BRAZIL: Means to the End

Luiz Carlos Prestes, 39, onetime Brazil Army officer who later became the leader of the Brazilian Communist Party, used to be hailed by his Red admirers as The Bearded Knight of Hope.” He has since shaved, is now called “The Knight Hope.” For the past few years Prestes been in a Rio de Janeiro jail, serving a 17-year sentence for sedition passed on him after the failure of the Communist uprising of 1935. Three weeks ago he stood trial again, this time for the murder a 17-year-old girl, Elvira Copelo Polonio, alias Elza Fernandes.

As it spun out, the testimony seemed confirm the frequent assertion that Communist zealots will use any means to achieve their desired ends. The court heard that Elvira Copelo had been the mistress of one of Prestes’ closest comrades. After the latter went to jail in 1938, the girl often visited him, took messages to Communists outside. The Brazilian police found her a handy, unconscious guide to the hideaways of agitators. One day six Brazilians went to the house of Elvira Copelo, were asked in for coffee. When Elvira Copelo at length rose to clear away the coffee cups, one of her guests stood up behind her, slipped a piece of wire around her neck, strangled her to death. The other guests then stuffed the body into a suitcase, lugged it away. Exhibit A in the trial of Luiz Carlos Prestes last week was a letter purportedly written by him giving orders for this grisly killing. Supposedly his purpose had been to stop the girl’s innocent revelation of Communist secrets.

Though he was defended by Rio’s best known trial lawyer, Prestes was convicted, last week began serving a sentence of 30 more years in prison.