Jânio Quadros | |
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22nd President of Brazil | |
In office January 31, 1961 – August 25, 1961 |
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Vice President | João Goulart |
Preceded by | Juscelino Kubitschek |
Succeeded by | João Goulart |
Governor of São Paulo | |
In office January 31, 1955 – January 31, 1959 |
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Preceded by | Lucas Nogueira Garcez |
Succeeded by | Carlos Alberto Alves de Carvalho Pinto |
Mayor of São Paulo | |
In office January 1, 1986 – December 22, 1988 |
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Preceded by | Mário Covas |
Succeeded by | Cláudio Lembo (secretary of Justice) |
In office January 18, 1955 – February 5, 1955 |
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Preceded by | José Porfírio da Paz |
Succeeded by | William Salem |
In office April 8, 1953 – July 6, 1954 |
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Preceded by | Armando de Arruda Pereira |
Succeeded by | José Porfírio da Paz |
Personal details | |
Born | January 25, 1917 Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil |
Died | February 16, 1992 São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil |
(aged 75)
Nationality | Brazilian |
Political party | PDC (1947–1964) PTB (1980–1980) PMDB (1980–1980) PTB (1980–1986) Independent (1986–1989) PSD (1989–1989) Independent (1989–1992) |
Jânio da Silva Quadros (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒɐniu da ˈsiwva ˈkwadɾus] ( listen)), (January 25, 1917 — February 16, 1992), was a Brazilian politician who served as President of Brazil for only 7 months in 1961.
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Quadros was born in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. His meteoric career can be attributed to his widespread use of populist rhetoric and his extravagant behavior. He became mayor of the city of São Paulo in 1953 and governor of the state of São Paulo just two years later, in 1955. He was elected president of Brazil by a landslide in 1960, running as the candidate of the center-right National Democratic Union. When he took office on January 31, 1961; it was the first time since Brazil became a republic in 1889 that an incumbent government peacefully transferred power to an elected member of the opposition. It was also the first time in 31 years that the presidency was not held by an heir to the legacy of Getulio Vargas.
Quadros laid the blame for the country's high rate of inflation on his predecessor, Juscelino Kubitschek. As president, Quadros outlawed gambling, banned women from wearing bikinis on the beach, and established relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba, trying to achieve a neutralist international policy. The re-establishment of relations with the Socialist Bloc in the middle of the Cold War cost him the support of the UDN in Congress, so that he was left with no real power.
He resigned on August 25, 1961, expecting to return to the presidency by acclamation of the Brazilian people or by request of the National Congress of Brazil and the military, which, concerned about the possibility of the leftist vice president João Goulart taking the oath as president, would refuse Quadros' resignation. This maneuver, however, was immediately rejected by the Brazilian legislature, which accepted his resignation and called on the president of the Congress, Pascoal Ranieri Mazzilli, to assume office until the vice president came back from his trip to Communist China. Goulart finally took the oath as president on September 7, 1961, although his power was restricted by an amendment to the Constitution passed on September 2, that created a parliamentary system of Government. He was not of the same party as Quadros; at the time, Brazilians could vote for a ticket that had candidates for president and vice president from different parties.
Quadros's resignation initiated a serious political crisis that culminated in a military coup in 1964. While the military did not allow him to participate in politics, by the 1980s Quadros had made a comeback. He joined the Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro, and was candidate for governor of São Paulo in 1982, only to be defeated by André Franco Montoro. Nevertheless, he was re-elected mayor of São Paulo in 1985, defeating the favored candidate, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, later president of Brazil. Quadros served as mayor until 1988 and died in São Paulo in 1992.
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Armando de Arruda Pereira |
Mayor of São Paulo 1953–1954 |
Succeeded by José Porfírio da Paz |
Preceded by Lucas Nogueira Garcez |
Governor of São Paulo 1955–1959 |
Succeeded by Carlos Alberto Alves de Carvalho Pinto |
Preceded by Juscelino Kubitschek |
President of Brazil 1961 |
Succeeded by João Goulart |
Preceded by Mário Covas |
Mayor of São Paulo 1985–1988 |
Succeeded by Luiza Erundina |
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