 Official portrait, 1946 | |
| Presidency of Eurico Gaspar Dutra 31 January 1946 – 31 January 1951 | |
Vice President | |
|---|---|
| Party | PSD |
| Election | 1945 presidential election |
| Seat | Catete Palace |
 Standard of the President | |
Thepresidency of Eurico Gaspar Dutra began on 31 January 1946, after he won the 1945 election with 3,251,507 votes against 2,039,341 votes forEduardo Gomes, making himBrazil's 16th president. It ended on 31 January 1951, whenGetúlio Vargas took office.[1]
His administration was characterized by the outbreak of theCold War, withDutra fully aligning himself with the United States and tearing up relations with theSoviet Union. The period also witnessed discussions onoil policy, the ban ongambling in Brazil, which has lasted to this day, and theSALTE Plan. During his time in office, Brazil's GDP grew by an average of 7.6%, one of the highest growth rates in the country's history.[1]
Dutra stood as a candidate for theSocial Democratic Party (PSD), in coalition with theBrazilian Labour Party (PTB), and won the elections on 2 December 1945, with 3,351,507 votes, beating Eduardo Gomes of theNational Democratic Union andYedo Fiúza of theCommunist Party of Brazil. The1945 elections took place under the1937 constitution, which did not include avice-president. However,Nereu Ramos, a politician fromSanta Catarina, also from the PSD, was chosen for the post by the1946 National Constituent Assembly.[1]
Dutra took office on 31 January 1946, along with the inauguration of the National Constituent Assembly, in a climate of freedom after years ofVargas' dictatorial regime.
Politics
To establish a democratic rule that lasted 19 years, a constitutional pact was made between the major parties of the liberal center, the PSD and the UDN, although left-wing parties such as the Communist Party of Brazil (PCB) and the PTB were also active. Dutra initially allowed them to criticise the government until 1947, when it's leader, SenatorLuis Carlos Prestes, announced that if the Soviet Union and the Brazil were to go to war, Brazilian communists would support the Soviet Union. Brazil heavily shifted to the American camp during the cold war.[1][2] Still, Dutra typically did not interfere in decisions, even when his term was reduced from six to five years.
Dutra tried to use the principles oflaissez faire liberalism, suspending exchange rate controls and allowing the import of manufactured goods to avoid a rise in inflation.[3]
Dutra's trade policy was criticized for its poor use of the foreign currency accumulated during the war, and for misjudging the situation of the reserves. In 1946, half of the savings were in gold and the other half, US$235 million were in blockedpounds sterling and only US$92 million were actually liquid and usable in countries with convertible currencies. One of the origins of the problem was that Brazil had a surplus with inconvertible currency areas and deficits with the US and other countries. Also, in the post-war period, there was no influx of public or private capital into Brazil, which was not a priority in the new global context.[4][5]
The overvaluedexchange rate, by discouraging the supply of the product, could be used to support international coffee prices, but it acted as a disincentive to the export sector, deflecting investment towards production for the domestic market. The spurt of economic development that resulted from this policy was called "spontaneous industrialization", which was assisted by a more liberal credit policy. Between 1946 and 1952, the average annual growth rate of real output was 6.2%, while industrial output grew by 7.9%. The composition of GDP changed: agriculture went from 37% in 1939 to 31.8% in 1951, while industry grew from 17.5% to 19.6% in the same period. Supported by the inauguration of theCompanhia Siderúrgica Nacional, Brazilian steel production rose from 205,935 tons in 1945 to 788,557 tons in 1950.[4][6]
During this period, the cost of living rose by 60%, but the minimum wage remained the same as Vargas had set it in December 1943 (between 240 oldcruzeiros inRecife and 380 inRio de Janeiro).[4]
Based on adevelopmentalist approach, Eurico Dutra gathered suggestions from various ministries and gave priority to four areas: Health (Saúde), Food (Alimentação), Transport (Transporte) and Energy (Energia), whose initials form the acronym SALTE. The resources for implementing theSALTE Plan would come from theFederal Revenue Service and foreign loans. However, the resistance of the conservative coalition and the orthodoxy of the economic team eventually made the plan unviable.[4]
During Dutra's administration, BR-2 (nowRodovia Presidente Dutra), the highway linking Rio de Janeiro toSão Paulo, was built and inaugurated; in 1967, it was duplicated. On leaving office, Dutra's road policy was praised by the press. An editorial in the newspaperA Noite stated that it was the sector that had produced the most "voluminous and fruitful" results, with the alleged construction of 500 km of roads during his administration.[7]
In 1945, the president of theNational Petroleum Council (CNP), ColonelJoão Carlos Barreto, defended the participation of foreign private capital in the oil industry, as long as it was integrated into companies incorporated in Brazil, contrary to the 1937 Constitution; this argument was used in the drafting of the1946 Constitution.[8]
In February 1947, Dutra appointed a commission, under the direction of the CNP, to draw up thePetroleum Statute, to define how the country, whose consumption of the product was growing rapidly, would deal with the problem. During the drafting process, the Oil Campaign was created with the slogan "O petróleo é nosso" (English: "Oil is ours").[8]
The Statute was sent to Congress at the beginning of 1948, without Dutra's clear opinion, as if it were a study and not a bill. The document established the principle of the product's public utility clearly, but considered total nationalization impossible due to a lack of funds and specialized technicians. When it was published, it displeased everyone, both the nationalists, who adopted the thesis of a state monopoly, and the big corporations, who wanted to exploit Brazilian oil in the same way as Venezuelan oil.[9]
In April 1948, theCenter for the Study and Defense of Oil and the National Economy (CEDPEN) was created, withArtur Bernardes and generals Horta Barbosa, José Pessoa andEstêvão Leitão de Carvalho as its honorary presidents. In October, the organization formally adopted, at a national convention, the thesis of a state monopoly for all phases of oil exploration.[10]
Dutra created the General Staff, which would later become theBrazilian Army General Staff (EMFA). During his administration, the federal territories ofPonta Porã andIguaçu were abolished. On 30 April 1946, he bannedgambling in Brazil and demanded the closure of all casinos.[11][12][13]
On 18 September 1950,TV Tupi, the first television station in Brazil and South America, was inaugurated. Between June 24 and July 16 of that year, Brazil hosted theFIFA World Cup, the first afterWorld War II. In the final match, the Uruguayan team defeated Brazil at theMaracanã Stadium and lifted the World Cup title.[14][15]
The Dutra government's foreign policy was strongly marked by the outbreak of theCold War andanti-communism, including the rupture of diplomatic relations with theSoviet Union.[16] Between 15 August and 2 September 1947, the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace and Security of the Continent was held, which was attended by US PresidentHarry Truman and approved theInter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR), commonly known as the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro. It established that "an armed attack by any country against an American state shall be considered an attack against all American states."[17][18]
In May 1949, Dutra made a 10-day visit to the United States, becoming the first Brazilian president to do so, but the results were rather modest.[19]
Overall, the ministers were linked to Vargas, but from May 1946, when the UDN held a national convention, Dutra definitely oriented his policy towards a conservative alliance. The exception wasJoão Neves, who left his post in July and was replaced on an interim basis by Samuel Gracie.Edmundo de Macedo Soares also left the ministry, only to be elected governor of the state in 1947.Neto Campelo contributed to the division of the PSD inPernambuco with his anti-Vargas orientation, as didCarlos Luz in Minas Gerais.
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