Contents
Getúlio Vargas
Reshaping Brazil through industrialisation and labour laws while ruling for years as a dictator.
National steel industry · Labour code
- Born
- 19 April 1882
- Birthplace
- Brazil
- Died
- 24 August 1954
More people
Nelson MandelaHelping end apartheid and becoming South Africa’s first Black president.
Winston ChurchillBeing a racist bigot and responsible for the orders that led to the Bengal famine of 1943, in which an estimated three million people died.
Franklin D. RooseveltLeading the United States through the Great Depression and most of the Second World War.Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Vargas dominated Brazilian politics between 1930 and 1954. His governments expanded state-led industry and workers’ protections, but the Estado Novo also dismantled democratic institutions and repressed opposition.
Early life
Southern Brazil
Grew up in São Borja in a prominent ranching family.
Law
Graduated in law in Porto Alegre in 1907 after an early military education.
Career
- 1930
Took power
Led the movement that removed the existing government.
- 1937–1945
Estado Novo
Closed Congress and political parties and concentrated state power.
- 1951
Elected return
Returned to the presidency after winning the 1950 election.
- 1954
Final crisis
Died by suicide amid pressure to resign.
Policies and institutions
National steel industry
His government established Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional.
Labour code
Consolidated employment protections in the CLT.
Petrobras
Established the state-controlled oil company.
Beyond work
Family
Married Darci Sarmanho in 1911; they had five children.
Private record
Kept a diary that became an important source for historians of his government.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: Governo do Brasil. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
.jpg){kind=link}