The Constitutional Government Vargas was the period that began in 1934 and lasted until 1937, when, through a coup, the Estado Novo period began. This phase was characterized by the gradual radicalization of the posture of Getúlio Vargas, in the sense of concentrating the power in itself, and by the radicalization of the national politics, from the action of the ANL and AIB .
The radicalization of Brazilian politics
The constitutional phase of the fifteen years that Getúlio Vargas was in the presidency of Brazil began in 1934, when the country's new Constitution was promulgated. In that year, Getúlio Vargas was indirectly reelected for a term of four years, without the right to re-election, thus determining that, in 1938, a new president would be elected in the country.
In the context of the promulgation of the new Constitution and the re-election of Vargas, the hope nourished mainly by constitutional liberals was that the Vargas government would move in a more democratic direction. What was seen, however, was the opposite, and Brazilian politics, during the period from 1934 to 1937, was marked by a gradual radicalization.
This radicalization was manifested by Vargas himself, but also by political groups that emerged and had wide repercussions in Brazil. In the case of Vargas, a series of measures, supported by congressmen, were taken in order to expand presidential powers. Before we understand how the radicalization of Vargas' politics took place, it is necessary to know the political groups active in that period.
Political groups
The Brazilian political scenario during the constitutional phase of the Vargas Era began to reflect the scenario of international politics. The 1930s were marked by radicalization and the adoption of extremist ideals, which had little appreciation for the values of economic liberalism and representative democracy.
In the Brazilian case, this scenario led to the emergence of two groups, which occupied the center of our politics and mobilized part of our society. On the extreme right, the Brazilian Integralist Action (AIB) was formed. The Integralists represented fascism in Brazilian politics and were inspired by the models of fascism practiced in Europe.
Also see: Fascism and Nazism
Thus, as in Europe, the Integralists wore a uniform with a standard color (green), held large rallies and called for street violence against left-wing political groups. The Integralists also echoed anti-Semitism and had Plínio Salgado as a great leader. At its best, integralism had 200,000 members.
On the left side, from 1934 onwards, the National Liberation Alliance (ANL), a group that was inspired by communism. The ANL had strong support from the Communist Party of Brazil (PCB) and had as its main objective the fight against fascism in Brazil. Gradually, the ANL took the form of a movement that began to act for a revolutionary transformation in the country.
The great name was Luís Carlos Prestes, very famous for having been one of the leaders of the Column Prestes , a rebel movement formed by the lieutenants that fought for two years, in the 1920s, against the government of Artur Bernardes. Prestes, after living in Moscow for a while, returned to Brazil to lead a revolutionary struggle against Vargas.
See also: Life of Olga Benário Prestes
The ANL, in addition to leading an anti-fascist front in Brazil, had as its main ideals:“definitive suspension of the payment of foreign debt, nationalization of public services, agrarian reform, salary increases, guarantees of individual rights and freedoms – including religious freedom – and combating racism”|1| .
The ANL and the performance of leftist groups in Brazil were explored by Vargas as a pretext for authoritarian and centralizing measures to be taken gradually. This was already evident at the turn of 1934 to 1935, but it was at the end of 1935 that the communists ended up providing an alibi for Vargas to expand centralizing measures.
At the end of 1935, communists aligned with the ANL and the PCB organized a revolt against the Vargas government, aiming to seize power. This revolt became known as the Communist Intent of 1935 and broke out in three cities:Recife , Christmas and Rio from January . This move, however, was a resounding failure and was quickly contained. Its consequence was an increase in the concentration of power in Vargas and an increase in repression against representatives of the left.
The construction of the Estado Novo
As mentioned, from the beginning of his constitutional government, Vargas was already planning to centralize power itself. Throughout the period from 1934 to 1937, measures were taken that, little by little, led to the implementation of the Estado Novo. As early as 1935 (even before the Communist Intent), the National Security Law, had been passed. which gave the government powers to combat any crime against the “social order”.
With Intentona, more authoritarian measures were approved with the support of Brazilian parliamentarians. On November 25, the decree of state of siege was approved in the country; in December, an amendment was approved that tightened the provisions of the National Security Law. The three big changes that happened were:
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Vargas was given the power to fire any public official;
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Vargas' control over the military increased;
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More emergency powers were given to Vargas.
In 1936, the National Security Court was created , responsible for prosecuting prisoners who had committed political crimes as established by the National Security Law. In that year, the state of siege was expanded, and the persecution began to reach members of the Brazilian Congress. Between 1936 and 1937, with the support of the Army, Vargas began to plan a way to expand his powers.
Coup do Estado Novo
Supported by the Army, the way that Getúlio Vargas found to expand his powers even more was by organizing a self-coup, which he called the Estado Novo. This coup also happened to guarantee Vargas' continuity in the presidency, since, as stipulated in the 1934 Constitution, a new presidential election would take place, and Vargas could not contest it.
Between 1936 and 1937, candidates for the presidency emerged, and there were three names:Armando Sales , governor/interventor of São Paulo, José Americo , an authoritarian politician from Paraíba, and Plínio Salty , leader of the Brazilian fascist movement, the aforementioned integralism. Vargas' intention was not to support any of the names.
In 1937, Vargas moved to neutralize his opposition and, as a way of guaranteeing his continuity in power, explored, once again, the fear of communism that existed in the country. Hence the Plan was born Cohen , a forged document, created by the Integralists, which narrated the realization of a communist coup that was about to take place in Brazil.
The Cohen Plan was introduced to the entire nation in September 1937 and alarmed society. Two months later, on November 10, Vargas took action:he surrounded Congress, dismissed the parliamentarians, presented a new Constitution with very authoritarian characteristics and started a new regime, which was marked by censorship and authoritarianism:the Estado Novo. .
|1| SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and STARLING, Heloísa Murgel. Brazil:A Biography. São Paulo:Companhia das Letras, 2015, p. 369.
*Image credits:FGV/CPDOC
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