Café Filho | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1954 | |
| 18th President of Brazil | |
| In office 24 August 1954 – 8 November 1955[nb] | |
| Vice President | None |
| Preceded by | Getúlio Vargas |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Luz |
| 13th Vice President of Brazil | |
| In office 31 January 1951 – 3 September 1954 | |
| President | Getúlio Vargas |
| Preceded by | Nereu Ramos |
| Succeeded by | João Goulart |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 5 February 1946 – 31 January 1951 | |
| Constituency | Rio Grande do Norte |
| In office 2 May 1935 – 10 November 1937 | |
| Constituency | Rio Grande do Norte |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1899-02-03)3 February 1899 Natal,Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil |
| Died | 20 February 1970(1970-02-20) (aged 71) Rio de Janeiro,Guanabara, Brazil |
| Political party | PSN (1933–1937) PSP (1946–1965) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Profession |
|
| Signature |  |
| n.b. ^ Acting president between 24 August 1954 and 3 September 1954. Onleave of absence between 3 November 1955 and 21 November 1955.Impeached byCongress on 22 November 1955. | |
João Fernandes Campos Café Filho (Brazilian Portuguese:[ʒuˈɐ̃wfeʁˈnɐ̃dʒisˈkɐ̃puskaˈfɛˈfiʎu]; 3 February 1899 – 20 February 1970) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 18thpresident of Brazil, taking office upon the suicide of PresidentGetúlio Vargas. He was the firstProtestant to occupy the position.
Café Filho was born inNatal, Rio Grande do Norte, 3 February 1899. He was the founder of theJornal do Norte (1921), editor of theO Correio de Bezerros in the city ofBezerros,Pernambuco (1923), and director of the newspaperA Noite (1925), writing in the latter, articles in which he asked soldiers, corporals and young officers to refuse to fight the so-called "Coluna Prestes", which resulted in his conviction to three months in prison. He then escaped toBahia in 1927, under the alias Senílson Pessoa Cavalcanti, but eventually returned to Natal, where he surrendered. In 1923, he ran unsuccessfully forcouncilman ofNatal.
He joined the Liberal Alliance, and was one of the founders, in 1933, of the Social Nationalist Party of Rio Grande do Norte (PSN). Café Filho was elected federal deputy (1935–1937) and stood out for the defense of constitutional liberties. Threatened with arrest, he sought asylum inArgentina, returning to Brazil in 1938. He founded, along withAdemar de Barros, the Progressive Republican Party (PRP), for which he was elected federal deputy again (1946–1950). He was elected vice president by a coalition of parties that merged under the symbol Progressive Social Party (PSP). As vice president, he also served as thepresident of the Senate.[1] He took office aspresident following the suicide of incumbentGetúlio Vargas, 24 August 1954.
After taking over as president, Café Filho appointed to his new cabinetminister of finance the economist Eugenio Gudin, supporter of a more orthodox economic policy, who sought to stabilize the economy and combat inflation. The Minister adopted key measures to contain credit and cutting public expenditure, seeking thereby to reduce thepublic concerned deficit in its assessment of the inflationary process. During the Café Filho government, the single tax on electricity was instituted, generating the Federal Electrification Fund, as well as the withholding tax on income from the labor wage. Notable in his administration was the creation of the Committee on Location of the New Federal Capital, and the inauguration, in January 1955, of the Paulo Afonso hydroelectric plant. Café Filho encouraged the inflow of foreign capital in the country, which would influence the process of industrialization that followed.
Temporarily removed from the presidency on 3 November 1955, due to a cardiovascular disorder, on November 8 he was replaced byCarlos Luz, thepresident of the Chamber of Deputies. Recovered, Café Filho tried to reassume presidential powers, but, as part of the1955 Brazilian coup d'état, his removal was approved by theCongress on 22 November 1955 and confirmed by theSupreme Court in December.
His removal throughimpeachment, with the congress declaring him unable to discharge his duties, came after military pressure.[2]
After the presidency, Café Filho was appointed Councillor of the Court of Accounts ofGuanabara (1961–1970).
He died inRio de Janeiro on 20 February 1970.
Grand Cross of theOrder of the Tower and Sword,Portugal (20 September 1951)[3]
Grand Cross of theSash of the Three Orders, Portugal (22 April 1955)[4]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vice President of Brazil 1951–1954 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Brazil 1954–1955 | Succeeded by Carlos Luz (acting) |
| Old Republic (1889–1930) | |
|---|---|
| Populist Republic (1946–64) | |
| Military dictatorship (1964–85) | |
| New Republic (1985–present) | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
