 C00174869
 Page: 1     of 42
 FBIS Concatenated Daily Reports, 1990
 Document 2 of 12                                                Page   1
 Classification:   UNCLASSIFIED       Status:        [STAT]
 Document Date:         26 May 90     Category:      [CAT]
 Report Type:      Daily Report       Report Date:
 Report Number:    FBIS-LAT-90-120    UDC Number:
 Author(s):  Helio Contreiras]
 Headline:  * Aeronautics Minister Monteiro Profiled
 Source Line:      90SM0133A Rio de Janeiro MANCHETE in Portuguese 26 May
 90 pp 92-95
 Subslug:  [Article: "Aeronautics in Good Hands" by Helio
 Contreiras]
 FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE:
 1.  [Article: "Aeronautics in Good Hands" by Helio Contreiras]
 2.  [Text] In the crusade to cut government spending, President
 Collor de Mello has found in his aeronautics minister an immediate
 ally: Brigadier General Socrates Monteiro, a fighter pilot who loves
 to tell jokes on the Portuguese (his parents are Portuguese
 immigrants), began to auction off the cars assigned to his ministry,
 starting with the very ones used by his own office.  Completely
 devoted to the professionalization of the Air Force, this 59-year old
 Rio native is admired by his branch of service for his finely-honed
 strategic vision and skill in flying the sophisticated Mirage fighter
 planes. A homebody of modest habits, he swapped his official mansion
 on Peninsula dos Ministros for a simple middle-class apartment,
 without amenities or swimming pool.
 3.  Like Churchill who retained his sense of humor even when London
 was being bombed almost daily by the Nazis during World War II,
 Minister of Aeronautics Gen. Socrates da Costa Monteiro, 59, is
 unfailingly relaxed. He is a great storyteller, specializing in jokes
 on the Portuguese (his parents are Portuguese immigrants) rendered
 with a heavy continental accent. Once, when he headed the Integrated
 Center for Air Defense, a reported asked him if the radar would be
 able to identify a flying saucer. He answered "yes," and added that
 he would invite the press to his first interview with the
 extraterrestrials.
 4.  The general is also an amateur guitarist. But he is better at
 flying an airplane, since he does not always obey the commands of the
 keys and really attacks the musical notes. But when he picks up the
 guitar, his wife is his favorite vocal accompanist. She displays her
 talent in gatherings with friends in Brasilia, but actually these
 occasions are rare, limited mainly to weekends when he has no
 Approve for Release
 9.0 10
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 professional commitments, since it is usually very late when he
 leaves the Ministry of Aeronautics.
 5.  Certainly his irreverence and good humor has been part of him
 since the days when he lived at Icarai beach, in the Rio de Janeiro
 city of Niteroi. Even then he was able, in family gatherings, to
 perfectly imitate the Portuguese accent. Socrates Monteiro and his
 wife Marilia, an attorney, regularly invites friends over, either in
 Brasilia or in Rio. The entire family does not get together very
 often since his daughter Beatriz is taking an advanced course at
 Oxford. He also has a son Claudio, an engineer, and three
 grandchildren: Eduardo, 9; Livia, 6; and Gabriela, 5.
 6.  Flying is no longer just for birds. Fighter pilot Socrates
 Monteiro can fly a supersonic Mirage and remain totally concentrated
 on what he is doing. As soon as the plane starts to move, all his
 attention is directed toward the technology. After all, he is a
 military man who clearly has chosen to lead by example. For that very
 reason, in a veritable dogfight against excessive privilege, the cars
 selected for the first auction of official aeronautics ministry
 vehicles were the ones used by the minister's own office. Cutting
 expenses to the bone, without compromising effectiveness; this was
 the route he chose in order to concentrate the resources in priority
 areas.
 7.  Considered to be very articulate and a military officer of
 strategic vision, the minister of aeronautics confesses that he is
 devoted to the cause of professionalism in the Brazilian Air Force
 and aware that a military institution takes no sides in the political
 scene "but is the armed fist devoted to preserving the sovereignty
 of the Brazilian air space and our national security." He considers
 unfair and inappropriate any suggestion that the military are not
 themselves making any sacrifices in order to reduce public spending.
 He has already moved out of the official residence on Peninsula dos
 Ministros and into a middle-class apartment at Superquadra Sul 110
 with no amenities, nothing ostentatious, and no swimming pool. And we
 would not advise anyone who wants to discuss party politics, the
 concerns of special interest groups, corporativism, etc. to seek out
 Brig. Gen. Monteiro. He makes it clear that he believes in the
 politicians who were elected on the basis of a commitment to
 contribute to perfecting democracy, and he believes in the civilian
 institutions and in the strengthening of those institutions.
 Furthermore, as regards the major national issues, he says he will
 never sit on the fence when, as a private citizen, he has to take a
 stand.
 8.  'Aerospace Program a Priority'
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 9.  He says he would put the interests of Brazil over those of the
 Air Force if forced to choose. But he adds a proviso by saying:
 "Most of the time, obviously, the two coincide." And he observes:
 "In our field there is no room for technological hiatuses (an Air
 Force cannot lag behind, it must keep abreast of progress through
 research). We are committed to working together to achieve the
 efficiency that is essential to aviation. You must always remember
 that aviation demands'that man aim for perfection, humility, and team
 spirit. All of us in aviation are responsible for each other's lives,
 and we are paid by the citizenry, to whom we must always be
 accountable, if we are to be effective."
 10.  Socrates Monteiro also makes it clear that he has the interests
 of every segment of the aeronautics ministry at heart every day: the
 Air Force, civil aviation, the infrastructure, science and
 technology, manpower training.  The program to nationalize aviation
 equipment, a priority goal of the aeronautics ministry under previous
 administrations, will certainly be continued, the minister insists.
 The space program, supported by the Aerospace Technical Center (CTA)
 created in the 1950s by Marshall Casemiro Montenegro Filho, is a
 priority because of the advances it brings not only to its own sector
 but to several areas of civil aviation. "Even with our economic and
 financial problems, we must always be of service to the citizen, the
 taxpayer."
 11.  And what will relations be like between Aeronautics and the
 congressional leadership? Now we hear the minister speaking: "The
 door to my office is always open to the legislative branch; after
 all, we operate on the basis of the Constitution and laws of Brazil.
 We do not even think of skirting the letter of the law. Obedience to
 the law is fundamental for any government agency and is the
 foundation of the democratic regime. In administering this portfolio
 we also take as our points of reference sovereignty, the common good
 and, of course, professional character and dedication. Faced with the
 budgetary restrictions, we will always opt for the feasible and for
 efficiency when we have to choose between the ideal and the
 established limit."
 12.  The minister himself had a few more comments on his leadership
 strategy: "We are always mindful that this is the time to spend on
 essentials, without excesses, for the sake of the economic recovery
 effort and the resumption of development. We are committed to
 ensuring a well-trained Air Force that identifies with the citizen,
 his values and his cultural and personal heritage. We cannot
 disassociate ourselves from the daily life of the people, whether
 they live in the cities or in the most remote point of Brazilian
 territory."
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 13.  Socrates Monteiro states that "in the political realm, the FAB
 [Brazilian Air Force] intends to use its influence whenever it can
 make a contribution to strengthening the institutions and, in the
 realm of aviation, guaranteeing maximum security, both in the Air
 Force itself and in civil aviation. The two are integrated in their
 aim to furnish a high standard of economy and operational ability,
 while giving due credit to the aviator and showing respect for the
 air space and the passenger.'

