Brazil Getulio Vargas and Brazilian Essay

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Yet another paradox in the legacy of Vargas became manifest -- while before Nazi Germany had maintained a close connection with Brazil, helping to modernize the army and Brazil's industry, Vargas used his new, singular authority to turn to the United States for support. Brazil became an important supplier of raw materials to the U.S. during World War II, in exchange for American investments in Brazil's infrastructure. The U.S. helped build Brazil's first major highways, railroads, ports, and airports. This increased national prosperity and affection for Vargas. The new, government-controlled unions formed the core of his urban power base.

The United States' funding helped create Brazil's first steel mill, as well as factories that manufactured truck and airplane engines. This expanded urban employment possibilities and consolidated Vargas' power as all of these powerful enterprises were state-controlled, in contrast to the coffee exporting business that was dominated by landowners. Thus while he was not a democrat, the transformations Vargas enacted were both populist and popular, as well as in his own interest. His changes in the tax structure reformed Brazil and made it a modern nation-state, with local and state government dependant upon federal authorities rather than upon powerful local landowners and officials. For local elections, Vargas did try to enfranchise more Brazilians: the electorate was quadrupled under his regime, partially because of the enfranchisement of women.

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Girls now had expanded access to education, reducing the authority of husbands and fathers over their lives. Vargas introduced the secret ballot, which meant that less powerful, poorer voters did not live in fear of repercussions from local elites because of the way they voted.

Much like Juan Peron of Argentina, to whom he is often compared, Vargas was not democratic, but greatly beloved. When Vargas' rule as a de facto dictator came to an end in 1945 after a revolt, he was quickly re-elected as senator from Rio Grande do Sul in December 1945. After a period of retirement Vargas took office as president once again in 1951. But Brazil had changed in the interim, and Vargas did not have the political finesse to balance the demands of different political parties as well as deal with a more vocal public. The labor movement that had once been his strongest supporters no longer supported him and the middle-class had always opposed Vargas. The U.S. did not support Brazil to the degree that it had during World War II. Facing the certainty of his removal from power 1954, a desperate Vargas took his own life, ending his political career, but not the impact of his complex legacy in Brazilian history.

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