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 school at 13 years of age, and despite belonging to a large family without financial resources, he managed to complete his course by the age of 17. He then began practicing law in

Ilhéus Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the most important touris ...

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

. According to Federal jurist and politician

Paulo Brossard Paulo Brossard de Souza Pinto (23 October 1924 – 12 April 2015) was a Brazilian jurist and politician. Born in Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, he graduated in Law and served several terms as a parliamentarian in his state and in the National Congr ...

: ''"When the annual session of the jury started, a poor defendant went on trial without a lawyer. The judge designated João Mangabeira as a defense lawyer. Mangabeira knew nothing about the process. Listening to the judge's report, he paid attention to everything: names, pages, details. As soon as the prosecutor concluded the indictment, the young defense lawyer, appointed minutes before, shattered the charge, pointing out contradictions, correcting names, indicating process pages that he did not handle at all. The defendant was acquitted ... and, thereafter, the city began to trust the lawyer who was no more than a child, and his office started to have clients."'' Shortly after he became a congressman as a State Deputy and then as a Federal Deputy. He became a close associate of

Rui Barbosa Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (5 November 1849 – 1 March 1923), also known as Rui Barbosa, was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician. Born in Salvador, Bahia, and a distinguished and staunch defender of civil liberties and ...

. In 1923, when Barbosa died, Mangabeira gave a speech in his honor. On the centenary of the birth of Barbosa in 1949, Mangabeira was the speaker of the House of Representatives. In a short time he became one of the most prominent figures in the House of Representatives. Renowned as both congressman and lawyer, he came to be highly regarded for his intelligence. Mangabeira's career included defending

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

. As deputy for the

Constitutional Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

of 1934, and his opposition to the Estado Novo dictatorship (

Vargas Era The Vargas Era (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Era Vargas''; ) is the period in the History of Brazil, history of Brazil between 1930 and 1945, when the country was governed by president Getúlio Vargas. The period from 1930 to 1937 is know ...

) landed Mangabeira in prison for 15 months. "I'd rather get in jail by this dictatorship, than be free, agreeing with it," he said in 1936.

References

1880 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Brazilian lawyers Brazilian male writers People from Bahia Minister Energy ministers of Brazil Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Bahia Members of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Members of the Legislative Assembly of Bahia Ministers of Justice of Brazil {{Brazil-politician-stub