Paulo Lauro (19 November 1907 – 5 August 1983) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who was the mayor of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

from 1947 to 1948. He was the first Black mayor of the city. He later became a federal deputy representing the state of

in the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Lauro was born on 19 November 1907, in

Descalvado Descalvado is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, 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 mil ...

to Alfredo Gonçalves Lauro and Leopoldina Lauro. He was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. He graduated with a law degree from the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

in 1932. He became a criminal defense attorney in São Paulo while also teaching in local schools. He later worked as a journalist, becoming a director of two newspapers. He was married to Diva da Fonseca and had two children, Paulo Lauro Júnior and Dora Aparecida. During his career as a lawyer, he achieved fame in both the public and legal spheres in 1938 after he represented the defendant in what was dubbed the "Chinese restaurant massacre" case. The case involved the murders and attempted robbery of 4 people, the owners of a Chinese restaurant in São Paulo and two of their waiters, as part of a revenge plot by a maltreated former employee, Arias de Oliveira. Oliveira was acquitted in the first of two trials after Lauro convinced the jury to rule in his favor despite police evidence and a signed confession by Oliveira himself. He was later convicted in a second trial and was sentenced to thirty years in prison. A colleague of

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 interv ...

, Lauro was a member of the iteration of the Progressive Republican Party that Barros founded in 1945 until its merger with the Social Progressive Party (PSP) a year later. Lauro went on to join the newly formed party. He was the Secretary of Justice at São Paulo city hall when in 1947, he was appointed by now-governor of São Paulo state Barros to serve as the mayor of São Paulo from 1947 to 1948. Lauro became the first Black mayor of the city, and one of two Black mayors in São Paulo's history, the second being Celso Pitta. He helped to construct numerous infrastructure projects throughout the city during his time in office. Lauro later became a federal deputy for the state of São Paulo in on and off terms during the 1950s and 1960s. He went to become leader or vice-leader of the PSP parliamentary group at various points. He also was a member of the Constitution and Justice and Education and Culture commissions. Lauro went on to oppose much of president Jânio Quadros' policies as a member of Congress, contributing to the turbulent political climate that led to his resignation. He also opposed the normalization of relations with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

by Quadros' successor

João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart (1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on 1 April 1964. He was considered the ...

, as well as further state intervention in public utilities. After the

1964 Brazilian coup d'état The 1964 Brazilian coup d'état ( pt, Golpe de estado no Brasil em 1964), colloquially known in Brazil as the Coup of 64 ('), was a series of events in Brazil from March 31 to April 1 that led to the overthrow of President João Goulart by membe ...

and the establishment of the military dictatorship, he became a member of

ARENA An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

and ran again for Congress in 1966, but was not elected. After retiring from politics, he returned to practicing law and later became an economics professor. He died on 5 August 1983 in São Paulo. A section of highway SP-215, from Descalvado to

São Carlos São Carlos (Saint Charles, in English, ; named after Saint Charles Borromeo) is a Brazilian municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, 254 kilometers from the city of São Paulo. With a population of 254,484 inhabitants, it is th ...

, was named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauro, Paulo 1907 births 1983 deaths Mayors of São Paulo University of São Paulo alumni Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from São Paulo Brazilian politicians of African descent Brazilian Roman Catholics National Renewal Alliance politicians Social Progressive Party politicians