João Fernandes Campos Café Filho (; 3 February 1899 – 20 February 1970) was a Brazilian
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...
who served as the 18th
president of Brazil
The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...
, taking office upon the suicide of president
Getúlio Vargas. He was the first
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
to occupy the position.
Biography
Early life and career
Café Filho was born in
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, 3 February 1899. He was the founder of the ''Jornal do Norte'' (1921), editor of the ''O Correio de Bezerros'' in the city of
Bezerros
Bezerros () is a municipality in northeastern Brazil, in the State of Pernambuco, near the city of Gravatá. Its population was 60,880 (2020) and its area is 491 km2. Also known as Papangu city, because a festive tradition in which the people dre ...
,
Pernambuco (1923), and director of the newspaper ''A 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
The ''Coluna Prestes'', also known as ''Coluna Miguel Costa-Prestes'', in English Prestes Column, was a social rebel movement that broke out in Brazil between 1925 and 1927, with links to the Tenente revolts. The rebellion's ideology was diffuse, ...
", which resulted in his conviction to three months in prison. He then escaped to
Bahia in 1927, under the alias Senílson Pessoa Cavalcanti, but eventually returned to Natal, where he surrendered. In 1923, he ran unsuccessfully for
councilman of
Natal.
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 in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
, returning to Brazil in 1938. He founded, along with
Ademar de Barros
Adhemar Pereira de Barros (22 April 1901 – 12 March 1969) was the mayor of São Paulo (1957–1961), and twice elected Governor of São Paulo (1947–1951 & 1963–1966).
Barros was born in Piracicaba, Brazil. He was the federal inter ...
, 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 the
president of the Senate. He took office as
president following the suicide of incumbent
Getúlio Vargas, 24 August 1954.
Presidency
After taking over as president, Café Filho appointed to his new cabinet
minister of finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
the economist Eugenio Gudin, supporter of a more orthodox economic policy, which sought to stabilize the economy and combat inflation. The Minister adopted as key measures to contain credit and cutting public expenditure, seeking thereby to reduce the public concerned deficit in its assessment of the inflationary process. During the Café Filho government, was instituted the single tax on electricity, generating the Federal Electrification Fund, and the withholding tax on income from the labor wage. Stood out yet in his administration the creation of the Committee on Location of the New Federal Capital, the inauguration, in January 1955, of the Paulo Afonso hydroelectric plant and encouraging 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 by
Carlos Luz, the
president of the Chamber of Deputies. Recovered, Café Filho tried to reassume presidential powers, but his removal was approved by the
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
on 22 November 1955 and confirmed by the
Supreme Court in December.
His removal through
impeachment, with the congress declaring him unable to discharge his duties, came after military pressure.
Post-presidency
After the presidency, Café Filho was appointed Councillor of the Court of Accounts State of
Guanabara (1961–1970).
He died in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
on 20 February 1970.
Honours
Foreign Honours
*
Grand Cross of the
Order of the Tower and Sword,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
(20 September 1951)
*
Grand Cross of the
Sash of the Three Orders
The Sash of the Three Orders ( pt, Banda das Três Ordens, or ''Banda da Grã-Cruz das Três Ordens'') is a decoration that combines the insignia of the Grand Crosses of the Military Orders of Christ, Aviz and St. James of the Sword. It is the ...
, Portugal (22 April 1955)
[Banda da Grã-Cruz das Três Ordens: João Café Filho (Presidente dos Estados Unidos do Brasil)]
(in Portuguese), ''Arquivo Histórico da Presidência da República''. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
References
External links
Biography and Presidency of Café FilhoThe History of the Chamber of DeputiesAverage GDP growth: Vargas - Rousseff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe Filho, Joao
1899 births
1970 deaths
People from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte
Brazilian evangelicals
Brazilian Presbyterians
Presidents of Brazil
Vice presidents of Brazil
Presidents of the Federal Senate (Brazil)
Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword
3
3
3
Social Progressive Party politicians
Candidates for Vice President of Brazil
Impeached presidents removed from office
Impeached Presidents of Brazil