Jânio Quadros

His Excellency Jânio Quadros
22nd President of Brazil
In office January 31, 1961 – August 25, 1961
Vice President	João Goulart
Preceded by	Juscelino Kubitschek
Succeeded by	Ranieri Mazzilli
18th Governor of São Paulo
In office January 31, 1955 – January 31, 1959
Vice Governor	Erlindo Salzano
Preceded by	Lucas Nogueira Garcez
Succeeded by	Carvalho Pinto
24th and 36th Mayor of São Paulo
In office April 8, 1953 – July 7, 1954
Preceded by	Armando de Arruda Pereira
Succeeded by	Porfírio da Paz
In office January 17, 1955 – January 31, 1955
Preceded by	Porfírio da Paz
Succeeded by	William Salem
In office January 1, 1986 – January 1, 1989
Preceded by	Mário Covas
Succeeded by	Luiza Erundina
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office February 1, 1955 – January 31, 1961
Constituency	Paraná
Member of a State Assembly
In office February 1, 1951 – April 8, 1953
Constituency	São Paulo
Member of a City Council
In office February 1, 1947 – February 1, 1951
Constituency	São Paulo
Personal details
Born	Jânio da Silva Quadros (1917-01-25)January 25, 1917 Campo Grande, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Died	February 16, 1992(1992-02-16) (aged 75) São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Political party	PDC (1947–1960) PTN (1960–1961) PMDB (1980–1980) PTB (1980–1986) Independent (1986–1989) PSD (1989–1989) Independent (1989–1992)

Jânio da Silva Quadros (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒɐ̃ɲu dɐ ˈsiwvɐ ˈkwadɾus] ; January 25, 1917 – February 16, 1992) was a Brazilian politician who served as President of Brazil from 31 January to 25 August 1961, when he resigned from office.

Career

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 National Labour Party (PTN). 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 Getúlio 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.

Resignation

On August 21, 1961, Quadros signed a bill annulling the mining rights of Hanna Mining, thus returning the iron ore reserves of the Minas Gerais region to the national reserve. Quadros resigned on August 25, 1961, citing foreign and "terrible forces" in his cryptic resignation letter. His resignation is commonly thought to have been a move to increase his power, expecting to return to the presidency by the acclamation of the Brazilian people or by the request of the National Congress of Brazil and the military. This maneuver, however, was immediately rejected by the Brazilian legislature, which accepted his resignation and called on the president of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, Pascoal Ranieri Mazzilli, to assume office until the vice president, João Goulart, 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 elected mayor of São Paulo in 1985, for the second time in his career, defeating the favored candidate, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, later president of Brazil. Quadros served as mayor until 1988 and died in São Paulo in 1992.

Gallery

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  Jânio Quadros in 1961
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  Jânio Quadros
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  Quadros with Argentine President Arturo Frondizi in April 1961
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  Quadros' resignation letter

See also

• List of Presidents of Brazil
• 1964 Brazilian coup d'état

External links

• TIME cover featuring Quadros (June 20, 1961)