It was Vargas is the period in Brazilian history when GetulioVargas was president of our country for 15 uninterrupted years. This government extended from 1930 to 1945, was initiated through the 1930 revolution, and ended by the military ultimatum that forced Vargas to resign.
The Vargas era is a contradictory period, as Brazil began to modernize and industrialize as a nation. In addition, a series of labor conquests were achieved and the country managed to set up a system that put an end to the electoral frauds of the First Republic. Despite this, the Vargas era was marked by the authoritarianism of its ruler, especially during the new state.
Also access: The cultural aspects of Brazil during the Vargas Era
Characteristics of the Vargas Era
The task of defining characteristics that sum up the entire Vargas Era is quite complicated by the fact that, over its 15 years of existence, this government took different forms. Anyway, we can highlight:
Lack of a party system: There were no political parties in Brazil during that period, as Vargas acted to weaken them.
Politicslabor: The policy aimed at workers was a practice imposed by Vargas in the early years of his government, but which gained strength during the Estado Novo.
Centralizationofpower: Since assuming power, Vargas has tried to prevent the holding of a presidential election and sought to concentrate political power on the Executive, represented by his own figure.
Other characteristics that can be mentioned are Vargas' political negotiation capacity, the use of advertising for the benefit of his government, focus on the modernization and industrialization of the country etc.
Stages of the Vargas Era
It is common for historians to divide the Vargas era into three major phases, which are GovernmentProvisional (1930-1934), GovernmentConstitutional (1934-1937) and stateNew (1937-1945). Throughout this text, we will see the main details of each of them, but first we need to understand how the Revolution of 1930 made it possible for Vargas to assume the presidency of Brazil.
1930 revolution
The 1930 Revolution is the event that marked the end of First Republic. Your motivation lies in the dissatisfaction of certain groups of Brazilian society with the politicsoligarchic and with the predominance of this São Paulo bias in national politics. The 1920s were marked by movements against the oligarchies, among which the tenentism.
This event is related to the successionpresidential of the country during the government of Washington Luis. This president, of the São Paulo oligarchy, refused to name a successor from Minas Gerais and announced that his successor would be JuliusAbout, who was from São Paulo. This made the Minas Gerais oligarchy break with the São Paulo oligarchy, ally itself with the Rio Grande do Sul oligarchy and choose to launch a competitor called GetulioVargas.
Prestes and Vargas competed for the presidency in the 1930 election, Vargas was defeated, but the murder of his deputy (João Pessoa) in Recife started a raisearmed against Washington Luís and his successor, Júlio Prestes. This uprising, known as the 1930 Revolution, ousted the president from power, prevented his successor from taking office, and chose Getúlio Vargas as provisional president of Brazil.
Also access: Understand one of the best known political practices of the First Republic
Provisional Government
The Provisional Government should be the transitional government until a new president was elected and a new constitution promulgated. Vargas, however, showed little willingness to relinquish the presidency, and his delay in doing so generated a backlash in São Paulo that became known as Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932.
This revolution, in addition to a response to Vargas for not carrying out the transition of power, was a response from the Paulistas to the loss of power they suffered since they were ousted from the presidency with the Revolution of 1930. The Paulistas were defeated, but even so, Vargas agreed to summon a Constituent is electionpresidential — who ended up re-electing him to a four-year term.
constitutional government
This period takes its name because Vargas governed the country under what determined the 1934 Constitution. It should have been the most democratic and open phase of the Vargas government, but national politics and Vargas' interests pushed the country further. radicalizationpolitics. During this period, groups inspired by the Stalinism and in the fascism that had radical proposals for Brazil.
Furthermore, an attempted coup carried out by the communists in 1935 allowed Vargas to put into practice his project to centralize power and implement an authoritarian regime. Exploring anti-communism between 1934 and 1937, Vargas took steps that, little by little, builtOauthoritarianism in Brazil.
Vargas' project came to fruition when a fake communist plot (Cohen Plan) was presented to the nation as true and was used as a justification for carrying out a self-coup that implanted an authoritarian regime in our country. This coup started the stateNew, and so Vargas managed to remain in power in Brazil.
If you are interested in more details about Vargas' Provisional and Constitutional Government, we suggest reading this text: New Republic and Vargas Era.
new state
This was the dictatorial phase of Getúlio Vargas, who was marked by the persecutiongivesopposition in our country and by the consolidation of arbitrary practices, such as torture, which was used against government opponents. there was a big centralizationofpower in the hands of Vargas, and the Legislative had its operation suspended in the country.
The country's administration was entirely in the hands of the dictator, who started to use all his powers as a bargaining chip in political negotiations. THE censorship became common in the country, and the Press and Advertising Department (DIP) fulfilled the role of national censor, as well as promoting the official propaganda from the government.
Vargas negotiated the involvement of the Brazil in World War II, and, during the conflict, altered its political strategy, bringing it closer to the workers through the creation of a large legislationlabor. Without the support of the elites and the army, he ended up receiving an ultimatum from the military that forced him to resign the presidency in 1945. If you want to know more about this topic, we suggest reading the text: new state.
Also access: The housing and economic development project implemented in the Estado Novo
End of the Vargas Era
The end of the Vargas era was a direct result of loss of support from Vargas in military means. First, there was a contradiction in the fact that our country was fighting for democracy in Europe, but internally maintained a dictatorship. In addition, the Army and the country's economic elites feared the Vargas strategy of approaching the urban working class.
With the military's ultimatum, Vargas was forced to resign, and José Linhares temporarily assumed the presidency. A presidential election was already scheduled for 1945, and the result of it determined that Eurico Gaspar Dutra, candidate for Social Democratic Party, was elected president of Brazil. After the election of a new ruler, a new Constitution (1946) for the country, and these events began a period known as Fourth Republic.
Image credits
[1] FGV/CPDOC
[2] FGV/CPDOC
