Getúlio Vargas

Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (1882–1954) was Brazil’s president for eighteen years across two distinct periods, first as the revolutionary leader who took power in 1930 and later as an elected president from 1951 until his death. Born in São Borja, Rio Grande do Sul, on 19 April 1882, he studied law in Porto Alegre and entered politics in his home state. He served as finance minister under President Washington Luís and became governor of Rio Grande do Sul in 1928. In 1930, he headed the Liberal Alliance ticket against Júlio Prestes. Although Prestes was declared winner, a coalition of dissident regional forces and military officers overthrew Washington Luís in October. Vargas initially governed as head of a provisional administration, centralizing authority and appointing federal interventors to replace many state leaders. His government created the Ministry of Labor, Industry and Commerce in 1930 and granted women the right to vote through the 1932 Electoral Code. A constituent assembly adopted a new constitution in 1934, and it elected Vargas president. Facing political polarization, including the communist uprising of 1935, he staged a coup on 10 November 1937. He cancelled elections, imposed the authoritarian Estado Novo, dissolved Congress, and ruled under a constitution written by Francisco Campos. During the Estado Novo, Vargas promoted industrialization and state intervention, establishing the Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional in 1941 and the Rio Doce Valley Company, later known as Vale, in 1942. His administration consolidated labor rules in the Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (CLT) in 1943, setting standards that remain central to Brazilian labor law. Brazil joined the Allies in the Second World War, sent the Brazilian Expeditionary Force to fight in Italy, and allowed United States bases in the northeast. The contradiction between wartime antifascism and domestic dictatorship strengthened opposition, and military leaders removed Vargas from office in October 1945. Vargas returned through the ballot box in 1950, winning the presidency and taking office in January 1951. His second administration founded Petrobras in 1953, giving the state a leading role in petroleum development. Economic pressures, inflation, and fierce opposition culminated after the August 1954 attack on journalist Carlos Lacerda, in which air force major Rubens Vaz was killed. Accused of responsibility through associates in his presidential guard, Vargas faced demands to resign. On 24 August 1954, he shot himself in the Catete Palace. His farewell letter, published after his death, became a defining political document in Brazilian public life.