João Pessoa Cavalcanti de Albuquerque (24 January 1878 – 26 July 1930) was a

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian politician and lawyer who served as the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Paraíba Paraíba ( Tupi: ''pa'ra a'íba''; ) is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba ...

between 1928 and 1930. Pessoa was a supporter of

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 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

and ran as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

in the

1930 Brazilian presidential election General elections were held in Brazil on 1 March 1930.Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p173 In the presidential elections the result was a victory for Júlio Prestes of the Republican Party of São Pa ...

in opposition to the '' café com leite'' system. Pessoa was assassinated shortly after the election which became one of the main causes of the Brazilian Revolution of 1930. João Pessoa, the capital and largest city of Paraíba, was renamed in his honor.

Life and career

Pessoa was born on January 24, 1878, at Umbuzeiro,

, Brazil. He enrolled at the Military Academy of Praia Vermelha in 1895, but dropped out before completing the course. He joined the

Faculdade de Direito do Recife The Recife Law School, now called Law School, Federal University of Pernambuco (formerly in Portuguese ''Faculdade de Direito do Recife'' and now ''Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco''), is a law school in the city of Rec ...

(Faculty of Law of Recife) in 1899, graduating in 1904. From 1909, he worked as a lawyer 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 ...

, in the Ministry of Finance and the Navy. In 1919, Epitácio Pessoa, João Pessoa's uncle, became President of Brazil, and João was made a minister of the Supremo Tribunal Militar (Supreme Military Court). In 1928, João Pessoa was elected governor of

, in which role he attempted to bring about reform of the state's political and administrative structure, and imposed taxes on trade conducted between Paraíba and the port of

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

in the state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...

. In the 1930 presidential elections, Pessoa refused to support the Republican candidate, Júlio Prestes, and accepted an invitation to become the running mate on the ticket of

. Prestes won the election, and one of his supporters, Colonel José Pereira Lima, led a revolt against Pessoa's state government, with the cooperation of the federal government. Pessoa responded by ordering raids on the homes and offices of suspected rebel sympathizers; during one such raid on the house of João Duarte Dantas, an ally of Pereira, police discovered intimate letters from Dantas' mistress, which were subsequently published in the state press.

Death

On July 26, 1930, Pessoa was on an official visit to Recife when he was shot and killed by an infuriated Dantas. The

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

stirred up a wave of bad feeling toward the federal government and the outgoing president Washington Luís, who was accused of bearing the "moral responsibility". Not long after Pessoa's death, Washington Luís was overthrown, and Getúlio Vargas installed as president.

Legacy

Parahyba do Norte, the capital and largest city of Paraíba, was renamed ''João Pessoa'' in September 1930, two months after his assassination. Pessoa is also commemorated in the Paraíba state flag, which features the word ''Nego'' ("I deny"), a reference to Pessoa's refusal to accept Júlio Prestes as president. The colors of the flag, red and black, symbolize the blood shed during the assassination and the period of mourning which followed.

References

People from Umbuzeiro 1878 births 1930 deaths Cavalcanti family Brazilian murder victims Assassinated Brazilian politicians People murdered in Brazil Deaths by firearm in Brazil Portuguese nobility {{Brazil-politician-stub Candidates for Vice President of Brazil 1930s assassinated politicians