General elections were held in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on 3 October 1950.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p173 The presidential elections were won by

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

of the Brazilian Labour Party, whilst the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

remained the largest party in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, although they lost their majority in the former. Voter turnout was 72% in the presidential and Chamber elections and 78% in the Senate elections.

Background

After living in self-imposed exile in his Riograndense ranch between his overthrow in 1945 and 1950, former President

, who had already been elected a senator in 1945, decided to run for the presidency, as the candidate of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), one of the two he founded before he was deposed in October 1945, putting an end to his 15-year dictatorship. Vargas, although in exile, remained active on the sidelines of Brazilian politics during the presidency of his former War Minister,

Eurico Gaspar Dutra Eurico Gaspar Dutra (; 18 May 1883 – 11 June 1974) was a Brazilian military leader and politician who served as the 16th president of Brazil from 1946 to 1951. He was the first president of the Fourth Brazilian Republic, which followed the V ...

. He notably criticized his successor's economic policies, taking a hard nationalist and populist tone which appealed to the base of the PTB, organized labour. In April 1950, the

, also pro-Vargas but based more around industrialists and state political machines, rejected the idea of forming a coalition with the PTB or the UDN and decided to run its own candidate. They nominated Cristiano Machado, a little-known congressman for

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. However, Vargas was able to forge an alliance with a number of PSD state leaders, notably in his own state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

and in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. In

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

, he even forged an alliance with his traditional rivals, the UDN. This phenomenon - to nominate a candidate and support another - became known as "Cristianization" in Brazil after it came at the expense of Cristiano Machado. In the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, he forged an alliance with

Adhemar 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 intervent ...

Social Progressive Party The Progressive Social Party (, PSP) was a left-wing populist, conservative political party in Brazil between 1946 and 1965, led by Adhemar de Barros. The result of a merger between smaller parties, it was, in practice, the fourth largest par ...

(PSP), a populist electoral machine which dominated state politics. The PSP was the only other party to officially endorse him, and provided him with his running-mate (who was separately elected),

João Café Filho João is a given name of Portuguese origin. It is equivalent to the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the s ...

. Vargas also assured himself of the support, or at least approval, of the military which had deposed him in 1945. He reconciled himself with the dominant figure of the military then, Góis Monteiro, who had played a role in his 1945 overthrow. The

center-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

National Democratic Union (UDN), noted for its radical anti-Vargas posture, once again nominated Eduardo Gomes as its candidate. The party proved woefully unable to expand its narrow electoral base, and not even the anti-Vargas rhetoric of 1945 could deliver more votes. The UDN and Gomes also proved their little comprehension of the evolving Brazilian political scene by supporting abolishing the minimum wage instituted in Vargas' past administration. During the

administration, the

Brazilian Communist Party The Brazilian Communist Party (), originally the Communist Party of Brazil (), is a communist party in Brazil, founded on 25 March 1922. Arguably the oldest active political party in Brazil, it played an important role in the country's 20th- ...

had its license revoked by the

Superior Electoral Court The Superior Electoral Court (, TSE) is the highest body of the Brazilian Election Justice, Brazilian Electoral Justice, which also comprises one Regional Electoral Court (Brazil), Regional Electoral Court (, TRE) in each of the 26 states and th ...

in the context of the early

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. Communists oriented their followers not to vote, but a significant share of them voted on Vargas.

Presidential candidates

*Former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

( PTB) *Former Air Minister Eduardo Gomes of

( UDN) *

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Cristiano Machado of

( PSD) *

João Mangabeira João Mangabeira (26 June 1880 – 27 April 1964) was a Brazilian jurist, politician and writer. Biography Mangabeira was the brother of medical doctor and poet Francisco Mangabeira, and politician Otávio Mangabeira. He was admitted to law sc ...

( PSB)

Results

President

Vargas won a convincing victory, with 48.7% of the vote and close to an absolute majority of votes cast. Despite the UDN's claim that he was not constitutionally elected (they claimed that a candidate needed an absolute majority of the votes), Vargas was inaugurated President on 31 January 1951.Skidmore, TE: Politics in Brazil: 1930-1964, page 101. Oxford University Press, 2007. As of 2023, this remains the last time that the bellwether state of

did not vote for the winner of the election.

Vice president

Chamber of Deputies

Senate

References

{{Brazilian elections

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Parliamentary elections in Brazil Presidential elections in Brazil

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results Getúlio Vargas