The second government of Getúlio Vargas began in 1951, after winning the presidential elections held the previous year, in 1950. This second Vargas government, known as the democratic government, was marked by years of political crisis, as the opposition, dissatisfied with the nationalist development project of Vargas, sought to destabilize the government at all costs.
Elections of 1950
During the presidential term of Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Getúlio Vargas was already politically articulated to plan his return to the presidency of Brazil. In December 1946, he politically broke with the government of Eurico Gaspar Dutra and set off in search of alliances to strengthen his electoral campaign.
Because of the alliances made, Vargas launched Café Filho as its vice-presidential candidate to obtain votes from voters in the North and Northeast of Brazil. In São Paulo, he allied with Ademar de Barros , a very influential politician, leader of the Social Progressive Party (PSP), who had been elected governor of the state. In addition, Vargas sought different alliances between UDN and PSD politicians.
In his electoral campaign, Getúlio Vargas held rallies in different parts of Brazil and aligned his speech with two important demands of the population at that time:the guarantee of the country's economic development and the promotion of social welfare . Thus, Vargas reinforced his speech, stating that he would carry out the country's economic development independently while fighting inflation and promoting the well-being of the population.
The candidacy of Getúlio Vargas was made official in 1949 by the Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (PTB), as well as his opponents:Brigadier Eduardo Gomes, by the National Democratic Union (UDN), and Cristiano Machado, by the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Eduardo Gomes' candidacy was significantly weakened compared to that of 1945, and a slip during the electoral campaign – another – meant that his candidacy had no chance.
During the election campaign, Eduardo Gomes said he was in favor of ending the minimum wage, something considered disastrous for the votes of the working poor. The other candidate, Cristiano Machado, was launched under the influence of Eurico Gaspar Dutra, but saw his own party abandon him and vote en masse for Getúlio Vargas. The final result of the elections guaranteed the victory of Getúlio Vargas with 48.7% of the votes.
Second Vargas government
The political debate during the second government of Getúlio Vargas focused mainly on the issue of development economic from Brazil . This debate generated a very clear division in Brazilian political frameworks between those who defended development in a more nationalist way. and those who defended the development of Brazil under the influence of capital international .
This division manifested itself, above all, in the exploitation of resources considered vital for the development of the country's economy at the time:oil and the energy electric . During his government, Vargas developed the Campanha do Petróleo, who defended the exploitation of this resource from the state monopoly.
The Oil Campaign mobilized different groups in Brazilian society who defended that oil exploration was a matter of national sovereignty. Under the slogan “Oil is ours”, the government's campaign for the creation of a state-owned oil exploration company was successful and, thus, in 1953, Petrobras was born. .
The campaign for the creation of a state-owned company that would produce electricity did not have the same success, and the creation of Eletrobras only took place in 1962. In any case, the government of Getúlio was successful in creating a structure with the objective of increasing energy production in the country.
However, the nationalist project that proposed greater state intervention as regulator of the economy displeased to internal groups that did not welcome state intervention and internal groups that had economic interests aligned with international capital. In this regard, historians Lilia Schwarcz and Heloisa Starling state:
The proposal to create state-owned companies in areas considered strategic, such as oil prospecting and exploration and electricity production, meant, however, entering into shock route with strongly consolidated interests that favored the participation of foreign groups:Standard Oil, in the case of oil; Light and Power Co. and American &Foreign Power Co., in electric power generation|1| .
Thus, the political-economic project proposed by Getúlio Vargas:
[…] clashed with foreign companies, with local industrial and financial interests associated with or about to be associated with international capital, and with the powerful landowners who remained politically active in their regions. All these groups fought a state that regulated the market, concentrated wealth and favored the adoption of policies to contain foreign capital in areas considered strategic for national development, and they thought they were harmed by labor legislation that they considered to be excessively burdensome to entrepreneurs|2| .
This opposition against the political-economic project of the Vargas government was led by the UDN, a conservative-oriented party that was an ardent advocate of greater influence of foreign capital in the Brazilian economy. The UDN's role as an opposition force was consolidated as inflation and the cost of living increased in the years of the Vargas government.
The growth of these indicators, naturally, had a greater impact on the lives of poor workers, who began to express their dissatisfaction. First, there was the March of the Empty Pots, which mobilized 60 thousand people in São Paulo, in March 1953; then there was the 300K Strike.
Vargas' stance was to name João Goulart as Minister from Work . The appointment of João Goulart to this post was strategically thought of by Vargas, since João Goulart had excellent articulation with union groups and was considered a good negotiator. This appointment infuriated the Udenista opposition, which began to accuse the Vargas government of planning to establish a “Syndicalist Republic” in Brazil, which was naturally false.
João Goulart's role as Minister of Labor lasted approximately eight months. To calm the opposition's spirits, Vargas fired João Goulart from the position, but not without first ratifying João Goulart's proposal to increase the minimum wage by 100%. This increase infuriated the UDN and, above all, the army.
In response to rising workers' wages, a group of 42 colonels and 39 lieutenant colonels released the Manifesto of the Colonels, in which they carried out strong criticism against the Vargas government and showed the climate of insubordination and coupism that characterized the corporation in the 1950s and 1960s.
Tonelero Street Attack
The situation of the Getúlio Vargas government was delicate, however, the opposition did not yet have something that would cause Vargas's overthrow in a definitive way. The trigger that triggered the end of Vargas' second government took place on August 5, when Carlos Lacerda was attacked when he arrived at his home on Rua Tonelero, in Copacabana.
Carlos Lacerda was the main name of the UDN and the opposition to the Vargas government. A journalist, Lacerda used his newspaper, Tribuna da Press , to publish daily denunciations against the Vargas government – some true and some false. The journalist was wounded in the foot, but his bodyguard, Air Force Major Rubens Vaz, he died. This news fell like a bombshell on the Vargas government.
The death of the aeronautical officer strengthened the opposition of the Brazilian Armed Forces against the president. To investigate the death of its officer, the air force ran over the Constitution and Justice of Brazil and launched an inquiry on its own. The complaints led to the name of Gregório Fortunate , head of security at Palácio do Catete.
Getúlio Vargas' participation in the attack was never proven, however, Vargas' opposition accused him of being the mastermind responsible for the assassination attempt on Carlos Lacerda. Getúlio Vargas was cornered and was abandoned by the party itself. The Armed Forces demanded the immediate resignation of the president, who refused to do so.
Then, on the morning of August 24, 1954, Getúlio Vargas, isolated in his room, committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest. The news of Vargas' suicide sensitized the population. Many, in tears, took to the streets to mourn the death of the president. The reaction of the masses was such that several symbols of opposition to the government were attacked. Carlos Lacerda, for example, had to flee Rio de Janeiro in a hurry.
Getúlio Vargas left a letter-testament that expressed his political position, placing himself as a martyr. Vargas' wake was attended by 1 million people, and the udenista opposition was significantly weakened after the president's suicide. The succession to the mandate was carried out by Vargas' deputy, Café Filho.
|1| SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and STARLING, Heloisa Murgel. Brazil:a biography. São Paulo:Companhia das Letras, 2015, p. 403.
|2| Ditto, p. 403.
Take the opportunity to check out our video lessons related to the subject: