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Rev. Bras. Polít. Int., 63(1): e004, 2020 Caterina offered by IBACE. On behalf of this organization, director Flavio Pereira stated that Gagarin’s feat should not be related to any system of government, as it was a conquest of humanity. He also mentioned that Gagarin’s visit was an ‘incentive’ for a group of space researchers in Brazil.

There is important numerical data to measure the interest of the Paulistas regarding Gagarin’s visit. The newspaper Folha de S. Paulo had a telephone service called Folha Informações. It answered about 3,000 questions daily about everyday facts and general news. It is noteworthy that on August 1st, 1961, 90% of the questions that reached this service were, directly or indirectly, about Gagarin: his program in São Paulo, schedule, stature, age, characteristics of his flight, speed of the rocket, travel time, etc.

In Brasilia, before leaving the country, Gagarin met with Quadros. The Soviet handed him a telegraphed message from Khrushchev – which would be published in full by Brazilian newspapers -, his book Road to the Stars and an autographed photo. He also visited the Ministry of Aeronautics and the Chamber of Deputies. At the former, he was received by Minister Gabriel Grün Moss, from whom he received a FAB pennant and answered some questions in the Minister’s own office. At the latter, Chamber’s Noble Hall, parliamentarians lined up to greet him, while photographers and people who gained access to the Hall took the opportunity to approach and see the first man in space with their own eyes.

After meeting with Quadros, he received the Ordem do Mérito Aeronáutico from the president, in a separate ceremony. An Air Force officer read the citation regarding the award of the title – in the degree of comendador – the highest Brazilian aeronautical honour. The text signed by Grün Moss related Gagarin’s achievement to that of Santos Dumont – patron of the Force. A cocktail party was offered by the Air Ministry in honour of the cosmonaut at his hotel before his departure for Canada the next morning.

It should be noted that the following day, the Public Relations Service of the Ministry of Aeronautics rushed to publish a press release explaining the reasons for the award. It considered Gagarin’s flight an ‘extraordinary scientific feat’ with ‘an inestimable value’. The text linked again the Brazilian pioneer in the ‘conquest of the air [Santos Dumont] with the pioneer of the cosmos Gagarin in Brazil: reassessing the terms of the Cold War domestic political debate in 1961 10