The October 1951 issue of Nucleonics contained a near-invisible snippet:
Brazil has taken steps toward installing a pilot atomic power plant. Announcement of this development was made last month by Alberto da Motta, president of Brazil’s National Research Council and member of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission since 1946. To be erected in Minas Gerais State, the plant, Admiral da Motta said “will permit us to experiment on a reduced scale toward effective harnessing of nuclear energy … Production of atom bombs in Brazil is not under consideration.”
The admiral had been roaming the world seeking a reactor, heavy water, and enrichment technology. Brazil had next to no infrastructure (the so-called “National Research Council” was little more than a label) or nuclear personnel. So much is left unsaid in the above snippet. Why say what he did about “atom bombs” (admittedly I’m gazing back with the benefit of hindsight)? Did the trade journal ask him about that in an interview and if so, why? So much unsaid…