections Mapai once again won the most seats and its leader, Moshe Sharett became prime minister of Israel and Israeli and Portuguese relationship became forefront in Israel foreign policy. Israeli - Portuguese military, economic collaboration accelerated and was no longer hidden. Between 1953 and 1956, there were intermittent clashes along all of Israel's borders as Arab terrorism and breaches of the ceasefire resulted in Israeli counterraids. Palestinian fedayeen attacks, often organized and sponsored by the Egyptians, were made from (Egyptian occupied) Gaza. Fedayeen attacks led to a growing cycle of violence as Israel launched reprisal attacks against Gaza.

In 1956, the increasingly pro-Soviet President Nasser of Egypt, announced the nationalization of the (French and British owned) Suez Canal, which was Egypt's main source of foreign currency. Egypt also blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba preventing Israeli access to the Red Sea. Israel made a secret agreement with the French at Sèvres to coordinate military operations against Egypt. Britain and France had already begun secret preparations for military action. Britain and France arranged for Israel to give them a pretext for seizing the Suez Canal. Israel was to attack Egypt, and Britain and France would then call on both sides to withdraw. When, as expected, the Egyptians refused, Anglo-French forces would invade to take control of the Canal.

Israeli forces, commanded by General Moshe Dayan, attacked Egypt on 29 October 1956. On 30 October Britain and France made their pre-arranged call for both sides to stop fighting and withdraw from the Canal area, and for them to be allowed to take up positions at key points on the Canal. Egypt refused, and the allies commenced air strikes on 31st of October aimed at neutralizing the Egyptian air force. By 5th of November the Israelis had overrun the Sinai. The Anglo-French invasion began that day. There was uproar in the UN, with the United States and USSR for once in agreement in denouncing the actions of Israel, Britain and France. A demand for a ceasefire was reluctantly accepted on 7th of November.

At Egypt's request, the UN sent an Emergency Force (UNEF), consisting of 6,000 peacekeeping troops from 10 nations to supervise the ceasefire. This was the first ever UN peacekeeping operation. From 15 November, the UN troops marked out a zone across the Sinai to separate the Israeli and Egyptian forces. Upon receiving U.S. guarantees of Israeli access to the Suez Canal, freedom of access out of the Gulf of Aqaba and Egyptian action to stop Palestinian raids from Gaza, the Israelis withdrew to the Negev. In practice, the Suez Canal remained closed to Israeli shipping. The conflict marked the end of West-European dominance in the Middle East as the Soviets became the dominant influence in region.

Nasser emerged as the victor in the conflict, having won the political battle, however the Israeli military learnt that it did not need British or French support in order to conquer Sinai and that it could conquer the Sinai Peninsula in a few days. The Israeli political leadership learnt that Israel had a limited time frame within which to operate militarily after which international political pressure would restrict Israel's freedom of action. This information would prove essential in both Israel and Portuguese Federation military operations in the 1960s.

In 1959, there were renewed skirmishes along Israel's borders that continued throughout the early 1960s. The Arab League continued to maintain an economic boycott and there was a dispute over water rights in the River Jordan basin. With Soviet backing, the Arab states, particularly Egypt, continuing to build up their forces. At the time Israel's main military hardware supplier was France.

Israel 1950

China & USSR​

The two largest and most powerful communist countries Soviet Union and China had an uneasy relationship during the 1950s. The ascendency of the Communist party as the winner of the Chinese Civil War had left its leader Mao Zedong with a feeling of pride and he expected to be treated as an equal when he visited Moscow in 1949 to celebrate Stalin’s 70th birthday. Instead he felt humiliated and treated just like any of the other hundreds of guests. Then during the Korean War Stalin had forced the Chinese to pay full costs to all the weapons it had provided China.

Thus in 1958 when Stalin’s successor, Nakita Khrushchev visited Beijing, Mao planned his revenge. The Russian delegation was treated with disdain when they arrived at the Beijing airport and was put up at an old hotel with no air conditioning. When the Russians and Chinese met Mao refused a Soviet proposal for joint defense initiatives and treated Khrushchev with condescension. Mao then suggested they continue the meeting at a communist party private residence. Mao knew that the portly Khrushchev could not swim and planned on humiliating him and hold the meeting with Khrushchev at a pool in the residence.

Khrushchev was surprised when Mao appeared wearing a robe and bathing suit. Mao loved swimming and while doing laps in the pool began discussions with Khrushchev who being unable to swim stood in the shallow end. Mao then invited the Russian leader to join him in the deep end. Mao scornfully provided Khrushchev with water wings and Khrushchev clumsily tried to keep up with Mao who continued to do laps while talking. At the end Mao feeling very good with himself and smirking walked out of the pool while Khrushchev angry at Mao’s treatment seeded as he made his way to the shallow end. As Mao waved for Khrushchev to join him, he slipped and fell forward hitting his head on the hard ground. Khrushchev who watched Mao’s fall with both glee and worry let out a loud smirk at the scene of Mao’s misfortune. The situation grew worse when a large pool of blood appeared close to Mao’s head and the Chinese officials were angry at Khrushchev’s reaction as they responded to the unconscious Mao. Mao was taken to hospital in Beijing where he remained unconscious. Attempts by Khrushchev and Soviet delegation to visit Mao were denied by the Chinese and after three days of waiting Khrushchev and the Soviet delegation left Beijing. On 1 August 1958, the Chinese government announced the death of the Mao Zedong. The Chinese recalled their ambassador to the Soviet Union and Khrushchev ordered all Russian advisors to be pulled from China. By 1959 relationship between the two countries had sunk to new levels with each blaming the other for repeated border clashes along their shared 2,000-kilometer border. On 1 September 1958, the Chinese Communist party announced Zhou Enlai as Chairman of the Communist party and Premier of China.


[1] In 1953 the government of Ceylon was instrumental in forming the Non-aligned movement which had the aims of fostering social-economic relationships between Africa and Asia and to resist colonialism and growing ‘Cold War” alignment demanded by both USA and Soviet Union.
[2] Till 1953, the Portuguese – Israel relationship was very low key with Israel attempting to maintain good relationship with communist governments where millions of Jews still lived and trying to not be associated with neither USA or Soviet camp. Its main military supplier was France although several military cooperation and research agreements were signed between Israeli and Portuguese firms.
The situation for Israel compared to iOTL is they control all of Jerusalem and that they were able to push the Syrians further into the Goldan Heights. After the Suez Incident the Israelis turned to the Portuguese for assistance and several major joint military and scientific projects were started or expanded. Why did the Israel try to keep its distance with the Portuguese at the first part of the decade because it hoped that it could in some ways join the non aligned movement and become a neutral party. But the attacks by Soviet Union and its proxies against Jews within their borders and their support to the countries bordering it convinced the Israelis that it could not be a neutral party and needed strong allies who could help it in its defense.

The Chinese and USSR split will have great implications in the 1960s as the two will become even greater adversaries and even in some ways enemies. Questions/ Comments?

We will return in two weeks on March 1 with the next section in the world - Brazil.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

I'm glad Portugal is looking out for plucky Israel. Underdogs have to stick together! There are also pragmatic reasons for this partnership and I can see both nations benefiting richly from this relationship over the long term. Just as an example, will Portugal take advantage of Israeli agricultural innovations? I hope so.

Death is never funny, but the way Mao went out was surprisingly silly all things considering. After so many battles and near death experiences, he goes out from a pool incident haha. Poor Khrushchev could not have seen that coming.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

I love how Mao went splat.

 

[Lusitania]

Guinea Boke could allow the Portuguese to gain greater influence in West Africa if they serve as proxy to the greater Mandé people.

Guinea Boke at first was ostracized from African organizations due to its alignment with the Federation. But you are right that in time it would serve as model for other “Portuguese aligned” within Africa and eventually as model for expanded Portuguese influence in the continent.

 

[Lusitania]

I'm glad Portugal is looking out for plucky Israel. Underdogs have to stick together! There are also pragmatic reasons for this partnership and I can see both nations benefiting richly from this relationship over the long term. Just as an example, will Portugal take advantage of Israeli agricultural innovations? I hope so.

To answer your question with out going into detail yes the two countries will build ties that will bind them for generations with Israel becoming stronger and bigger than iOTL. We already have a stronger Israel by the 1950s minuscule compared to iOTL but they are there. With Portuguese help, and Portuguese trained Jewish troops Israel captured all of Jerusalem in 1948 and it became Israel capital in the 1950s. We also had Israel perform better against Syria capturing the entire river valley that fed the Sea of Galilea. Now in the 1950s new economic and military cooperation are at the fore front of that relationship to the benefit of both countries.

Death is never funny, but the way Mao went out was surprisingly silly all things considering. After so many battles and near death experiences, he goes out from a pool incident haha. Poor Khrushchev could not have seen that coming.

I love how Mao went splat.

Mao untimely death will result in more traditional communist rule of China and the Mao inspired Cultural Revolution and crazy experiments that tarnished the people's trust in communism to build China will not take place. We can expect a China that will develop its economy including agriculture and heavy industry similar to USSR.

As for Khrushchev and Mao’s meeting and relationship everything till Mao's fall was identical to iOTL. Mao did despise Khrushchev and acted solely on hatred and revenge for the perceived Mistreatment the Soviets had inflicted in him and China. That meeting started the rift between the Chinese and Soviets, except in this scenario it is more profound and deeper.

To accomplish the goal of Mao death he could of died of heart attack, Lord knows he had some very bad hygiene and lifestyle routines but the death in such a way as described in TL due to a slipper that came apart causing Mao to loose balance and fall hitting his head on the hard tile floor in front of Khrushchev, who having just endured one of the most (if not the worse) meeting in his lifetime resulted in Khrushchev involuntary laughter at Mao demise (several Soviet advisors were also observed to have smirked) was viewed as very disrespectful and rude to the Chinese.

Khrushchev and the Soviets were so angry at their treatment that it took several days before the Soviets tried to express their condolences, by then the Chinese were vivid and would not accept them. Chinese Ambassadors and the entire staff in Moscow and rest of the communist Eastern Europe were recalled and embassies closed. No Soviet or Eastern European leaders or officials were present at Mao’s funeral. Soviets and Eastern European diplomatic, economic and military advisors were pulled from China (except for those held by Chinese officials, more in that in the 1960s.)

 

[MrMayhem5595]

I just want to say that this is the best story on this site in my opinion.Between Rebirth of an Empire and this one I like this one more becouse of its faster pace. (even though Rebirth of an Empire is also a masterpiece)
Also as I was born and live in Slovakia I hope communists will not mess it up too mutch , even though they did most of the industrial development in my country.
Anyway keep up the great work and may your updates be plentiful and many.

 

[Lusitania]

I just want to say that this is the best story on this site in my opinion.Between Rebirth of an Empire and this one I like this one more becouse of its faster pace. (even though Rebirth of an Empire is also a masterpiece)
Also as I was born and live in Slovakia I hope communists will not mess it up too mutch , even though they did most of the industrial development in my country.
Anyway keep up the great work and may your updates be plentiful and many.

Thank you for the praise. We think both of these TL are great too. Slowly Lusophone world is getting more in-depth with help from several contributors. Sunday Brazil section will be a great example of that.

Slovenia which we will talk about in few months when we post the foreign affairs is at the border with the west and on its own with Czech Republic on its own. So it will witness more industrialization.

this is true of Poland too, with the loss of both East Germany and Czech eastern communist Europe is a little more compact but events sort of happen in same manner. While there won’t be a Czech revolt in the 1950s, Eastern Europe does suffer its own attempts to liberalize (to safe affect asiOTL). More on that in future.

Thank you once more for the glowing review

 

[Lusitania]

1950 – 1959 (cont)

World (cont)

South America – Brazil​

President Vargas
The Brazilian constitution prevented President Dutra from running for a 2nd consecutive term. Therefore, during the 1950 elections former President Vargas ran against Eduardo Gomes and Christiano Machado. The Communist party which had been banned by President Dutra did not participate. Riding the prosperity of the last decade Vargas won the election by a large margin.

One of President Vargas first priorities was meet with European heads of states to further Brazil’s development and trade but due to the political situation in Brazil President Vargas was not able to make the trip himself and instead Vice President Café Filho made a European official visit during the summer of 1951 visiting London, Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. The visit to both London and Paris went very well and both countries thanked Brazil for its efforts during WWII and discussed trade, and the growing communist threat. The visit to Madrid was only for one day with President Franco hosting Vice President Café Filho at official banquet. The visit to Lisbon and Portuguese Federation lasted almost a week. During the visit Vice President Café Filho met with both Portuguese government officials and hosted many Portuguese businessmen at the Portuguese-Brazilian Association banquet. Several major business agreements were signed between Portuguese-Brazilian companies during the visit exemplifying the growing Portuguese and Brazilian economies which by 1951 were equal size.

Later in 1951 Vice President Café Filho also represented Brazil in Mexico City to discuss the growing communist threat. Brazil along with all other North and South America countries met in Mexico City and formed North & South America Treaty Organization (NSATO) to combat communism in the Americas.

In the spring of 1953 textile workers in Sao Paulo angry at the low wages went on strike, within a week, tens of thousands joined the strike. The high inflation of the last decade had hurt many workers. The minimum wage set in 1946 had only once been raised once. The election of Vargas and his populism to help the people had led many to hope that this would change for the better but after two years people had lost hope. At same time the communist party still banned began inciting people to strike and to demand a better life. “The goal is to make Brazilian people realize that President Vargas does not give a dam about the people. The only party that cares about the Brazilian people is the Communist party” Luís Carlos Prestes president of the Brazilian Party was quoted saying at start of the 1953 strike. With the communist and other labor parties’ support the strike soon spread and within a month had grown to over 300,000.

President Vargas government grappled with how to deal with the massive civil strike that was paralyzing large parts of the city, the industrial heartland of Brazil. Fear that it would grow, and that violence would follow gripped the country as several incidents had already occurred with clashes between the strikers and police in Sao Paulo making the national news. Fears that transport workers would join the strike which would lead to food shortages worried many and that the strike would spread to other cities increased pressure on the government do something. Rightwing political leaders and business demands for action grew louder including military intervention, meanwhile left-wing politicians spoke of the workers’ rights and their plight. After one month the Minister of Labor, Goulart, met with the Sao Paulo Business Association and discussed ways to end the strike and the workers’ demands. At the heated meetings the business leaders agreed to provide the workers 37% raise which in their eyes was a huge concession. In a series of meetings between Sao Paulo Business Association and various unions brokered by Goulart the proposed wage increase was accepted and the strike in Sao Paulo ended.

Unfortunately, labor peace was short lived, as several more militant unions spearheaded by the communists once again began demanding additional wage demands for not only Sao Paulo but all of Brazil. During the Autumn of 1953 demonstrations throughout Brazil grew louder and larger. Calls for General Strike to force both the government and Business leaders to address the workers’ demands gained popularity amongst the workers. Labor Minister Goulart grappled with trying to reconcile both sides, the workers and unions demanded a 100% increase in minimum wage while the business community stated they could only afford to provide a 42% rise in wages which according to their calculations would match the cost of living to 1951. Minister Goulart met with the union leaders and listened to their demands then met with the various Business leaders.

At same time the voice for intervention from the conservatives (UDN) was plastered on majority of newspapers which were owned by UDN supporters.[1] Rumors of military opposition and military leaders voicing support for the need to establish order all added to the pressures on the government. In January 1954 Vargas and his cabinet met and on 15th of January Vargas went on Brazil national radio and announced that the people of Brazil deserved to be properly compensated for their labor and announced a 100% raise in the minimum wage. He also announced the acceptance of many of the labor demands and pledged to introduce and campaign for legislation in the Brazilian senate.

The country was in shock, not only the workers who many could not believe what they were hearing but also the businessmen who were angry at the imposition of the new wage. Most shocked was the communist party who felt they had their feet cut from under them and lost prestige and support from many sympathizers. Newspapers ran headlines that the government was going to bankrupt the nation and that most companies would be forced to close their doors. In the Brazilian senate the UDN condemned the government decision. Facing multiple attacks from several fronts the Vargas government struggled to react, but Vargas was adamant about his decision. Labor Minister Goulart hoping to deflect some of the anger from Vargas resigned on 1 February 1954. On 1 May 1954 Vargas at a grand ceremony signed into law the new minimum wage increase.

The wage increase did not result in bankruptcy of the country and the vast majority of business were able to adjust to the new wages. Prices increased but the mood of the people was one of happiness as Brazilians for first time in several years felt optimistic about their future. The higher wages led to increase demand for consumer goods which in turn resulted in increased sales and economic growth for many companies in Brazil. The increase in demand for goods also led to an increase in imports but Vargas government restrictions on foreign currency transactions meant that foreign goods were hard to come by and very expensive. Filling in were domestic goods, including cars manufactured by plants in Brazil and Portuguese goods.[2] [3]

In 1954 Brazil purchased the British WWII aircraft carrier HMS Vengeance which at time was still on loan to Australia. In 1955 Australia returned the aircraft carrier to Britain and it was transferred to Brazil which re-christened it Minas Gerais. At same time Brazil continued its Navy upgrade program purchasing several navy ships from both France and Britain. The one exception was the purchase of four Orca III diesel electric submarines from Portuguese marking the first major sale of the submarines outside the Federation.

Brazil under Vargas continued its investment in infrastructure with the construction of 10 hydroelectric dams as well as the approval of an additional 20 hydroelectric dams. To facilitate distribution and transmission of electricity Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. corporation or as most commonly known EletroBras was created. Brazil faced major problems in distributing electricity with separate systems and lack of electricity in many parts of the country. Like in the Federation hydro and thermal electric generation remained under private enterprise control. In 1954 Vargas laid out an ambitious a plan to provide electricity to all major towns and 80% of rural areas by 1970.

Vargas government approved a very ambitious transportation plan in 1954 which was approved by the Brazilian Congress after much lobbying in Vargas last year as President. During Vargas term Brazilian rail traffic increased by 60% while the size of rail network increased by 20% but the government plan was to double the size of Brazil rail network and establish a passenger and freight fast railway along the coast connecting all major cities by 1970. In addition to rail several major roadways were also build or construction was underway.

In terms of industrial development, the Brazilian government was instrumental in negotiating with Volkswagen and French auto manufacturers Peugeot and Renault to build manufacturing plants in Brazil. In 1950 Brazilian Volkswagen introduced the first car built in Brazil called the Kombi. In 1956 it brought to the Brazilian market the “Fusca” or better known as the Beetle. Steel output continued to grow but limiting Brazilian steel industry was lack of high-quality coal in Brazil. While the Brazilian coal deposit were suitable to produce electricity, they were not good enough for steel production. This was remedied by importing Portuguese coals from Tete province. Portuguese companies became primary suppliers and investors to Brazilian development and industrialization. Portuguese locomotive manufacturers viewing Brazil as a huge market and began construction of satellite manufacturing plants to complete the assembly of locomotives built in Federation.

Resource development continued to grow and one area that Brazil continued to lag was in oil production. In 1952 Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. corporation or as most commonly known Petrobras was founded to develop and distribute Brazil oil resources. Included in the legislation was the takeover of the three Oil refineries built and owned by the Portuguese SONAP corporation. In return SONAP became 1/3 owner of Petrobras. Petrobras goal was to expand both the distribution and to discover and develop oil resources in Brazil.

For all of the economic success that Vargas and his government were credited during his term (economy grew over 8% a year) Vargas government were dogged by claims of corruption and as his term ended congress became more hostile to his initiatives.[4] Also lacking and limiting Brazil’s economic growth from being shared by many of the people in Brazil was lax or lack of government oversight in many projects and laws. In 1954 a Brazilian Congress report outlined that less than 50% of Brazilian workers were receiving minimum wage and that many health and worker initiatives were being stiffened by local and provincial officials in return for “favors”. Inflation continued to be another major factor with inflation slowly eating up the workers recent wage gains.

On a celebratory note Brazil won its first World Cup in 1954, and the country celebrated the victory for days. On July 8 the Brazilian team arrived in Brazil and Vargas hosted the team at the presidential palace. Several parades throughout major Brazilian cities occurred during the next two weeks. The country was in celebratory mood and with the economy growing things could not be going better for Vargas, but dark clouds were on the horizon though.

For all of Vargas great work were soon shadowed by what became known as the “Rua Tonelero” crises which would forever hurt Vargas legacy. On 5 August 1954 major Rubens Vaz was killed along with one of Vargas political opponents Carlos Lacerda. Suspicion immediately fell on Vargas and more specifically Vargas personal guard. Military and political foes turned on Vargas and situation quickly turned against Vargas and his government. A huge man hunt was launched trying to capture the perpetrators and by 15th of August two of the three assassins had been captured. Under interrogation they implicated Vargas personal guard chief Lieutenant Gregório Fortunato. When police arrived at Fortunato residence, they found him dead of apparent suicide and a suicide note. In the letter he absolved Vargas of any knowledge or responsibility and stated he had acted alone. The Vargas personal guard were disbanded, and the two assassins were sentenced to 25 years in prison. The third assassin was never found though.

While President Vargas presidency was able to survive the incident it severely weakened him politically and he was rarely seen in public during his last year of his term. In the last year of his presidency Vice President João Goulart took the initiative from Vargas absence and was able to push for additional worker rights and in enforcing of government legislation protecting works and combating corruption. Accompanying the government legislation was mandate and legislation to enforce the new minimum wage and other populist initiatives. While enforcement was not universal the growing economy meant that many workers not receiving the new minimum wages were able to find other employers who were offering it.

President Kubitschek
The 1955 the Brazilian election pitted the Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira against Juarez Távora and Adhemar de Barros. Juscelino Kubitschek, then Governor of Minas Gerais and a member of the pro-Vargas Social Democratic Party (PSD) announced his candidacy and built an alliance with the popular left-wing populist of Vargas' Brazilian Labor Party (PTB). A PSD-PTB coalition was then formed, with Kubitscheck as the presidential candidate and Goulart as his running mate.

The UDN, which wanted to do a more moderate and centrist image launched the candidacy of Juarez Távora, an old military officer. The UND formed a multi-party coalition in order to defeat the PSD-PTB coalition, a coalition which included the Republican Party and the Christian Democratic Party. The Social Progressive Party (PSP) candidate was its leader, the populist former São Paulo Governor Adhemar de Barros. The PSP had supported Vargas in 1950, helping him win, but Adhemar was known to have presidential ambitions of his own. Kubitscheck who campaigned on an ambitious plan of 50 years of development in 5 years slogan won the election and Goulart was elected Vice President.

After the Election Kubitscheck or JK as he was known decided to visit several countries both to showcase his development plan for Brazil and to give the country time to calm down after the heated election. First on his tour was the US which was concerned regarding Brazil’s development plan and JK perceive left wing support, but unfortunately, he received little press during his visit and business leaders were cool to his plans for Brazil and investing in Brazil. Undeterred he travelled to Europe where he visited Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy and Vatican before stopping in the Federation. JK’s Brazil open for business message was warmly received in European countries and its business leaders. When he got to Portuguese Federation, he received a very enthusiastic welcome from both its people and the government. That enthusiastic support carried over in the business community who gave him a standing ovation after delivering his message at the Brazil – Federation Association diner. While in Lisbon he signed a new Portuguese Federation-Brazil trade agreement, the agreement lowered tariffs between the two countries and renewed Portuguese Federation - Brazil defense and anti-communist pact.[5]

On 31 of January 1956 Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira was inaugurated as President of Brazil.

Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira
President of Brazil 1956 - 1960​

During JK presidency the Brazilian economy witnessed a rapid industrialization. Brazil auto industry ramped up under his administration. He moved the Brazilian capital from Rio de Janeiro to new city built inland called Brasilia. He promoted health initiatives to combat diseases and reformed the health sector. During his presidency the education sector and ministry were overhauled. The Brazilian military industry were revamped and expanded alongside the industrial expansion witnessed in the country.

He opened up Brazil to foreign investment with Portuguese and Europeans being the firsts to enter the Brazilian market investing directly in automotive industry, naval industry, heavy industry and construction. The Americans at the time concentrated on Europe were latecomers in the development of the country with American car manufacturers such as General Motors only deciding to build a car plant in the country in 1960. The rapid industrialization was financed entirely by private industry both domestic and foreign. Economic growth surpassed 10% by 1958 and the economy created thousands of jobs resulted in a massive migration of people from rural areas to the new industrial cities.

Fabrica Nacianal de Motores in City Duque de Caixas began assembling cars, tractors and trucks for the Brazilian market. Mostly manufacturing Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles under license. While Mercedes-Benz plant in Sao Paulo region benefited greatly from the increased infrastructure manufacturing industrial trucks and vehicles for the Brazilian market. An American motor company Willys Overland Motors of Ohio expanded the production of its “jeep” for the Brazilian market, competing directly with Portuguese UMM in the all-terrain vehicle market. French car companies also built their own plants in the country. In 1958 the Japanese arrived in Brazil with the opening of Toyota first assembly plant in Brazil.

During his presidency the construction of hydro-electric power stations, electrification of the country, transregional roads and expanded rail service started under President Vargas were greatly expanded. Steel production increased by 300% while cement production increased 10-fold. The road and rail projects helped integrate not only the various coastal regions but also the Amazonic region, which together with the construction of Brasilia opened up the interior of the country. Center piece to JK presidency was the construction of the new capital Brasilia in 1960, which was built from scratch with construction in the short period of time was made possible by working 24/7. While the construction of the city was a major accomplishment an equally major accomplishment and one inaugurated with as much fanfare at the time of the capital from Rio to Brasilia was the high-speed train connecting Rio and Sao Paulo to Brasilia. The Brasilia-Rio-Sao Paulo high-speed railway not only connected Brasilia to the two cities but also connect Rio to Sao Paulo.[6]

As part of JK’s economic plan was the opening of the Brazilian economy to foreign investors as well as the approval of foreign companies buying many Brazilian companies. Forefront of that was the Portuguese firms who became major investors in construction and infrastructure industries. Many of the countries major players came under the foreign ownership. This was especially true with the cement and steel industry as foreign companies accounted for half of the production. While this was opposed by several nationalistic individuals it allowed for increased output and reduced overall wholesale price increase. By 1959 the wholesale inflation had been reduced by 50% from the 1956 high of 49%.

JK being a doctor, was passionate about reforming the health care especially in rural areas where tropical diseases continued to exist and afflict thousands of people. The DNERU agency was created to address tuberculosis, malaria and issue vaccines in areas of the Brazilian backcountry where access to healthcare was scarce. He also oversaw the reorganization of Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) the publicly funding health care provided doubling the number of Brazilian covered under its care. The Brazilian plan to combat tropical disease was one of the first to be designated a Lusophone initiative. With both Portuguese and Brazilian doctors and health professionals working side by side. In 1952 when the Portuguese launched their own program hundreds of Brazilian’s had been recruited to work in the Federation, as the Portuguese program continued full force in the mid to late 1950s many Portuguese and Brazilians moved from the Federation to Brazil to both run and lead the Brazilian program. By 1959 new recruits in both countries spent time working in both programs providing both the Federation and Brazil with comprehensive programs.[7]

On the education plan was one area that Kubitschek presidency was the weakest and might have missed the president’s ambitions were not for Pedro Calmon Moniz de Bittencourt a Brazilian politician who became Minister of Education in 1956. He had visited the Federation between 1952-1954 as part of a Brazilian delegation studying the Federation massive adult education initiative teaching Portuguese to millions of Portuguese along with the primary education program that covered every child. In 1956 Pedro Calmon Moniz was appointed as Education Minister and under his direction Brazil began modernizing and expanding its education system. The government initiated a massive compulsory free primary education for all children to the age of 14. That included free uniforms and school supplies like in the Federation so that cost did not become a factor in the ability to attend school. Thousands of new schools were built or expanded, many rural areas received their first schools. An adult literacy program was also started targeting many workers who were illiterate. The technical colleges know as Vargas Colleges were expanded both in terms of numbers and size. While Brazilians Universities also received a huge boost as the government laid out its plan to double the number of universities in Brazil by 1970.

Another major concern for JK administration was the growing inequality between the Brazilian North East and Southern provinces which were receiving most of the industrialization benefits. Millions of Brazilians from the northeast provinces had migrated south during his term constituting the largest internal migration in Brazil’s history. In 1958 the Superintendency for the Development of the Northeast (Sudene) was created to simulate and help develop Brazil Northeast. Several hydroelectric and irrigation dams were initiated, and several fertilizer and petro-chemical plants started.

During his term in office JK set about to strengthen Brazil military and while Brazil partnered with several other countries such as the Federation, France, Britain and USA it also attempted to develop Brazil’s own military industry. Brazil looked upon the Federation as examples of what a country could achieve, they had already purchased planes, tanks and other military vehicles from the Portuguese and Portuguese were partners in the development of helicopter and plane manufacturer Helibras located in Brazil.

In addition, two major Brazilian corporations received both government support but also partnered with Portuguese FMBP and FBP artillery, guns and ammunition manufacturers. In 1956 IMBEL was created as government owned company taking over the Fabrica de Itajuba (FI) plant in Minas Gerais to produce military material including artillery and munitions. While Industria Nacional de Armas (INA) situated in Sao Paulo expanded its military firearms manufacturing capabilities. Both companies underwent modernization plans expanding their existing plants and building new plants. In the 1950s the two companies received license from the Portuguese companies to manufacture their guns, artillery and other weapons.

In 1957 Brazil government nationalized the largest munitions company in the country “Companhia Brazileira de Cartuchos (CBC Group). It received license from the Portuguese companies to manufacture the munitions for the guns being manufactured by IMBEL and INA. Meanwhile Brazil two largest private gun manufacturers Forjas Taurus and Amadeus Rossi continued to manufacture guns and rifles for both domestic and export with plants in both Brazil and the Federation.

In terms of naval ship building capabilities Brazil main naval shipyard in Rio de Janeiro Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro (AMRJ) was expanded in the late 1950s and was not only involved in maintaining several Brazilian naval ships but was also a partner in the Brazilian - French Naval agreement of 1956. The Brazilian Navy primary supplier of naval ships since WWII had been the US but in the mid-1950s the Brazilians were also interested in developing their naval shipbuilding industry and turned to the French instead. The Brazilians ordered 20 French Le Normand Class “Pará class” and 12 Light Cruisers “Recife class” based on the French De Grass Class. The huge order from the French included technology transfer with AMRJ performing greater percentage of the work as the contract progressed with the last two being built almost completely in Rio. To the shock of many the Brazilians turned to the Portuguese to upgrade their WWII era submarines with the purchase of 4 “Balao Class” submarines based on the Portuguese Orca III class.

The purchase of French warships and Portuguese fighters, military vehicles, tanks and submarines greatly upset the Americans who let their displeasure be known. In a gesture of appeasement Brazil agreed to purchase eleven Fletcher WWII destroyers and six minesweepers. The Brazilian “abandonment” of its partnership with American military became another irritant in the growing Brazilian – American discord at the end of President Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira term.

While the country celebrated its great economic accomplishment, the country lost one of its greatest leaders in 1957 when former President Vargas age 75 died in his sleep. Since his retirement from public life he had maintained a secluded life with only family and close friends visiting him. News of his death hit the country hard and there was a huge outpouring of grief and sadness throughout the country. He was given a state funeral and the country observed one week of mourning with many supporters of Vargas continuing to show their sorrow by wearing a black armband for over 1 year after his death.

Transfer of Vargas body from public viewing to the Rio Cathedral in 1957​

Another sad note was the Brazilian soccer team not being able to build on their 1954 world cup win. The Portuguese with their young superstar Eusebio and a strong team defeated the Brazilian team to win their 1st World Cup.

While Kubitschek and his administration were occupied modernizing the country it also suffered from allegations of corruption. The biggest source of contention was the construction of the new capital city Brasilia. The construction of the city seemed to have been granted to Juscelino's political group who received 2/3 of all contracts. In addition, there were other problems and criticism especially against companies and individuals who were close to the president’s political group and had unfair monopolies or perceived advantages. One such group was Pan-Air held a monopoly on people and goods transportation during the construction,

One of the biggest concerns by several people in government and economists was the high inflation being suffered by Brazil during JK term. During Vargas term inflation had run over 10% a year, but during JK term inflation jumped to over 20% and reached as high as 43% by 1959. This was due to the accelerated economic activity that resulted in higher demand for items such as steel, cement and other construction items. In 1957 a program was instituted by JK to combat the availability of many of these items. Foreign investment was encouraged to invest in the production of the items in short supply. This upset some Brazilian nationalists, but it allowed for inflation in several sectors such as wholesale to gradually decrease by the 1959 with projections that inflation would be able to be reduced to under 10% by 1962.

Another negative factor was the growth in government and business debt, by 1959 Brazilian external debt had increased from 250 million at start of JK term to over 810 million. JK and his administration were not worried with higher external debt though as government revenue was increasing higher than expenditures and government plan was with an expanding economy the government was certain it would be able to maintain the expenditures at current level and by middle of the 1960s be able to reduce its foreign debt.

Another major opponent of JK was the Americans who as his term progressed its ambassador to Brazil John Moors Cabot (1957 - 1960) became JK biggest critic. He questioned JK ties to both the left in Brazil including communist but also the growing Brazil-Federation political, economic and more troubling military partnership. He was accused of being the source of several false stories of JK including false accusations of infidelity, being gay and in league with the communists. In 1960 he was declared persona non-grata and asked to leave Brazil. Subsequently though after the diplomatic incident revelations came to light that two Russian spies had been discovered in Brazil and imprisoned. The accusations that they had access to JK and his government was damaging to his credibility of having no dealing with communist.[8]
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] This was not due to ideological affinity but because the media was bitter since Vargas censored it during the new state.

[2] In 1951 President Vargas government grappled with an artificially high exchange rate set in 1945 which made imports cheap and exports expensive but consequently increase inflation. Vargas a proud individual refused demands to depreciate the Brazilian currency and instead opted for exchange controls and import licensing. Giving priority to imports of essential goods and inputs (fuels and machinery) and discouraging imports of consumer goods. These policies had the unanticipated effect of providing protection to the consumer goods industry. Early in the 1950s, however, convinced that the only hope for rapid growth was to change the structure of the Brazilian economy, the government adopted an explicit policy of import substitution industrialization. An important instrument of this policy was the use of foreign exchange controls to protect selected segments of domestic industry and to facilitate the importation of equipment and inputs for them. This had the effect of complicating Brazilian trade and system was reformed in 1953 to allow for multiple-exchange-rate system was introduced. Under the latter, imports considered essential were brought in at a favored rate; imports of goods that could be supplied domestically faced high rates and were allotted small portions of the available foreign exchange.

[3] In the 1950s Portuguese – Brazil trade became centered on Barter Trade between the two countries. The Barter Trade Accord established in 1951 setout credits and debits that the two countries could use to buy and sell goods between the two countries. Brazilian goods, iron ore and other minerals were increasingly sold to Portuguese Federation earning Brazil credits it could use to buy Portuguese oil, coal and industrial machinery such as industrial machines, components for Brazilian hydro-electric dams and other machinery and equipment for industrial growth and infrastructure. As trade grew between the two countries so too did the credits earned by Brazil and in 1954 Portuguese consumer goods started entering the Brazilian market at substantial lower prices than equivalent America and European goods through the barter trade mechanism.
[4] While corruption charges were leveled against Vargas he was later exonerated and, in his biography, published in 1958 following his death it was revealed that he had finished his term poorer than he started. He had supplemented the salary he received with his own money. A congressional investigation from 1957 – 1959 never found any evidence of corruption but several of Vargas officials and associates were implicated in the investigation.

[5] The trade and investment Agreement and defense & anti-communist pacts had actually been negotiated under President Vargas term, but it was JK who received the publicity.
[6] The High-speed railway reaching speed of 140 kilometers an hour was built by a consortium of Brazilian and Portuguese companies using Portuguese high-speed train technology that was being used in the Federation.
[7] During the 1960s the Lusophone tropical disease program operating in both the Federation and Brazil had become synchronized and was the same in both countries. Under the joint management of the Brazilian-Portuguese Infectious and Tropic Disease Program. It would serve as the basis for the Commonwealth own Infectious and Tropical Disease program initiated after the during the 1960s as new tropical countries joined the Commonwealth.
[8] Mikhail e Anna Filonenko were Russian spies who in the 1940s and 1950s had worked in Latin America on behalf of Soviets. In 1954 they immigrated to Brazil under false names "Joseph Ivanovich Kulda" e "Mariya Navotnaya. In Brazil they ran an extensive spying operation and had contacts with several of JK government officials. In 1960 they were caught by a joint operation between DGS and its Brazilian counterpart SFICI as the agents attempted to obtain plans of the Portuguese planes brazil recently acquired. Mikhail died in jail 6 months later while Anna served 20 years in jail until her release in 1980 followed by her immediate deportation to the Soviet Union.
The situation for Brazil was that it for the first time had a partner who wanted Brazil to succeed and together the two countries (along with the 3rd partner of what the American press would call the 3 Amigos) would come to represent a new major alternative to the USA. One that was willing to work with the USA but one which refused to dance to the American tune. While the 1950s were building years and neither Brazil nor the Federation viewed as threat by the 1960s they would become a new major power. Not super power but one that as a group could stand up and demand t be heard. In Brazil we have used the same people and the development was similar to what was accomplished during both Vargas and JK term, with some additional accomplishments due to additional support. It was estimated that Brazil added between 10-20% boost to the Portuguese economy during the 1950s. While Brazil GDP was also greater. The actual number will be discussed in the Federation - Economy section

The Brazil section would not of been possible without the assistance of @Gukpard, Thanks. Questions/ Comments?

We will return in two weeks on March 15 with the next section in the world - Argentina.

 

[MrMayhem5595]

It would serve as the basis for the Commonwealth own Infectious and Tropical Disease program initiated after the during the 1960s as new tropical countries joined the Commonwealth.

Are we talking about British Commonwealth, or is this a mojor hint to the future?

 

[Sceonn]

Probably Argentina or Chile.

I'm guessing the Japanese Auto industry won't be getting that giant leap they got OTL. Is Portugal investing in the Philippines? Would give them greater weight in the area as well as stave off that Nation's fall from grace of the 70s.

 

[Lusitania]

Are we talking about British Commonwealth, or is this a mojor hint to the future?

Probably Argentina or Chile.

So first it is not the British commonwealth, but a new organization that would encompass both large and small nations. Just to be fair it is centered at the beginning around the Federation It has both full and associate members. The lusitania federation is a combination NATO and European Union for full members and EEC for associate members.

I'm guessing the Japanese Auto industry won't be getting that giant leap they got OTL. Is Portugal investing in the Philippines? Would give them greater weight in the area as well as stave off that Nation's fall from grace of the 70s.

The Japanese auto companies do expand world wide but they will not be as large and dominant as iotl. We will discuss that in the economic section of each decade.
As for Philippines its leader President Marcos regards the existence of the federation as an important strategic, diplomatic and economic objective. His visit to the federation is one of the first by an Asian leader. He advocates snd pushes for both economic and military agreements between the Philippines and the Federation and his enthusiasm was viewed both positively at first in the Federation but when pressed by USA he used the potential of Portuguese agreements to gain additional concessions from the US made the Portuguese cautious.

PS please share your love of all things lusophone and nominate or second both the Rebirth of Empire in colonial pre-1900 and Lusophone in early 20th century post-1900 turtledove nominations.

 

[Lusitania]

Portuguese Federation & Lusitania Commonwealth

Happy International Women’s Day
​

Today when the world discusses and congratulates the many great achievements of women over the last 50 years we would like to express both our great pride in the leadership role women have played in the advancement of both gender and racial advancements in our great country.

Portuguese Federation Prime minister Arminda Cordeiro greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Reuven Rivlin 2015 in Jerusalem

Dr Laura Carreiro recipient of 2015 Noble prize for Medicine & lusitania Commonwealth Minister of Health since 2017.​

 

[Rui]

I am pretty sure that picture has the People’s Republic of China’s flag... if you somehow could maybe crop the picture a little so we can’t see the flag, it would be better.

 

[Lusitania]

I am pretty sure that picture has the People’s Republic of China’s flag... if you somehow could maybe crop the picture a little so we can’t see the flag, it would be better.

????
Obrigado