Hit Visit

Brazil's Vice President Joao ("Jango") Goulart and his pretty wife arrived in Washington last week for a state visit that turned into an immediate personal hit. Goulart, one of the most colorful and controversial of Brazil's traditionally high-voltage politicians, was welcomed warmly by Vice President Nixon, talked at length with Secretary of State Dulles, dropped in to chat with President Eisenhower, conferred earnestly with A.F.L.-C.I.O. Chief George Meany, and still had time to attend all the formal dinners and receptions that go with a state visit.

For the 38-year-old Vice President, the U.S. trip was much more than a run-of-the-mill good-will jaunt. Goulart has proved himself a skillful vote getter, particularly among his country's workers. But his success with labor has also won him the bitter distrust of many military leaders, who call him everything from Peronist to Communist.

Through all of last week's protocol, Goulart took special pains to make one point clear: Brazil is staunchly anti-Communist and he, as Brazil's Vice President, is staunchly anti-Communist as well, despite the fact that his ticket received a Communist endorsement in last October's elections. He summed up the struggle against Communism in his speech to the Senate: "For the U.S. it is mostly an external effort, which can be and is being kept away from the shores of this country by the joint action of your diplomacy and the organization of your civil defense; whereas for the Latin American countries such as Brazil it is chiefly a domestic problem because it has roots in the hardships which beset large segments of the population."

After the social whirl of springtime Washington, the Goularts were in a mood for informal relaxation when they arrived at Texas' King Ranch later in the week. At the ranch there was time for a long sleep, late breakfast and a midmorning inspection trip. Goulart, a rancher himself, looked long and hard at the ranch's famed herd of Santa Gertrudis cattle (3 3/8 Brahman and 5 5/8 Shorthorn bred for good beef and hardiness), but made no decision to buy any.

From Texas the Goularts move on to Kansas City, Detroit and New York (with a stopover in Canada). But with a more relaxed schedule, Goulart, who is also president of the Brazilian Labor Party, will have more time for what he calls his principal job: strengthening relations between the workers of Brazil and the workers of the U.S.

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