Getúlio Vargas: private life and political trajectory

Getulio Vargas, one of the great names in Brazil's recent history, was a military man, lawyer and politician. He became president of Brazil through the 1930 revolution and governed in a centralized way, being forced to resign fifteen years after he took over. ended up committing suicide, in 1954, during an intense political crisis.

Private life

Getúlio Dornelles Vargas was born on April 19, 1882, in the city of São Borja, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Vargas' family, made up of ranchers, was rich and influential and had political influence both in São Borja and in Rio Grande do Sul. His father was called Manoel do Nascimento Vargas, and his mother, Cândida Dornelles Vargas.

Getúlio was the third child and had four brothers: Viriato, Protásio, Spartacus and Benjamin. joined the careermilitary at age 16 and served in a battalion in São Borja, but ended up being expelledgivescorporation with 18 years of age. Because of the possibility of a conflict with Bolivia in 1903, Vargas rejoined the army, but ended up asking for discharge at the end of that year.

In 1911, Vargas married Darcy Sarmanho, the daughter of a rancher from Rio Grande do Sul. [1]

In 1911, when she was 28 years old, got married with Darcy Lima Sarmanho, from a traditional family in São Borja (Darcy's family was also ranchers). At the wedding, Darcy was only 15 years old. From this marriage, were born Luther, Jandira, alzira, Manuel and GetulioSon.

regional political trajectory

Vargas' political trajectory began to be born when he decided to join the Porto Alegre Law School, in 1904. During his graduation, Vargas was part of the Castilhista Academic Block, which brought him closer to the Rio Grande Republican Party (PRR). The candidate supported by Vargas – Carlos Barbosa Gonçalves – ended up being elected president (governor) of Rio Grande do Sul.

Vargas' approach to the PRR and the great name of that party in Rio Grande do Sul, Borges de Medeiros, was extremely important because it guaranteed Vargas' entry into Rio Grande do Sul politics. In 1908, elected state deputy from Rio Grande do Sul and abandoned his role as second public prosecutor in the Court of Porto Alegre.

As state deputy for the PRR, Vargas served his term and was elected to a secondmandatein1913. A disagreement with Borges de Medeiros led Vargas to resign from his position as state deputy, only returning to office in 1917, after being elected again.

Vargas' return to political life occurred through his rapprochement with Borges de Medeiros. After being elected in 1917, he was re-elected in 1921. The new term as state deputy was interrupted because Vargas was elected to be Congressman in 1922. In 1923, a civil war broke out in Rio Grande do Sul and Vargas was sent by Borges de Medeiros as Lieutenant Colonel.

Vargas ended up not getting involved in battle and returned to Rio de Janeiro, still in 1923, to fulfill his term as federal deputy. In 1926, Washington Luis he became president of Brazil and, during that government, Vargas was appointed to occupy the Ministry of Finance, a position he held between 1926 and 1927.

Also in 1927, Getúlio Vargas was chosen by Borges de Medeiros as his successor in the dispute for the government of Rio Grande do Sul. Vargas ended up being elected and taking over as president of state (governor) in 1928.

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Vargas' rise to the presidency

Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Getúlio Vargas built his political career in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Only at the end of the decade of 1920, managed to project itself in the national policy. The 1930 Revolution took Vargas' political career to a new level.

It all started when President Washington Luís decided to break the presidential succession agreement and, instead of appointing a successor from Minas Gerais, ended up appointing a successorpaulista – JuliusAbout. This, of course, infuriated the Minas Gerais oligarchy, which allied with the Rio Grande do Sul oligarchy, deciding together to launch Vargas as a competitor of Júlio Prestes.

Getúlio Vargas ran for the ticket that became known as Liberal Alliance and ended up being defeated by Julio Prestes. The Liberal Alliance, dissatisfied with the defeat, began to conspire against the government and started a revolt when Vargas' vice runner, JoãoPeople, was murdered in a bakery in Recife.

This revolt, which became known as 1930 revolution, was started in early October. By the end of that month, Washington Luis had already resigned from the presidency. In addition, Júlio Prestes was prevented from assuming the presidency, and a governing board invited Getúlio Vargas to take over as president of Brazil. provisionally. This event marked the end of the period known as First Republic.

Vargas as president

When Vargas assumed the presidency, no one obviously had any idea that a fifteen-year period for the Gaucho politician in the presidency of Brazil was beginning. Those 15 years are known as It was Vargas and were divided by historians into different phases:

• Provisional Government (1930-1934)

• constitutional government (1934-1937)

• new state (1937-1945)

This phase of Vargas' life was marked by his personalist government, which had the following major characteristics: the centralization of power, the imposition of a policy aimed at workers and Vargas' capacity for political negotiation to maintain distinct groups as allies of his government.

Vargas also carried out some incentives for the industrial development and modernization of the country, but his trajectory in the presidency moved towards the constructioninaregimeauthoritarian. Let's look at some of the highlights of Vargas' life as president of Brazil:

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• Provisional Government

In the Provisional Government, as its name suggests, Vargas he should have just been a provisional president, which would organize a Constituent Assembly and an election to elect a new president. Vargas' wishes, in turn, were not aligned with those of the group that placed him in the presidency.

Vargas' actions were in the way of centralization of power and the imposition of an authoritarian regime. O PowerLegislative was dissolved of its functions at regional and also national levels, and initiatives to carry out a new constitution and therefore a presidential election were deliberately delayed by Vargas.

Vargas' idea was totally reform the political system, in order to weaken Brazil's regional elites and thus stay in power for the long term. Vargas had to deal with opposition from groups dissatisfied with his policy and faced an uprising in São Paulo in Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932.

In October 1932, he managed to secure the victory over the paulistas, but even victorious, he made concessions that inaugurated a new phase of his government. Vargas called election for formation of a Constituent, and this, when formed, promulgated the 1934 Constitution. Vargas managed to prolong himself in power by being reelectedindirectly for president for another four years.

• constitutional government

Getúlio Vargas and Darci, his wife, during an event in Rio de Janeiro, in 1935. [1]

The Constitutional Government, apparently, should have been the stage in which Vargas would govern Brazil in a democratic, but the radicalized scenario of Brazilian politics made the president impose his strategy of deploy a stateauthoritarian with the power concentrated in your hands.

Vargas faced the actions of political groups with a fascist orientation, such as the integralism, and communist, like the Communist intent. For that reason, he sped up the taking of measuresauthoritarian using the justification that they were necessary to contain the "communist threat". Vargas managed to exploit the population's fear of communism to impose his authoritarianism.

All of this culminated in Vargas' plan to remain in power. In 1938, there would be a presidential election in Brazil and Vargas could not run for reelection. So Vargas used the Cohen Plan, a false document about an alleged communist revolt, to carry out a self-coup in the country. The 1938 election was annulled, Vargas imposed an authoritarian constitution and started the New state.

Read too: How many coups d'etat have there been in Brazil since independence?

• new state

The Estado Novo was the more authoritarian phase of Getúlio Vargas' career, which made him the only civilian to govern the country during a dictatorship. It had the support of the Army, and its government had some characteristics that the approached the fascism, although the Estado Novo was not in fact a fascist regime.

Vargas tried, during this period, to implement a modernization project of the country by force. Any kind of opposition was not tolerated by the president, who implemented a large repression apparatus. Censorship was important in maintaining this dictatorship, and Vargas himself created an agency that fulfilled this role – the Press and Advertising Department (DIP).

During this period, Vargas also negotiated directly with the US government so that the Allies could count on Brazil's support in World War II. During the Estado Novo period, Vargas supported himself with the support of the Army, but when the Army began to distance itself from Vargas, the president lost power. the army itself forced Vargas to resign as president in 1945.

Also access: Discover the housing development project developed by Vargas

Vargas after resignation

After resigning, Vargas did not depart from politics and remained a present figure, paving the way for him to return to the presidency at the right time. The first step was to order the creating a party - O Brazilian Labor Party (PTB) – which would orbit over its political legacy.

In addition, Vargas approached the Social Democratic Party (PSD), supporting the candidate of that party (Eurico Gaspar Dutra) to the presidency. Vargas ended up being elected senator by Rio Grande do Sul by the PSD legend. Between 1946 and 1949, Vargas divided his time between his home in Rio Grande do Sul and politics.

Second government and Vargas' suicide

Getúlio Vargas visiting Minas, a few days before committing suicide in 1954. [1]

Vargas crafted his strategy for the 1950 presidential election perfectly. he approached Ademar de Barros, a politician who had gained influence in São Paulo, and managed to defeat his opponents, who were Cristiano Machado (PSD) and Eduardo Gomes (UDN). he was elected withalmost 49% of the votes.

Vargas' second government was, therefore, democratic, and he tried to rule within constitutional limits. However, the opposition of National Democratic Union (UDN) caused this period to be marked by political crises. Even before being sworn in, the UDN was already creating obstacles for the Gaucho politician.

In this government, Vargas sought to defend a nationalist economic policy that it gave priority for the exploitation of national resources to be carried out by state-owned companies and for foreign capital to have reduced influence. He also defended that the State should constantly interfere in the economy as a way to guarantee the country's economic development.

He tried to get closer to the workers as a way to guarantee support for his government, but failed. The political crisis and the UDN attacks weakened the Vargas government. In 1954, one of Vargas' political opponents, called Carloslacerda, suffered an attack and it was discovered that the principal was the head of security at the presidential palace. To learn more, read: Tonelero Street attack.

This was a real national scandal and amplified the government crisis. Vargas was cornered by attacks and requests for his resignation. On August 24, in his room at Palácio do Catete, Vargas shot at his own heart and so he ended his life by committing suicide. he left a will-letter justifying their action and defending their government.

In an excerpt of his will, Vargas says that:

My sacrifice will be forever in your soul and my blood will be the price of your ransom. I fought against the dispossession of Brazil. I fought against the dispossession of the people. I've fought with an open chest. Hatred, infamy, slander did not lower my spirits. I gave you my life. Now I offer my death. I'm not afraid. I quietly take the first step on the path to eternity and step out of life into history.|1|

O Vargas' funeral mobilizedthousands of people, and the climate of commotion that spread across Rio de Janeiro forced Vargas's opponents to back down. The pivot of the crisis, Carlos Lacerda, ended up fleeing Brazil. After Vargas' suicide, Vargas' political legacy was continued through João Goulart, as many historians point out.

Image Credit:

[1] FGV/CPDOC

Grades

|1| Getúlio Vargas's Letter-Testament (1882-1954): genericity and textual organization in political discourse. To access, click on here.

By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History