Republic of Coffee and Milk (1894-1930)

The Sword Republic finished in 1894.
This first republic was controlled by the agrarian oligarchy Paulista and Mineira, from Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, which controlled the elections and established presidents of their republican parties (Republican Party Paulista and Republican Party Mineira).

The first president of this situation between Paulista and Mineira was Campos Salles, who was from the Paulista Party and was the government´s head since 1898 until 1902. He proposed a power scheme called Governor´s Politics, based in the alliance between the two agrarian oligarchy, causing controlled elections. This period is known as The Republic of Coffee and Milk.

The major part of the Income of Brazil in this period was from the exports of coffee from Sao Paulo and, in smaller proportions, from milk products from Minas Gerais. In the latest years of this period, the proletarian class arised and the medium class was bigger, and so, they were against the oligarchy of Paulistas and Mineiras, causing rebellions against the govern.

This instability was even bigger with the Great Recession of 1929, which caused on Brazil a huge decrease in the demand of coffee and absence of credits from USA. With this situation, in 1930, Washington Luis, which was finishing his presidency with his Paulista party, decided to support another Paulista candidate, Julio Prestes, breaking the alliance between Paulista and Mineiras.

Minas Gerais decided to support the opposition, forming a liberal alliance between Minas Gerais, South Region and Paraiba, which candidates were Getúlio Vargas(South Region) and Joao Pessoa (Paraiba), who died after the elections. Julio Prestes won the elections, but Getulio Vargas, with all the people unhappy with the republic, made a claim against the Paulista Party for fraud and made a Revolution in October 1930, finishing the presidency of Prestes and also finishing the so called Old Republic.

In this period, the economy of Brazil was based in the export of coffee, and, in a smaller proportion, of rubber, sugar and cotton. A forty percent of their exports were to USA, but they also exported products to France, England, Italy and Germany.

The GDP suffers two big changes, the first one in WWI, increasing the GDP because the increase in labor, and with the great recession in 1929, decreasing Brazil´s GDP, but in a smaller proportion than states like USA, France or Spain.
In the first world war, Brazil began in a neutral position, but, later, they would support the alliance between England-France-Russia and be against the central powers. However, their contribution wasn´t big, helping the Royal Navy against Germany and sending a couple of contingents to fight against Germany and Italy.

In this article it is explained why Brazil ended their neutral position in the First World War:
https://www.eldia.com.bo/index.php?cat=154&pla=3&id_articulo=238416

Vargas´period begins: Provisional Government (1930-1934)

Vargas was the head of this Provisional Government. He cancelled the Constitution of 1891 and, until 1934, he governed with decrees. He created ministries of Industry, Work, Commerce, Education and Health, in order to update the State.
In 1932, there was a revolution, called the Constitutional Revolution. The Republican Party Paulista made an alliance with the Democratic Party of Sao Paulo demanding a new constitution and the end of this Provisional Government. This revolution was a success as in 1934 it was approved a new Constitution and Vargas was elected again as the president.

In this article we can see that it was published a secret diary of Vargas, in which he talks about his love adventures, but also about politic issues and international meetings: https://elpais.com/diario/1996/01/05/cultura/820796402_850215.html

This article explains the revolution of 1932, which would finish with the Constitution of 1934: https://www.lavanguardia.com/historiayvida/gertulio-vargas-la-ultima-guerra-civil-brasilena_11734_102.html

Constitutional Government (1934-1937)

This new constitution have the same essential points, but it also includes news, as the obligation to vote, the fair elections and fair condition of work, the right to vote for women, and the obligation of free education. This new structure of state wants to satisfy the economic and social necessities of the state.
Vargas wanted to develop the interventionism of the state in economy, and so, he created the National Coffee Council and the Institutes of Sugar and Alcohol. With the interventionism he wanted to develop also the secondary sector, by transforming the industries and searching for new resources as oil, coal, electricity, iron and steel. He also made an approach to the new companies and improve the communication with entrepreneurs.
In this period, new parties arise, as the Communist Party or the National Liberator Alliance, with big influence of the european fascism. The last one made a manifest claiming the resign of Vargas, but the govern intervened and declared illegal this party, decreasing its power.
In 1937, before the elections of 1938, the govern claimed that a communist plan emerged in Brazil, most known as Cohen´s Plan, putting in danger Vargas´govern. With this instability, Vargas decided to make a military coup and begin the period known as Estado Novo.

Estado Novo(1937-1945)

Vargas closed the National Congress and create a new Constitution, which gave him the control of the Legal and Judiciary powers. He also made all the political parties disappear. With Vargas, it was created the Work Tribunal and were made multiple new rights for the workers, as the minimum wage, the weekly break, the syndicates were controlled and a new currency was created.

The most important event in this period was the Second World War, in which Brazil was neutral initially. But, in 1941, it was made a conference in Rio de Janeiro, in which all the south american states decided to break their relationship with Germany, Italy and Japan because of the japanese attacks against USA. One year later, Germany attacked Brazil and USA began negotiations with Vargas to finance the building of a steel plant in Brazil in exchange of having a strategic american base in Natal, known as Natal´s Conference. During the war, Brazil received more than 300 million dollars in exchange of labor for USA and military bases for USA and the allies.
After the participation in WWII, in 1945 the state was unstable, the opposition was bigger, so Vargas decided to convoke elections, after creating two new parties: the Brazilian Workers Party and the Social Democratic Party, with the minister of war, Dutra, as the favourite candidate. This caused anger in the opposition, who decided to make a military coup finishing the Estado Novo.

This article from "El País" relates the experience of a brazilian soldier who fought in the Second World War, and explain the role of Brazil in the war:
https://elpais.com/internacional/2014/04/18/actualidad/1397851823_514835.html

1946-1950: Eurico Dutra

In the beginning of 1946, Eurico Dutra was elected the new president of Brazil.
In comparison with Vargas, he wanted to be more conservative, and to be closest with the church. One of his controversial decisions was to ban the games of chance, but the big entrepreneurs was against this decision.
Dutra broke up all the relationship with USSR because he wanted to eliminate all the communist influences, he also banned the Communist Party. This was very positive because it made stronger their relationship with USA, helping to develop future business with them.
Dutra also made an internal plan for energy, health, transport and nutrition, which was unsuccessful and build a road between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
This article of the New York Times reminds us the short trajectory of Dutra as president:
https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/12/archives/eurico-dutra-89-brazilian-leader-president-who-overthrew-vargas-in.html

Elected Government: (1950-1954)

In october 1954, Vargas was elected as president, being very influential the governor of Sao Paulo.
His biggest changes were the increase of the minimum wage on a hundred percent and the creation of Petrobras and Eletrobras, being Petrobras one of the most important international oil companies.
Even though the creation of Petrobras and Eletrobras would made Brazil to develop in the future and be a big success, Vargas lost all the support of the brazilians.The army, the Congress and the oligarchies were against Vargas and were planning campaigns to finish its govern, claiming Vargas to resign. The pressure was so big for Vargas that he decided suicide in August of 1954.

In this link we have learned more about the trajectory of Vargas in Brazil:
https://www.jornada.com.mx/2014/09/03/opinion/016a1pol

In this article we see an explanation of the circumstances that surrounded Vargas in his suicide: 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/24/newsid_4544000/4544759.stm

The period after Vargas

Vargas killed himself during the year of 1954 leaving the country in a strange situation. This would be the event that started a  new period in the republic of Brazil called the Republica Nova.Juscelino Kubitcshek became the president in 1956 after two years of political instability.

He settled peace and the country experienced a little economic growth and  it was during these years when a really important industrialization process took place in Brazil. In terms of infrastructures, a really big progress was made and it was in 1960 when the capital of the republic was moved to Brasilia and also the head of the government. It was purely conceived as city to reunite all the administrations of the country. When Kubitcshek tenure ended, political instability was the main factor and two presidents were impeached by the opposition. This fast changes in the government ended when military rose over the political power and imposed a military regime.

Before dying in 1954,  president Vargas created in 1953 the oil company known as Petrobras which its main activity is to search and process petrol to turn it into fuel. Petrobras is public corporations and it is still managed by the brazilian government since its creation. since 2006 the production of the whole company can produce enough fuel to maintain the  whole country of Brazil. It also makes businesses with more than 40 countries around the world.

This entry of the blog was done based on these articles: 
https://www.observatoriomercosur.org.uy/libro/pasado_autoritario_y_democracia_en_brasil_22.php
https://www.brazil.org.za/modern-history.html 
 http://oil-mail.blogspot.com/2011/05/petrobras-historia.html