Challenge: An Axis Brazil overruns massive parts of Latin America

What didn't the US understand?

After Pearl Harbor the US wanted the entirety of Latin America to move in lockstep with it (at a time when most were still under British economic control). In some countries, like Argentina, this placed them in a difficult position. If Argentina went pro-Allies, then the Nazis would wreck havoc in the country. If Argentina went pro-Axis, then internal political factors would drive out the pro-Axis elements - not to mention British disapproval. Neutrality ensured that Argentina would maintain access to its traditional export markets without favoring one side or another without plunging the country into chaos. Unfortunately in the eyes of Washington, Argentine neutrality was interpreted as being pro-Nazi (which it was not, as even Churchill tried to explain).
 
After Pearl Harbor the US wanted the entirety of Latin America to move in lockstep with it (at a time when most were still under British economic control). In some countries, like Argentina, this placed them in a difficult position. If Argentina went pro-Allies, then the Nazis would wreck havoc in the country. If Argentina went pro-Axis, then internal political factors would drive out the pro-Axis elements - not to mention British disapproval. Neutrality ensured that Argentina would maintain access to its traditional export markets without favoring one side or another without plunging the country into chaos. Unfortunately in the eyes of Washington, Argentine neutrality was interpreted as being pro-Nazi (which it was not, as even Churchill tried to explain).

How would the Nazi's have caused havoc in Argentina?
 
Wasn’t Juan Peron something of a fan?

Overused cold war meme.

Peron had some very strange interpretation of fascism as when he was on Italy he got exposed to the propaganda, there is a quote of him describing fascism as progressivism and social justice.

The "fascist Peron" meme became with a US propaganda leaflet known as the blue book published in 1945 as a last ditch attempt to prevent his election, it had no effect on Argentina but the USA keep the meme alive.
 
After Pearl Harbor the US wanted the entirety of Latin America to move in lockstep with it (at a time when most were still under British economic control). In some countries, like Argentina, this placed them in a difficult position. If Argentina went pro-Allies, then the Nazis would wreck havoc in the country. If Argentina went pro-Axis, then internal political factors would drive out the pro-Axis elements - not to mention British disapproval. Neutrality ensured that Argentina would maintain access to its traditional export markets without favoring one side or another without plunging the country into chaos. Unfortunately in the eyes of Washington, Argentine neutrality was interpreted as being pro-Nazi (which it was not, as even Churchill tried to explain).

I mean from the Argentine perspective neutrality makes obvious sense. Namely don't get involved in the fighting, sell your products to whoever is willing to pay the highest price, and then when the results of the struggle are obvious to everyone jump in nominally and suck up to the winner. For the US however Argentina at least nominally declaring war is obviously also in it's interest. It allows German assets to be seized, German intelligence networks to be disrupted, allows Argentine bases to be used against U boats, and helps with the PR front.

I don't think the US didn't understand that Argentina saw neutrality as in it's best interest. It's just that it was in the US's' best interest for Argentina to at least nominally join the allies.
 
Brazil had a large Japanese population at the start of hostilities that came into play.

https://www.ibtimes.com/sins-father...apanese-community-world-war-ii-abuses-1423800

Argentina has a potential PoD in the 1932 Ottawa accords that basically reduced her to a British economic fief. She was permitted to sell beef to the UK but only in exchange for extraordinary concessions. A stronger public reaction, especially if markets elsewhere in Europe can be found, might promote neutrality or more under the wrong conditions.
 
WI Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Argentina all join the war on the Axis side when Italy joins in June 1940? (or alternatively timed with Japan's attack in December 1941)

Their ability to seize European territories in the South American periphery would still be limited, but the shock value could be significant; especially if combined with early coordinated Axis attacks on Gibraltar and Malta. All of these countries will still ultimately be devastated by the economic might of the Allied war machines, but a massive third front in South America could extend the war a year or two.

Engineering truly strong fascist governments in all of these countries at precisely the right time tables to get them to join the Axis at just the right moment would be tough. It would be even harder convincing them to commit their weak economies and military forces to an essentially suicidal set of strategic objectives for the benefit of Germany with only a slim hope of actually reaping rewards from a global Axis victory. But if you could manage to get all of them to somehow join early in the war in at least a semi-coordinated manner, it would certainly give the Allies some more headaches (not to mention make for a pretty interesting TL, especially considering the aftermath and implications on an ATL cold war).

The Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe would have significantly more bases to operate from, at least initially: Iberia, Macaronesia, and the eastern half of South America. What would be the goals of these Axis partners? Uruguay seems achievable, as would Paraguay. The Guyanas probably would not be that easy but still doable, and would almost certainly be the first targets of the US which might join the war way early once it realizes the Axis has spread to the Western Hemisphere. Argentina taking the Falklands would probably require some of that insane early war Axis luck. Maybe Argentina tries to take over parts or all of Chile to establish the very beginnings of a hypothetical connection between the Japanese Empire in the Pacific and the U-Boat infested waters of the Atlantic? A quixotic Axis drive towards the Panama Canal would be possible only with some kind of coup in Colombia. Or perhaps a suicidal Fallschirmjager commando assault could be launched to temporarily sabotage it. The Nazis would have to do their damnedest to push anti-imperialist propaganda throughout Latin America. This would probably work best before invading the USSR to help cultivate the anti-capitalist narrative. The conflict between Peru and Ecuador might provide additional exploitable chaos to the region and could possibly be integrated into the global war as well one way or another.

Ultimately though, giving the fascist elements in these four countries enough power, then giving them enough economic strength to quickly develop even remotely potent military forces and logistics, and then somehow giving them enough motivation to sacrifice the benefits of neutrality (and forfeiting distant colonies in the case of Spain and Portugal), and managing to get them to coordinate their actions in an effective way is pretty tough to put it mildly. It would certainly make for a great ATL to have a major Latin theater for the Axis to wreak havoc in at least for a while.
 
Spain is still recovering from its Civil War and Portugal stands to lose her entire set of overseas possessions in the process. Brazil and Argentina would be more viable but likely on opposing sides. Seeing them have to work together, much less coordinate, would be interesting to say the least. I pity Uruguay and Paraguay in that case.
 
WI Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Argentina all join the war on the Axis side when Italy joins in June 1940? (or alternatively timed with Japan's attack in December 1941)

From my reading of Argentine history, if the government declared itself as joining the Axis then it would be immediately subject to a military coup - this time with British, not (pre-Pearl Harbor, pro-isolationist) US, backing. The beef must flow. As for Portugal - Salazar's regime didn't want to risk good relations with Britain over that, and Spain was too poor to engage itself in another war when the vast majority of the country had been ruined by the recent civil war. Which leads us back to the OP.
 
Overused cold war meme.

Peron had some very strange interpretation of fascism as when he was on Italy he got exposed to the propaganda, there is a quote of him describing fascism as progressivism and social justice.

The "fascist Peron" meme became with a US propaganda leaflet known as the blue book published in 1945 as a last ditch attempt to prevent his election, it had no effect on Argentina but the USA keep the meme alive.

Fair enough, I didn't know, I had just heard the rumors and given the stories about ex-Nazis fleeing to South America I figured there was probably something to it.
 
Fair enough, I didn't know, I had just heard the rumors and given the stories about ex-Nazis fleeing to South America I figured there was probably something to it.

Peron welcoming ex Nazi's with valuable skills or money was more a practical measure then a ideological one. Peron was smart enough to realize at least in this regard that Argentina was a weak and poor nation that needed every extra advantage it could get. So Peron welcomed Nazis with money or valuable skills (like engineers like Kurt Tank) while also welcoming wealthy or skilled Jewish refugees at the same time.
 
From my reading of Argentine history, if the government declared itself as joining the Axis then it would be immediately subject to a military coup - this time with British, not (pre-Pearl Harbor, pro-isolationist) US, backing. The beef must flow. As for Portugal - Salazar's regime didn't want to risk good relations with Britain over that, and Spain was too poor to engage itself in another war when the vast majority of the country had been ruined by the recent civil war. Which leads us back to the OP.

"Isolationism" is kind of a misnomer. By and large "isolationists" were opposed to getting involved in European (and to a lesser extent Asian) wars but were generally fully in favor of policing our neighborhood. A Latin American gov explicitly and openly joining the Axis would set off all but the most fanatical pacifists.
 
Fair enough, I didn't know, I had just heard the rumors and given the stories about ex-Nazis fleeing to South America I figured there was probably something to it.

Peron welcoming ex Nazi's with valuable skills or money was more a practical measure then a ideological one. Peron was smart enough to realize at least in this regard that Argentina was a weak and poor nation that needed every extra advantage it could get. So Peron welcomed Nazis with money or valuable skills (like engineers like Kurt Tank) while also welcoming wealthy or skilled Jewish refugees at the same time.

Apart from what @Father Maryland said, it was not exactly Perón but the argentinian society who received them. Further more he also received 45 thousand jews in Argentina.

This is a good video to understand what is Peronism and how it was built:

To have a idea argentina had a right wing neoliberal president who was a peronist.
 
"Isolationism" is kind of a misnomer. By and large "isolationists" were opposed to getting involved in European (and to a lesser extent Asian) wars but were generally fully in favor of policing our neighborhood. A Latin American gov explicitly and openly joining the Axis would set off all but the most fanatical pacifists.

Bingo, outside of a few extreme isolationists or pacifists, your garden variety "isolationists" like Senator Robert Taft of Ohio were big into hemispheric defense and because of an active member of the Axis alliance in the western hemisphere woDuld probably be the best early Christmas present FDR could wish for.
 
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