THE BRAZILIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM DURING THE CIVIC-MILITARY DICTATORSHIP: from the abandonment of the autonomist line to the agreement with Germany (1964-1975)

Abstract

The article addresses the main aspects of the Brazilian nuclear policy during the dictatorship period, from the abandonment of the development attempt after the 1964 coup until the signing of the Brazil-Germany Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, established in 1975. The agreement, far from a meaningful “economic and technological autonomy” for the Brazilian nuclear development, actually represented an escalation of the dependence and subordination of Brazilian nuclear policies to the interests of foreign capital, represented, to a large extent, by the KWU/Siemens group. After a brief overview of the nuclear policy developed in the country until the 1964 coup, the article discusses its main changes within the Castelo Branco government; the discussions around Brazil's non-accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons during the Costa e Silva period; the construction of the Angra I plant, begun with the Medici government; and the signing of the Brazil-Germany Nuclear Agreement, during the Geisel government.