Washington Luis he was the last president of the Old Republic, ruling between 1926 and 1930, when deposed by a coup d'état. His government was marked by the world economic crisis of 1929 and the break with the old latte policy.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, but with a political career built in the state of São Paulo, Washington Luís was a president considered “modern”, because as mayor of São Paulo and governor of the state, he encouraged the development of administrative rationalization techniques, management technical-scientific and boosted other sciences, such as historiography, museology, social sciences, statistics and censuses, as well as support for sporting and cultural events, which among the most important was the opening of the Municipal Theater of São Paulo for the realization of the Week of Modern Art of 1922.
It was said to be open to dialogue with other forces, even if the dialogue was unilateral. In his presidential administration, he ended the state of siege decreed by his predecessor, Arthur Bernardes, closed political prisons and it restored press freedom for a short period, since, in 1929, the Celerada Law put an end to this freedom, under the pretext of combat to communism. Washington Luís also created a roadway construction plan, which included the Rio-São Paulo and Rio-Petrópolis roads, with the motto “Governing is opening roads”. Today, there is a highway in the interior of the state of São Paulo named Washington Luís.
Stamp in honor of Washington Luís, who was the last president of the Old Republic, deposed by the coup that inaugurated the Revolution of 1930.*
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On the economic front, Washington Luís' main action focused on the attempt to strengthen Brazil's currency, with the assembly of a large gold deposit that would serve as backing for the currency. However, the crash of the New York Stock Exchange did not make the attempt successful and generated yet another drastic consequence to the national economy, the abrupt drop in coffee prices. Even as a representative of the São Paulo coffee oligarchy, Washington Luís refused to grant loans to farmers to cover their losses, causing dissatisfaction among them.
Another point of political disagreement created by Washington Luís was the break with the café au lait policy. In the 1930 elections, the nominee had to be a politician from Minas to guarantee the alternation in power between the two states. But Washington Luís preferred “pure coffee” and appointed São Paulo governor Júlio Prestes as his successor. The Republicano Mineiro party felt betrayed and formed the Liberal Alliance, with forces from other states. Julio Prestes was elected, but was not accepted by the most radical groups in the Alliance.
The trigger for what would become the 1930 Revolution was the assassination of politician João Pessoa, in a confectionery in Recife. The charge was that Washington Luís had ordered the murder, the decisive motive for the coup carried out in October 1930. Deposed in his last days of government by the coup, Washington Luís went into exile in the United States and Europe, returning to the country only in 1947.
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By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PINTO, Tales dos Santos. "President Washington Luis"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/washington-luis.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
