Throughout our history, the Brazil was ruled by 39 presidents. Currently, Brazilian presidents are elected by the population based on criteria defined by the brazilian electoral system. The president is responsible for governing the country, and is therefore the most important position in Brazil.
The Brazilian territory became a presidential republic in 1889, and since then it has been governed by several presidents in different contexts. O first Brazilian president was Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, and the one who ruled for the longest time was Getúlio Vargas, with a 15-year term.
Brazil has been a presidential republic since 1889, the year in which the proclamation of republic. In that event, our country ceased to be a monarchy, turning into a republic. This change happened through a political and military coup that overthrew the monarchy and expelled the royal family from here.
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The president is the highest position that a person can reach within the Brazilian political system.
, being responsible for governing the country and valuing the development of the nation and the well-being of the population. The current Brazilian political system defines that a president has a mandate of four years, and may be re-elected for another four years. It is the right of the population to choose who will be the president of the country.Since the proclamation of the republic, and until the present moment, Brazil has had 39 presidents. In this text, to knowemos a little of each of them:
Floriano Peixoto (1891-1894): he was vice president of Brazil when Deodoro da Fonseca resigned. He could not have assumed the presidency because the 1891 Constitution determined that a new election should be called if the position of president became vacant in the first two years of the government. A political agreement made him assume the role however. It was left Known as the "Iron Marshal" for having violently repressed some revolts that took place during his government: the Second Revolt of the Navy and the Federalist Revolution. He was an authoritarian president, but he was popular because he managed to reduce the cost of living during his term.
Prudente de Morais (1894-1898): representative of the São Paulo coffee growers, was the Pfirst civilian to govern the country. He had a series of diplomatic issues to resolve in his government, marked by the War of Canudos, a conflict in which the Brazilian government violently repressed an arraial of sertanejos led by Antônio Conselheiro in the interior of Bahia. He was the victim of an attack by defenders of Floriano Peixoto, but he survived.
Campos Sales (1898-1902): another representative of the São Paulo coffee growers, took over the government with a strong economic crisis, needing to implement a series of austerity measures. During his tenure, a political agreement was developed that lasted throughout the First Republic: the policy of the governors, scheme of exchange of favors between the Federal Government and the state governments.
Rodrigues Alves (1902-1906): During his government, the project that sought to modernize the capital of Brazil, the city of Rio de Janeiro, was carried out. He authorized an urban reform in the city and a mandatory smallpox vaccination campaign. The abuses committed against the population in the urban reform and in the vaccination campaign resulted in the Vaccine Revolt. In 1918, Rodrigues Alves was elected for a second term, but did not take office for health reasons. He had a cardiac arrest due to pernicious anemia (caused by a lack of vitamin B12), and died without taking office.
Afonso Pena (1906-1909): it was the first elected representative of the mining oligarchy Brazilian President. His term was shorter than it should have been because he ended up dying in 1909, as a result of pneumonia. His government encouraged the construction of railroads, contributing to the interiorization of the country.
Nilo Peçanha (1909-1910): vice president of Brazil who assumed the presidency on June 14, 1909, as a result of the death of Afonso Pena. He became known for being the our country's first brown president, and had little time for major actions in office. He encouraged the internalization process that had been underway since the previous government.
Hermes da Fonseca (1910-1914): won one of the most disputed elections of the First Republic, defeating Rui Barbosa. During his tenure, he sought to weaken the influence of oligarchies in Brazilian politics through force, but failed. During his government, the Revolt of the Chibata and the Contestado War.
Wenceslau Brás (1914-1918): his election was the result of an effort by the oligarchies of São Paulo and Minas Gerais to remove any influence from Hermes da Fonseca in power. His government was influenced by major events, such as the First World War; the 1917 General Strike, which mobilized thousands of workers in São Paulo; and the pandemic Spanish flu, responsible for the deaths of 35,000 people here.
Delfim Moreira (1918-1919): vice-president who assumed the presidency on an interim basis after the death of Rodrigues Alves. As he was part of the winning list, Delfim Moreira took office for a year until a new presidential election was scheduled. He frequently used police violence to quell strikes and worker mobilizations.
Epitácio Pessoa (1919-1922): when he was elected president of Brazil, he was in France, and he was not here at any time during the election campaign. His victory was built with the support of the Minas Gerais and São Paulo oligarchies to prevent the liberal Rui Barbosa from becoming president. During his government, the Modern Art Week of 1922, the centenary of independence, and the lieutenant movement.
Artur Bernardes (1922-1926): his government was one of the most troubled in the First Republic because he became a very unpopular with the military due to false letters attributed to him that criticized the Armed. In his tenure, he harassed critics and political opponents. ruled Brazil in state of siege for most of the time he was in power. A About Column fought against his government between 1925 and 1926.
Washington Luís (1926-1930): the paulista was the last president of Brazil during the First Republic. He also acted to repress some individual freedoms, as well as repressing movements such as tenentism. broke with the agreement established by the latte policy, indicating Júlio Prestes (from São Paulo) in place of Antônio Carlos de Andrada (from Minas Gerais). An oligarchic dissidence, allied with tenentistas, organized an armed uprising (the Revolution of 1930), ousting Washington Luís from the presidency and preventing Júlio Prestes, winner of the 1930 election, from taking office. His government also suffered from the effects of Great Depression.
Getúlio Vargas (1930-1945): assumed the government on a provisional basis, but, thanks to his political skill, his authoritarian stance and the support of the military, sustained itif in power by 15 years. His government was divided into three phases: Governo Pprovisional (1930-34), Constitutional Government (1934-37) and new state (1937-45). He established an eight-year dictatorship and was overthrown by a military ultimatum in 1945.
José Linhares (1945-1946): president of Federal Court of Justice, assumed the presidency for 94 days as a result of the deposition of Getúlio Vargas. He held office on an interim basis so that a new president could be elected.
Eurico Gaspar Dutra (1946-1951): it was the first president from the Republic of 1946 or Fourth Republic, the first democratic period of our country. During his government, the Constitution of 1946 and, furthermore, Brazil has fully aligned itself with the United States in the context of Cold War. Repressed the Brazilian Communist Party and trade unions.
Getúlio Vargas (1951-1954): he was democratically elected to a second term, this being one of the most troubled governments in our republican history. Disputes between the PTB (president's party) and the UDN (opposition) held back the Vargas government. The opposition used coup speeches and all kinds of strategies to prevent the mandate. In the end, the political crisis led Vargas to commit suicide, on August 24, 1954.
Café Filho (1954-1955): vice-president who took over the government after the suicide of Getúlio Vargas. He acted discreetly in support of the coup articulated by the UDN against the inauguration of Juscelino Kubitschek and João Goulart, president and vice president elected in 1955. He was removed from the presidency as a result of a cardiovascular accident.
Carlos Luz (1955): he was president for three days only, from November 8 to November 11, 1955. His support for the coup advocated by the UDN led the Minister of War, Henrique Teixeira Lott, to remove him from the presidency. Carlos Luz took office because he was the president of Chamber of Deputies.
Nereu Ramos (1955-1956): he was president of Brazil for 81 days, taking over from the deposition of Carlos Luz and for being the president of the federal Senate at the time. He exercised a transitional government that existed only to guarantee the constitutional legality of the country and enable the inauguration of Juscelino Kubitschek.
Juscelino Kubitschek (1956-1961): he was one of the most popular presidents in republican history from Brazil. His government established industrial development policies, encouraged the construction of highways, contributing to the integration of the country, and builtwent the new capital of Brazil, the city of Brasilia. It ended up bequeathing to the country the increases in the foreign debt, inflation and social inequality.
Jânio Quadros (1961): it was the first and only candidate that the UDN electsu during the Republic of 1946. His government was marked by controversy from beginning to end because the president did not accept governing within constitutional limits, taking extremely controversial measures. He resigned from the presidency on August 25, 1961, in a failed self-coup attempt.
Ranieri Mazzilli (1961): President of the Chamber of Deputies who assumed the presidency during the succession crisis caused by the resignation of Jânio Quadros. Ruled for 13 days.
João Goulart (1961-64): vice-president who took over the government following the resignation of Jânio Quadros. He assumed the presidency during a strong political crisis caused by coup-like articulations of the military, which tried to prevent Jango from taking office. He took office on September 7, 1961, after agreeing to govern in a parliamentary regime. During his mandate, he sought to carry out structural reforms in the country, the so-called basic reforms. He failed at this due to lack of support and fell victim to a civil-military coup, which articulated different layers of Brazilian society for this purpose, especially the big business community, the big press and the military.
Ranieri Mazzili (1964): again governed Brazil for 13 days shortly after the deposition of João Goulart due to the civil-military coup of 1964.
Humberto Castelo Branco (1964-1967): Pfirst "president" of Military dictatorship. The first exceptional measures were taken during his government, such as the Institutional Act No. 1, which authorized purges between civilians and the military, starting the arbitrary arrest of Brazilian citizens. Opposition politicians and social movements were also persecuted.
Artur Costa e Silva (1967-1969): implemented developmental measures that contributed to the artificial economic growth known as the “economic miracle”. During his government, the Military Dictatorship was strengthened, with the repression of student and worker movements and with the decree of the Institutional Act No. 5, the strictest of all dictatorships.
Emilio Medici (1969-1974): he was one of the rulers most authoritarian of the Military Dictatorship. In possession of the AI-5, he expanded repression, censorship and torture against opponents of the dictatorship. Most deaths by government agents during the Military Dictatorship took place during the Medici presidency. The peak of the “economic miracle” happened during his government.
Ernesto Geisel (1974-1979): during his presidential term, a political opening was attempted, understood by historians as an initiative controlled, that is, the possibility of a return of civilians to power was understood, as long as they were protected by the military. Even so, the Geisel government killed dozens of opponents.
João Figueiredo (1979-1985): last leader of the period of the Brazilian dictatorship. His government continued the guided opening process, aiming to keep the military in charge of important areas of the country. However, João Figueiredo's government ended up encountering strong opposition from civil society, tired of the authoritarianism of the military. His government suffered from the strong economic crisis manifested by high inflation and the uncontrolled growth of the foreign debt.
José Sarney (1985-1990): vice president of Tancredo Neves, the first civilian elected president after 21 years of an exceptional regime. Sarney assumed the presidency on an interim basis due to the health problems of snows, rushed into hospital the day before taking office. His government failed to combat the economic crisis. A Constitution of 1988 it was enacted during his mandate, although Sarney did not agree with many points of the text.
Fernando Collor de Melo (1990-1992): first president elected by the Brazilian population (directly) since 1960. His government also failed to combat the economic crisis, adopting some measures for the economy that traumatized a generation of Brazilians. suffered impeachment, in December 1992, for his involvement in a corruption scandal.
Itamar Franco (1992-1995): vice-president of Fernando Collor de Melo, assumed the presidency after the president was impeached. O great achievement of this government was to have managed to stabilize the Brazilian economy through the Proyal line, created by the economic team under the leadership of Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2003): first president of the New Republic (initiated in 1985), he was elected and re-elected with victories in the first round. A FHC's victory was boosted by his role in building the Plano Real, the most successful economic plan in Brazilian history. The government suffered complaints of parliamentary purchases for the approval of the constitutional amendment that allowed re-election to the presidential office. He ended his term with the economy in a bad situation.
Lula (2003-2011): after being defeated in the elections of 1989, 1994 and 1998, Lula managed to win the dispute in 2002. His government achieved expressive results in the economy, registering significant growth, in addition to having contributed directly to the distribution of income and the reduction of poverty. poverty in the country through government programs. His government was rocked by a corruption scandal known as “mensalão”.
Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016): she was able to be elected president thanks to the popularity of the Lula government. she went to first woman elected president of Brazil. He sought to continue the policy of combating poverty, but his government erred in economic policy, facing hard years of recession. The strengthening of the opposition, mistakes in the conduct of economic policy and the progress of the Lava Jato operation paved the way for an impeachment process to interrupt his second term. O Dilma's impeachment it is understood by many historians as a parliamentary coup.
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Daniel Neves. "Presidents of Brazil"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/presidentes-do-brasil.htm. Accessed on April 10, 2023.
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