Significant moves are under way in a number of South American countries, especially in Brazil, to liberalize immigration policies, Members of Parliament in Brazil have made strong presentations in favor of admitting refugees fleeing political, religious and racial persecution.
These developments may well be related to a recent eloquent statement by Pope Plus XII deploring discrimination of all kinds, including anti-Semitism, and urging the countries of the world to provide safe havens for victims of persecution. The Pope’s statement was made to a delegation of American Jewish Committee leaders.
The growing ground swell in South America in favor of freer immigration policies has been given effective impetus by a number of liberal Latin newspapers. Prominent among them is “O Globo,” of Rio de Janeiro, an independent paper with a long history of service to the cause of democracy and humanity. When dictator Getulio Vargas sought to bring his country into alignment with the Nazis, “O Globo” sounded the first energetic warnings, thus contributing, in large measure, to the fact that Brazil fought shoulder to shoulder with the Allies.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
