| Nuclear programs in Argentina and Brazil can be traced to August 1945 when their scientific communities articulated responses to the atomic bombings of Japan. They culminated in attempts to develop independent nuclear programs, sharply opposed by the United States, during the nationalist governments of Juan Peron and Getulio Vargas. This dissertation, based on primary sources from the three nations, analyzes these programs and the American responses.;Latin America entered the nuclear age attempting to control natural resources, to improve scientific establishments, and to appraise Latin American-United States relations. Despite some clear warnings about nuclear dangers, the new form of energy was seen as the solution to industrial problems, poverty, and outside political interference.;International opposition, which may have included nuclear threats from the United States, blocked Argentina's first attempt in 1947. After 1948, Peron wanted a nuclear program for cheap energy and prestige. The lack of advice, a result of the conflict between Peron and the Universities, made him prey to Nazi emigres--which England and the United States transported in numbers--in particular Ronald Richter. Richter's lack of qualifications finally resulted in the dismissal of his fusion program in 1952. He left behind a wealth of equipment, purchased in the Netherlands, France and England.;The qualifications of the Brazilian scientists gave more substance to their program. The program originated in August, 1945, but assumed national proportion with the government of Vargas in 1951. Coordinated by Alvaro Alberto da Mota e Silva, former United Nations Atomic Energy Commission representative, this program established science and technology links with occupied Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Canada, United States and other nations. While American scientists--such as J. R. Oppenheimer--supported the program, the American government, zealous of its technology and attempting to achieve a monopoly over strategic minerals, opposed it. Lack of American cooperation forced Vargas to establish a secret program with Germany. American troops intervened taking over the German equipment already completed. The final collapse came about with Vargas' suicide in August, 1954. Then, under pressure of the American Embassy, General Juarez Tavora, an influential figure in the new government, contained the nuclear program. |
