Brazilian presidential election, 1955
Encyclopedia
Historical context
After the suicide of Getúlio VargasGetúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
, his Vice President João Café Filho
João Café Filho
João Fernandes Campos Café Filho was a Brazilian politician. Born in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte state, Café Filho was a journalist and federal deputy, elected vice-president in 1950, under Getúlio Vargas. Following the Vargas suicide in 1954, Café Filho assumed the presidency...
took office. Prior to Vargas' death, Brazil was living a time of intense political division, with the right-wing opposition National Democratic Union (UDN), high-level military officers and the mass media openly trying to depose him following the attempted assassination of right-wing journalist Carlos Lacerda
Carlos Lacerda
Carlos Frederico Werneck de Lacerda was a Brazilian journalist and politician.Born in Rio de Janeiro, Lacerda was the son of a family of politicians from Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro State....
, allegedly ordered by Vargas.
Juscelino Kubitscheck, then Governor of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
and a member of the pro-Vargas Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (Brazil)
The Social Democratic Party was a liberal political party in Brazil between 1945 and 1965. Founded as a center-right party by Getúlio Vargas together with the left-leaning Brazilian Labour Party, it elected Presidents Eurico Gaspar Dutra in 1945 and Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira in 1955...
(PSD) announced his candidacy and built an alliance with the popular left-wing populist João Goulart
João Goulart
João Belchior Marques Goulart was a Brazilian politician and the 24th President of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on April 1, 1964. He is considered to have been the last left-wing President of the country until Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003.-Name:João Goulart is...
of Vargas' Brazilian Labour Party
Brazilian Labour Party (historical)
The Brazilian Labour Party was a center-left populist political party in Brazil founded in 1945 by supporters of the late Getúlio Vargas. It was dismantled by the military after 1964 coup d'état.-History:...
(PTB), who was Vargas' former Minister of Labour and personal friend and who became cherished by the workers after granting a 100% increase in the minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
. A PSD-PTB coalition was then formed, with Kubitscheck as the presidential candidate and Goulart as his running mate.
The UDN, which wanted to done a more moderate and centrist image launched the candidacy of Juarez Távora
Juarez Távora
Juarez Távora is a town and municipality in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil.-References:...
, an old military officer. The party formed a multi-party coalition in order to defeat the PSD-PTB coalition, a coalition which included the Republican Party
Republican Party (Brazil)
The Republican Party was a political party in Brazil. The PR was founded by former President of Brazil Artur Bernardes in 1945 and operated almost solely in Minas Gerais. The successor of the Mineiro Republican Party, which dominated politics in Minas Gerais during the República Velha...
and the Christian Democratic Party
Christian Democratic Party (Brazil)
The Syndicalist Popular Party was a political party in Brazil founded in 1945. The PDC, a small party supporting traditional Christian values, never achieved electoral success and was banned by the military dictatorship in 1965....
.
The Social Progressive Party (PSP) candidate was its leader, the populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
former São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
Governor Adhemar de Barros
Adhemar de Barros
Adhemar Pereira de Barros was the mayor of São Paulo , and twice elected Governor of São Paulo . He was also the federal interventor in the state of São Paulo nominated by Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, serving between 1938 and 1941...
. The PSP had supported Vargas in 1950, helping him win, but Adhemar was known to have presidential ambitions of his own.
Also on the right, Plínio Salgado
Plínio Salgado
Plínio Salgado was a Brazilian politician, writer, journalist, and theologian. He founded and led the Brazilian Integralist Action, a far-right political party inspired on the Italian Fascist movement....
of the minor Party of Popular Representation
Party of Popular Representation
The Party of Popular Representation was a political party in Brazil. The PRP was founded by Plínio Salgado on September 26 1945. He reassembled the former members of the Brazilian Integralism, and was ideologically aligned with the nationalist right. It always obtained representation in the...
(PRP) ran for President. Salgado was known for being the leader of Brazilian Integralism
Brazilian Integralism
Brazilian Integralism was a fascist political movement in Brazil, created on October 1932. Founded and led by Plínio Salgado, a literary figure who was somewhat famous for his participation in the 1922 Modern Art Week, the movement had adopted some characteristics of European mass movements of...
in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Integralismo was a far right movement described as a Brazilian branch of fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
During the campaign, Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes was a leader of the 1920s tenente rebellion and the Communist opposition to the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas in Brazil....
, leader of then illegal Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party is the oldest political party still active in Brazil, founded in 1922, and one of the only Brazilian parties with a Stalinist orientation...
(PCB) declared his intention to vote for the Kubitscheck-Goulart ticket, an incidient which increased the communist denunciations of the UDN and the media against the PSD-PTB campaign.
Candidates
- Governor Juscelino Kubitscheck of Minas GeraisMinas GeraisMinas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
(PSDSocial Democratic Party (Brazil)The Social Democratic Party was a liberal political party in Brazil between 1945 and 1965. Founded as a center-right party by Getúlio Vargas together with the left-leaning Brazilian Labour Party, it elected Presidents Eurico Gaspar Dutra in 1945 and Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira in 1955...
) - Former Agriculture Minister Juarez TávoraJuarez TávoraJuarez Távora is a town and municipality in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil.-References:...
of CearáCearáCeará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
(UDN) - Former Governor Adhemar de BarrosAdhemar de BarrosAdhemar Pereira de Barros was the mayor of São Paulo , and twice elected Governor of São Paulo . He was also the federal interventor in the state of São Paulo nominated by Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, serving between 1938 and 1941...
of São PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
(PSP) - Plínio SalgadoPlínio SalgadoPlínio Salgado was a Brazilian politician, writer, journalist, and theologian. He founded and led the Brazilian Integralist Action, a far-right political party inspired on the Italian Fascist movement....
(PRPParty of Popular RepresentationThe Party of Popular Representation was a political party in Brazil. The PRP was founded by Plínio Salgado on September 26 1945. He reassembled the former members of the Brazilian Integralism, and was ideologically aligned with the nationalist right. It always obtained representation in the...
)
President
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juscelino Kubitscheck (PSD Social Democratic Party (Brazil) The Social Democratic Party was a liberal political party in Brazil between 1945 and 1965. Founded as a center-right party by Getúlio Vargas together with the left-leaning Brazilian Labour Party, it elected Presidents Eurico Gaspar Dutra in 1945 and Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira in 1955... , PTB Brazilian Labour Party (historical) The Brazilian Labour Party was a center-left populist political party in Brazil founded in 1945 by supporters of the late Getúlio Vargas. It was dismantled by the military after 1964 coup d'état.-History:... ) |
3,077,582 | 35.68% | |
| Juarez Távora Juarez Távora Juarez Távora is a town and municipality in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil.-References:... (UDN, PR Republican Party (Brazil) The Republican Party was a political party in Brazil. The PR was founded by former President of Brazil Artur Bernardes in 1945 and operated almost solely in Minas Gerais. The successor of the Mineiro Republican Party, which dominated politics in Minas Gerais during the República Velha... , PDC Christian Democratic Party (Brazil) The Syndicalist Popular Party was a political party in Brazil founded in 1945. The PDC, a small party supporting traditional Christian values, never achieved electoral success and was banned by the military dictatorship in 1965.... ) |
2,610,534 | 30.27% | |
| Adhemar de Barros Adhemar de Barros Adhemar Pereira de Barros was the mayor of São Paulo , and twice elected Governor of São Paulo . He was also the federal interventor in the state of São Paulo nominated by Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, serving between 1938 and 1941... (PSP) |
2,222,897 | 25.77% | |
| Plínio Salgado Plínio Salgado Plínio Salgado was a Brazilian politician, writer, journalist, and theologian. He founded and led the Brazilian Integralist Action, a far-right political party inspired on the Italian Fascist movement.... (PRP Party of Popular Representation The Party of Popular Representation was a political party in Brazil. The PRP was founded by Plínio Salgado on September 26 1945. He reassembled the former members of the Brazilian Integralism, and was ideologically aligned with the nationalist right. It always obtained representation in the... ) |
714,353 | 8.28% | |
| Total | 8,625,366 | 100.00% | |
Vice-President
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| João Goulart João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart was a Brazilian politician and the 24th President of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on April 1, 1964. He is considered to have been the last left-wing President of the country until Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003.-Name:João Goulart is... (PTB Brazilian Labour Party (historical) The Brazilian Labour Party was a center-left populist political party in Brazil founded in 1945 by supporters of the late Getúlio Vargas. It was dismantled by the military after 1964 coup d'état.-History:... , PSD Social Democratic Party (Brazil) The Social Democratic Party was a liberal political party in Brazil between 1945 and 1965. Founded as a center-right party by Getúlio Vargas together with the left-leaning Brazilian Labour Party, it elected Presidents Eurico Gaspar Dutra in 1945 and Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira in 1955... ) |
3,591,267 | 44.26% | |
| Milton Campos (UDN) | 3,383,525 | 41.70% | |
| Danton Coelho (PSP) | 1,139,153 | 14.04% | |
| Total | 8,113,945 | 100.00% | |