“Brazil My Brazilian Brazil
My inzonian mulatto I will sing you in my verses
Ô Brazil, samba that gives Bamboleio that makes you swing
Ô Brazil, of my love Land of Our Lord
Brazil, Brazil For me, for me…”
Watercolor of Brazil, Ary Barroso. 1939
The verses above were taken from the song Aquarela do Brasil, composed by Ary Barroso in 1939 during the period of the Vargas government known as new state. The song became practically a Brazilian anthem, being re-recorded by several artists, including Frank Sinatra, American singer.
The song's verses exalt the grandeur and beauty of Brazil, which is why Barroso was harshly criticized and accused by some of being a sympathizer of President Vargas's dictatorial regime. For its boastful lyrics, it inaugurated a movement known as samba-exaltação. Samba came down from the hill and gained not only national, but also international repercussion.
Whether or not Ary Barroso was sympathetic to the dictator Getulio Vargas it cannot be said, however, his song is a contrast in relation to the political regime adopted between the years 1937 to 1945, while the song exalted the qualities of Brazil, the country was going through a time of serious democratic restrictions, this period of Brazilian History became known as the State New.
When we talk about dictatorship, the period between 1964-1985, when power was seized and exercised by the military by 21 long years, but going back a few years in our history, let's get to know a little more about the other dictatorial moment experienced by Brazilians, the Getúlio Vargas dictatorship: the Estado Novo.
Getúlio Vargas government
Let's understand how it all started: Getúlio Dornelles Vargas took power in 1930 after the episode known as 1930 revolution. The movement was led by a group of politicians dissatisfied with the political situation in the Old Republic, in which the coffee oligarchies of São Paulo and Minas Gerais alternated in power and governed with a view to defending interests themselves. Júlio Prestes, the elected president, is prevented from assuming power and who starts to govern in 1930 is Getúlio Vargas, thus coming to an end to the Old Republic.
Vargas was responsible for great transformations, he was an innovative politician, he altered the country's economic and political structures. In the period that preceded his government, Brazil went through several economic crises, the basis of the economy was coffee, which generated instability due to fluctuations in bag prices, British and North Americans were the main buyers of this product, thus the international crises also affected the economy coffee tree. Getúlio Vargas realized the need for industrial development in Brazil.
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Thus, the agro-export economy shared space with modernization and urbanization. The implementation of various labor laws, industrial development, and the creation of state-owned companies raised the president's popularity.
According to the 1934 Constitution, new elections were to take place in 1938, and Vargas could not be reelected. In the international context, the world lived the period known as interwar, in which regimes based on ideologies totalitarians were gaining strength, such as Nazi fascism, among its main characteristics is the persecution of the communists.
Frightened by the growing advance of communist movements in Brazil, in 1937 Vargas reveals the existence of a document entitled “Plan Cohen”, this would have been written by the Brazilian Communist Party and announced the beginning of a communist uprising with the purpose of taking over the power. Thus, to "protect democracy" against the "red danger" the president announces the 1937 Constitution(inspired by fascism). The Cohen Plan would later be unmasked, it was drawn up by the government to justify the establishment of the dictatorship.
The promulgation of the 1937 Constitution makes clear Vargas's sympathy with the Nazi fascist regimes, among the first actions taken by the dictator are the closure of the National Congress and the suspension of political rights, political parties and organizations were also banned from Act. During the period there was a large investment in advertising, the DIP-Department of Press and Propaganda was created with the objective of propagating the ideology of the Estado Novo and promoting Vargas through the exaltation of his figure and his achievements.
Main Achievements of Getúlio Vargas
Despite all authoritarianism, the president continued with his modernization project. Between the Vargas' main achievements during this period we can mention:
- the foundation in 1941 of the Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional;
- creation in 1942 of the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce;
- sanctioned in 1943 the law establishing the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws), thus expanding workers' rights;
- in 1942 during the Second World War Brazil allied itself with the countries that were fighting Nazi fascism, which drew attention to the great contradiction, as Vargas instituted a strongly authoritarian political regime based on a constitution with characteristics fascists.
One of Getúlio Vargas' great enemies was the communist Luiz Carlos Prestes, his participation in the communist uprising of 1935 would earn him ten years in prison and the deportation of his Jewish wife Olga Benário to Nazi Germany, where she was executed in a concentration camp in the year of 1942. The Olga case to this day has negative repercussions for the political history of Getúlio Vargas.
As the repression exercised by the Estado Novo increased, so did the opposition and criticism of the government, from north to south echoing demands for redemocratization. Under pressure Vargas called for elections in 1945, but continued to articulate measures to remain in the presidency. He was forced to leave power in October 1945, his successor being General Eurico Gaspar Dutra. The Vargas era would not end here, Getúlio would return to power in 1951.
The Estado Novo is proof that Getúlio Vargas was an extremely controversial figure, loved by some and hated by others, it is no coincidence that he is considered by many to be the most important president our country has ever had. He was a statesman.
Despite the contradictions, his great contribution to the economic, political and social development of Brazil is undeniable. Six decades have passed since his tragic death in 1954 and we still enjoy his legacy.
Lorena Castro Alves
Graduated in History and Pedagogy
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