Pedro Ernesto do Rego Baptista, or simply "Pedro Ernesto" as he would later be known, was a successful medical surgeon who became

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

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 ...

in mid-1931. His two terms were from September 30, 1931, until October 2, 1934; and from April 7, 1935, until April 4, 1936.

Biography

Pedro Ernesto would later be known as the first

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

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 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 ...

. His victory in the elections for mayor was partly due to the backing of then-president of Brazil,

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 ...

. During his term in office, he made several

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and populist reforms in the fields of health care,

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, and

indigenous culture Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

(to his credit stands the revival of the Samba). He quickly became the most popular

in Brazil, and was even considered as a suitable candidate for the future

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

s of 1938. In 1936, however, Ernesto was charged with participation in a communist

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

against the government, and was arrested. He spent the next few years defending himself against charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, and was eventually absolved. By then, however, Vargas had already launched his

autocratic Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except per ...

"New State" ( Estado Novo), erasing the possibility of

democratic election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

Pedro Ernesto Medal

In October 1980, the

Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro The Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro is the unicameral legislative body of the city of 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-m ...

, whose building is called "Pedro Ernesto Palace", instituted a medal with his name, considered the maximum commendation of the municipality. It was severely questioned in 2006, after the ex-deputy

Roberto Jefferson Roberto Jefferson Monteiro Francisco (born 14 June 1953) is a Brazilian politician. Personal life and education He was born on 14 June 1953, in Petrópolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Neusa Dalva Monteiro Francisco and Ro ...

, confessed defendant and impeached for participating in the "

mensalão scandal The Mensalão scandal ( pt, Escândalo do Mensalão, ) was a major parliamentary vote-buying scandal by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration that threatened to bring down his government in 2005. ''Mensalão'' is a neologism, a variant of ...

", was decorated with it by his own daughter, councilor

Cristiane Brasil Cristiane Brasil Francisco, commonly known as Cristiane Brasil (born 21 December 1973), is a Brazilian lawyer and politician. Former member of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), had been Federal Deputy, representing the state of Rio de Janeiro be ...

. The cartoonist "Jaguar" returned his medal, given eight years earlier by the then councilman

Chico Alencar Francisco Rodrigues de Alencar Filho, known as Chico Alencar (born 19 October 1949), is a Brazilian politician, historian, and writer, currently federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro, affiliated with the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL). He left t ...

References

Bibliography

Michael L. Conniff, “Brazil’s Populist Republic and Beyond”, in Conniff (ed.), Populism in Latin America
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External links

Brazilian surgeons Mayors of Rio de Janeiro (city) 1884 births 1942 deaths {{Brazil-politician-stub