Vargas Era

Brazil, 1930–1946. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Second Brazilian Republic was the period in Brazilian history between 1930 and 1937, during the Vargas Era. It began with the Revolution of 1930, led by Getúlio Vargas. It ended with a coup d'état carried out by Vargas in 1937, which gave rise to the Estado Novo. Vargas was ousted in 1945 after fifteen years in power.

Seat of power: Rio de Janeiro

Rulers

Getúlio Vargas

President of Brazil, 1930–1945

In 1930, after losing the presidential election, Vargas rose to power under a provisional presidency following an armed revolution, remaining until 1934 when he was elected president under a new constitution. Three years later he seized powers under the pretext of a potential communist insurrection, beginning the eight-year long Estado Novo dictatorship. Ousted in 1945 after fifteen years in power, Vargas returned to the presidency democratically after winning the 1950 Brazilian general election.

Portrait of Getúlio Vargas: Governo do Brasil, Public domain, file

José Linhares

President of Brazil, 1945–1946

José Linhares briefly served as the interim president of Brazil in the final months of the Estado Novo. Linhares devoted himself mainly to prepare the return to democratic order, replacing the stakeholders in the states by judiciary members, giving the new parliament constitution-making powers, extinguishing the Court of National Security, abolishing the state of emergency, provided in the 1937 Constitution, among other measures. In December 1945 elections were held for the presidency and the National Constituent Assembly.

Portrait of José Linhares: Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, Public domain, file

Culture

The constitutional government began when Vargas was elected president in 1934, alongside a democratically elected legislature.
It is one of the finest examples of Brazilian 1930s modernist architecture, designed in 1935 and 1936.
In 1942, Vargas led Brazil into World War II on the side of the Allies.

Picture

The Gustavo Capanema Palace in Rio de Janeiro was the first modernist project in Brazil.

Image: Henrique Liberal, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.