The city of Goiânia, current capital of the state of Goiás, was formed from the political transformations that marked the history of our country in the 1930s. However, the project to move the capital of Goiás was already discussed previously. This is because Cidade de Goiás, the first capital of Goiás, created in the 18th century, had been founded due to the gold activity at that time. After the gold period, this justification was no longer valid and the cities involved with the creation of livestock and the development of agriculture, more allocated to the south, became more important for Goiás.
With the foundation of the republican regime, we have registered the first official discussions that considered the transfer of the capital of Goiás. However, our first republican constitution, in 1891, and its two subsequent reforms, in 1898 and 1918, ended up supporting the capital in the former gold region. In 1930, the revolution led by Getúlio Vargas imposed a renewal of national and regional political leaderships. During this period, the Vargas regime established an alliance with other political figures from Goiás.
It was from there that the doctor Pedro Ludovico Teixeira was appointed as intervener of the state of Goiás and, establishing a sense of renewal, he sought to put into practice the project to move the capital. In 1932, a commission was organized to choose the best region to which the new capital would be transferred. The choice ended up being made due to the cities that already existed and, among the existing options, the The new capital was defined near the city of Campinas, today the oldest neighborhood in Goiania.
Even with the resistance of the old oligarchic groups that dominated the political life of Goiás, Pedro Ludovico's group ended up confirming the project of change in the year 1933. On October 24 of that same year, the foundation stone that would start the construction work in the city of Goiânia was laid. The name was chosen through a contest, won by Professor Alfredo de Castro. The name began to be used in 1935 for the new capital.
The municipality began to have its activities carried out in November 1935 and, in the following month, the intervener Pedro Ludovico sent the decree that established the transfer of the Casa Militar, the General Secretariat and the Government Secretariat to the city of Goiania. In subsequent months, other secretariats were transferred and these actions further reaffirmed the move to the capital. On March 23, 1937, the decree number 1816 definitively made official the transfer of the capital of Cidade de Goiás to Goiânia.
The official event that marked the transfer of the capital took place only on July 5, 1942. The event took place at the Cine-Teatro Goiânia, one of the most important architectural heritages generated with the construction of the new capital. Ministers, authorities and representatives of the Presidency of the Republic attended the event. Made under planning prior to the transfer, Goiânia is one of the most beautiful and modern capitals in the Brazilian territory.
By Rainer Gonçalves Sousa
Kids School Collaborator
Graduated in History from the Federal University of Goiás - UFG
Master in History from the Federal University of Goiás - UFG
