Djalma Maranhão (27 November 1915 – 30 July 1971) was a Brazilian politician. He was the mayor of the city of

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

for two terms, from 1956 to 1959, and again from 1961 to 1964. He also was a state deputy in and federal deputy from the state of Rio Grande do Norte. He was the first democratically elected mayor of Natal, as well as the last before the

Brazilian military dictatorship The military dictatorship in Brazil (), occasionally referred to as the Fifth Brazilian Republic, was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against presi ...

Biography

Maranhão was born on 27 November 1915 in Natal. Prior to his political career he was also a physical education teacher and a journalist. He was a founder and director of local newspapers.Direitos Humanos na net - Djalma Maranhão (text by Moacyr de Góes)
/ref> His brother was lawyer and Communist activist , who had been forcibly disappeared and murdered by the Brazilian military dictatorship after it came into power in 1964. Maranhão was a member of 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- ...

until the beginning of the 1940s. Afterwards, he became a member of the National Labour Party (PTN) and later the

Brazilian Socialist Party The Brazilian Socialist Party (, PSB) is a political party in Brazil. It was founded in 1947, before being abolished by the military regime in 1965 and re-organised in 1989 after the re-democratisation of Brazil. It elected six Governors in 201 ...

(PSB). He was elected a state deputy in 1954. He assumed a seat in the Federal Chamber of Deputies as a first substitute from 1959 to 1960. His first term as mayor of Natal came in the mid-1950s after being nominated by governor . He was elected by direct vote to his second mandate in 1960, the first direct vote for mayor in Natal. During his time in office, he had enlisted

Moacyr de Góes Moacir, also spelled Moacyr ( or ), is a Brazilian masculine given name of Indigenous origin (from de Tupi–Guarani languages) and a character of the Brazilian novel Iracema. Notable people with the name include: * Moacir Barbosa Nascimento (1921 ...

to help expand literacy rates in the city to considerable success. Considered to be left-wing, after the coup d'état in April 1964, Maranhão was removed from office as mayor. He was imprisoned by the military on the island of

Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha (), officially the State District of Fernando de Noronha () and formerly known as the Federal Territory of Fernando de Noronha () until 1988, is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and ...

and in

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

. He was freed after a ''habeas corpus'' order by the

Supreme Federal Court The Federal Supreme Court (, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the country's Constitutional Court. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for constitutional issues and its rulings ...

in December 1964, and afterwards went into exile in Uruguay. He died while in exile in Uruguay at 55 years old. His corpse was repatriated and was buried at Cemitério do Alecrim. There is a bust of Maranhão in front of the Padre Miguelinho Palace in Natal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maranhao, Djalma 1915 births 1971 deaths Mayors of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte Members of the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Norte Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Rio Grande do Norte Brazilian Communist Party politicians Brazilian Socialist Party politicians Dead and missing in the fight against the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964–1985) Brazilian expatriates in Uruguay Brazilian exiles