Jânio Quadros he was elected president of Brazil in 1960 and took office in January 1961. Jânio's government was a turbulent period, characterized by confusing and unpopular measures. After just over six months in office, he found himself isolated and in a disastrous political move, facts that led him to resign from the presidency of Brazil.
Election of 1960
In 1960, the election to choose the president who, in theory, would govern Brazil in the 1961-1966 cycle was disputed. Before approaching the 1960 presidential election itself, it is important to consider some relevant information from the previous government that guided the debate on the electoral campaign in question.
The previous government had been that of Juscelino Kubitschek, characterized by a developmental policy that resulted in a massive industrial growth in the country. However, this developmentalism of the JK government masked serious problems that affected Brazilian society, such as high inflation, a point of greatest social repercussion at that time. Other issues, such as the growth of foreign debt (and its payment) and problems related to the countryside and the educational area were also urgent.
As a result of the issues mentioned above and the weakening of PSD and PTB representatives in politics, the National Democratic Union (UDN), the conservative party, saw in this election a great opportunity to finally , to end its cycle of defeats, as it had lost the three presidential elections of the Fourth Republic. The animation of the UDN exactly reflected the weakness of PSD/PTB slate names for this presidential race (for a better understanding of Brazil's party organization in the Fourth Republic, access this text).
The name given by the UDN for the 1960 presidential election was Jânio Quadros, a politician who had made a political career in São Paulo without having any ties of party dependence. Jânio Quadros was a conservative politician who opposed the political legacy of Getúlio Vargas and was seen by Carlos Lacerda as the ideal name for the UDN to launch as president, mainly because he was governor of São Paulo.
Carlos Lacerda, journalist and conservative politician, was the great leader of the UDN. He is credited with the role of having convinced Jânio Quadros to run for president as a candidate for the UDN. Carlos Lacerda was also responsible for convincing UDN members to support the nomination of Jânio Quadros, made official in November 1959, as the party's candidate.
Jânio managed to attract the vote of both the upper and middle classes, who saw in him a hope of fighting inflation and guaranteeing the continuity of the country's economic growth. Combating high government spending (criticism of the JK government) and moralizing the administration and politics of Brazil were some of the promises made by Jânio.
During the election campaign, a range of voters started to defend the “Jan-Jan vote”, that is, Jânio for president and Jango (João Goulart) for vice. Jango was the vice-president of the slate of PSD candidate Henrique Teixeira Lott. This was possible because, at the time, the law required separate votes for president and vice.
Jânio's campaign was a success, reflected in the number of votes obtained and in the wide margin in relation to his opponents. The final result was |1| :
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Jânio Quadros (UDN):48% of the votes;
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Henry Teixeira Lott (PSD/PTB):32% of the votes;
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Ademar from Barros (PSP):20% of the votes.
Jânio Quadros Government
Jânio Quadros' government lasted six months and is considered by historians as a confused government, which made wrong decisions and contributed to throwing the country into a major political crisis. Jânio's lack of concern for political and party issues also caused him to clash with the very party that had launched him as a candidate (UDN).
In matters related to the economy, Jânio Quadros' main focus was the fight against inflation. For this he initiated an economic plan of austerity which provided for cost reduction and imposed some very unpopular measures. First, the government devalued the national currency against the dollar by 100% and then withdrew oil and wheat subsidies.
The result was a skyrocketing price for imported products, fuel, bus tickets and bread. The measures were well received by the International Monetary Fund and the Hague Club (European and American creditors), but the political cost of this for Jânio was so high that it made him try to change his economic policy, through a more development, applied from July.
The unpopular measures of the Jânio Quadros government did not stop there. According to historians Lilia Schwarcz and Heloísa Starling, the president:
[…] banned horse racing on weekdays and cockfights every day; it prohibited the use of perfume launchers at Carnival balls and bikinis on the beaches; regulated the length of swimsuits in televised pageant parades. And, to top it off, he installed two northeastern donkeys grazing the green grass in the immense garden of Palácio da Alvorada […] |2| .
Politically, Jânio's government was also disastrous. The president began a moralizing debauch in administrative positions and openly denounced PSD and PTB politicians. Furthermore, he made no point of maintaining cordiality with the party that supported him – the UDN. This led Jânio to isolate himself politically, starting to govern without parliamentary support, a fact that made presidential governability unfeasible.
The final blow to Jânio's government was the imposition of an independent foreign policy . Jânio Quadros began to defend a kind of “third way” for Brazil's foreign relations, that is, he began to redefine diplomatic relations with the United States and to resume contacts with the Soviet Union, which had been suspended since 1947.
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A clear demonstration of this independent foreign policy was the decoration that the president gave to Ernesto Che Guevara, one of the great names of the Cuban Revolution. This policy took place in the context of one of the most tense moments of the Cold War and, naturally, infuriated conservative politicians in Brazil, such as Carlos Lacerda.
Jânio's resignation
In August 1961, the crisis of Jânio's government was acute. Carlos Lacerda, the man who had supported him in the elections, was now openly attacking him. In addition, Jânio did not have the support of Congress. As a result of these situations, he took a drastic action:he presented his resignation on August 25, 1961.
Jânio never explained what motivated him to resign, but there is a consensus among historians that it was an attempt at self-coup . Looking back, we can see that it was a miscalculation:Jânio hoped that his resignation would not be accepted and that a popular outcry would arise demanding his return to the presidency with broad political powers, that is, without the presence of Congress to bother him.
With the resignation of Jânio, a serious political crisis began. The military leadership stated that they would not accept the inauguration of João Goulart, vice president and successor, in accordance with the 1946 Constitution. This started the campaign for legality, in which groups more linked to the left defended the inauguration of João Goulart. This impasse was resolved with the inauguration of Jango, in September 1961, under a parliamentary regime.
|1| 1960 presidential election. To access, click here.
|2| SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and STARLING, Heloísa Murgel. Brazil:A Biography. São Paulo:Companhia das Letras, 2015, p. 432.
*Image credits:FGV/CPDOC
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