O Juscelino Kubitschek government it refers to the five years in which Brazil was administered by this politician from Minas Gerais, who was elected president in 1955 and who governed our country between 1956 and 1961.
Juscelino Kubitschek had to face a political crisis that almost made it impossible for him to take office, and the great milestones of his government were heavy investments in the country's industrialization and the Brasilia construction. The political project implemented by JK during his government became known as “developmentalism”.
readmore: Second Vargas Administration: the political crisis that hit that administration in the 1950s
1955 Election
Juscelino Kubitschek became president of Brazil after winning the 1955 election. Juscelino Kubitschek was a top candidate, since he had been governor of Minas Gerais and was supported by the biggest party in Brazil at the time, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and by the second largest party, the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB).
In this election, he faced juarezTavora, candidate of the National Democratic Union (UDN), Ademarinclays, of the Progressive Social Party (PSP), and Plinysalty, of the Popular Representation Party (PRP). JK, as a developmentalist politician, campaigned for a policy in defense of the development and industrialization of Brazil and his motto was "50 years in 5".
The result of the 1955 election was as follows:
JK (PSD/PTB) - 36%
Juarez Távora (UDN) - 30%
Ademar de Barros (PSP) – 26%
Salty Plínio (PRP) - 8%
political crisis
The victory of Juscelino Kubitschek triggered a political crisis in Brazil, due to the action of the National Democratic Union, a conservative party that, throughout the Fourth Republic, flirted with the scam. The members of that party protested against JK's victory under the allegation that he did not had achieved an absolute majority of votes – the 1946 Constitution provided only for a majority simple.
Throughout 1955, there was an intense articulation of UDN members to strengthen the proposal of prevent the possession of Juscelino Kubitschek. Many of the members of that party defended an intervention by the military in power. The political crisis led a loyalist military to intervene in the situation, but not in the way the udenistas planned.
The Minister of War, Henrique Teixeira Lott, was an ardent supporter of the Constitution and, therefore, mobilized forces to secure the inauguration of Juscelino Kubitschek. He articulated a counterblow, which was held on November 11, 1955. The main buildings in Rio de Janeiro were occupied, and Nereu Ramos replaced Carlos Luz in the presidency. This event was named Preventive Coup of 1955 and, with that, the possession of Juscelino Kubitschek was assured and took place on January 31, 1956.
JK government
The government of Juscelino Kubitschek accomplished great feats in the area of the economy and to fulfill the promises of economic development carried out during the campaign, the president launched the Goals plan. This was an economic program that stipulated 31 goals, which sought to promote the development of Brazil in areas considered strategic: energy, transport, industryheavy and food.
It was only through massive investments in these areas that Brazil's industrialization would be possible. Thus, the investment in the energy area aimed to increase the country's electricity production capacity to support the increase in industrial production. This would be done through the construction of hydroelectric plants, being the Furnas Plant, one of those built in that government.
There was investment in the construction of highways throughout the country and this happened as a way to integrate the country and allow producing regions to empty their goods via road transport. There was an incentive to install industries in the country, through tax exemption, and the highlight was the installation of Auto Industry.
The Targets Plan ended up directing 29% of public investments to the transport area, 20% to the construction of infrastructure, especially for the development of airports and ports, and 43% of the investments were directed to the area of electricity. Areas such as food and education ended up being placed in the background and received little investment.
The result of JK's developmental policy, throughout his five years of government, could not have been different, and the The country's industrial production increased by about 80%.
A new capital for Brazil
Another important event of the JK government was the project for the construction of a new capital, located in the central region of Brazil. The construction of a new capital, away from the coast, was a longstanding project in Brazil and dated back to the 19th century. The size of this challenge ended up being an obstacle to its realization.
Juscelino Kubitschek faced the challenge and promoted it as a way to carry out the integration of the interior of Brazil. The construction of Brasilia it was part of a project by JK to reinforce Brazilian nationalism and consumed a quantity of the country's resources, being built in record time and delivered before the end of the president.
Historians understand that the construction of Brasilia it was part of a political project by JK that was included within his nationalist and country integration ideas with the coast, but it also played a key role in putting other problems that existed in the country and were direct consequences of the high investments made in industrialization.
Brasília's construction project was quietly approved by the legislature. The city construction project was carried out by PikeCoast and oscarNiemeyer. The new Brazilian capital was officially inaugurated on April 21, 1960. It is speculated that the construction of Brasília at the time cost approximately 1.5 billion dollars and if converted to current values the costs would have exceeded the total of 80 billion dollars.
Accessalso: João Goulart Government: the last democratic government before the Military Dictatorship
Consequences of the government of Juscelino Kubitschek
The government of Juscelino Kubitschek was extremely important as it guaranteed a huge economic and industrial development to Brazil. However, heavy investments only in economic development, has made vital areas such as education and agriculture, were relegated to the background and had their problems increased by the lack of investment
Among the positive and negative consequences of the JK government, we can highlight:
Industrial production grew 80%;
The Brazilian GDP had an average annual growth of 8%;
Problems in areas such as education and agriculture have increased considerably;
Inflation has remained high in the last years of the government due to high public spending;
External debt increased, as did social inequality.
Image credit
[1] FGV/CPDOC
