Congressman Mangabeira kneels and kisses the hand of general Eisenhower

For decades, the United States undeniably fascinated Brazilians. Some facts:

• No other country received more brazuca immigrants (1.2 million).
• American culture is very present in Brazilian radios, small and big screens.
• The US is also the country’s main commercial partner, both as an importer and an exporter (although it has been alternating that leadership with China since 2009).

A few anecdotes can illustrate this (mostly unilateral/over-the-board) fascination.

If you asked Dwight Eisenhower, he would probably have said that Brazilians are scarily friendly. He visited Brazil twice, the first in 1946, just after the defeat of the Germans in World War II – he was the  Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. Eisenhower, the war hero, visited the Congress, then based in Rio, where he was approached by a conservative congressman, Otávio Mangabeira. In an episode emblematic, the former governor of Bahia knelt and kissed the hand of the general, as the photo above testifies.

This was just the beginning.

His second visit happened in 1960, when he was the president of the United States. This short video shows the huge enthusiastic crowd that saluted Ike.

What is your opinion about all that? Is this passion over the board – or maybe it was understandable, given the historic post-war context? In what ways Brazilian-American relations evolved since?

Also, check also this other post about Brazil-US relations: Is “gringo” an insult?