page_title: Getúlio Vargas
section_title: Second presidency
hierarchical_section_title: Getúlio Vargas / Second presidency
caption_attribution_description: Português: Getúlio Dorneles Vargas 1951
context_page_description: Getúlio Dornelles Vargas was a Brazilian lawyer and politician, who served as president during two periods: the first was from 1930 to 1945, when he served as interim president from 1930 to 1934, constitutional president from 1934 to 1937, and dictator from 1937 to 1945. After resigning in 1945, Vargas returned to power as the democratically elected president in 1951, serving until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the longest of any president, and second in Brazilian history only to Emperor Pedro II among heads of state. He favored nationalism, industrialization, centralization, social welfare and populism – for the latter, Vargas won the nickname, "the father of the poor". Vargas is one of a number of populists who arose during the 1930s in Latin America, including Lázaro Cárdenas and Juan Perón, who promoted nationalism and pursued social reform. He was a proponent of workers' rights as well as a staunch anti-communist.
  Vargas was brought to power by political outsiders and the rank-and-file of the Armed Forces in the Revolution of 1930; this was a reaction to his loss in the presidential election earlier that year.
context_section_description: When he left the Estado Novo presidency, the economic surplus of Brazil was high and the industry was growing. After four years, however, pro-US President Eurico Dutra wasted huge quantities of money protecting foreign, mostly US, industry, and distanced himself from the ideas of nationalism and modernization of the country championed by Vargas. Vargas returned to politics in 1951 and through a free and secret ballot was re-elected President of the Republic. Hampered by the economic crisis largely engendered by the policies of Dutra, Vargas pursued a nationalist policy, turning to the country's natural resources and away from foreign dependency. As part of this policy, he founded Petrobrás (Brazilian Petroleum), a large, multinational petroleum concern largely owned by the Government of Brazil.
caption: Official photograph of Vargas' second term as President, 1951
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