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Carlos Lacerda (1914-1977)

Not quite a friend, but I felt I knew him well from my study of twentieth century Brazilian history. He was the product of a distinguished Fluminense family. His father, Mauricio, was a Socialist deputado earlier in the twentieth century. His son’s politics were far different. He was an arch reactionary. He was also a gifted speaker (I would call him a “high-level demagogue”) whose speech was well lubricated with vitriol.

He had the distinction in his lifetime of destroying three presidential careers: Vargas, Quadros, and Goulart. Quite a record. Incidentally, he also translated scripts of Broadway musicals for the Brazilian stage.

Although not a military officer, he assiduously cultivated their ranks. He was a darling of most right-wing generals. He also owned a newspaper, A Tribuna da Imprensa. Since I never saw it on the newsstand I asked a journalist friend how it survived. Simple: the editor blackmailed wealthy politicians until they paid him off to cancel pending smear stories.

Lacerda’s political ambitions were gargantuan. But he was too quarrelsome to maintain a steady following. He never made it to the presidential palace, but he did get elected Governor of Guanabara, a newly constitutional state, which included the greater city of Rio.

As a principal architect of the coup of 1964 (a very central event in my years in Brazil and one I wrote much about) he was a highly vocal supporter of the military government.

As Governor he was determined to rule a progressive administration, building lots of roads and viaducts. My friends said this boast reminded them of the hopeless gubernatorial candidate campaigning in the sticks who proclaimed, “When you elect me, I’ll build bridges everywhere!” An aide whispered, “ Sir there aren’t any rivers around here.” The candidate replied, without a pause, “And I’ll build rivers everywhere!”

Lacerda did better than that. He built a beautiful and expensive park (with lots of recreation facilities) besides Guanabara Bay. He reduced crime (his left-wing critics said it was by drowning criminals in the rivers). Quite a few bodies later surfaced according to the opposition papers (there was little “objective” news in highly politicized Rio).

With his fluent American and historic anti-Communist views, Lacerda was a favorite with the conservative elements in the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. press. He was often a featured speaker in New York financial circles. The Wall Street Journal could never get enough of him. The reader should not be surprised to learn that his three-volume biography was written by a son of John Foster Dulles, the Republican Secretary of State under President Eisenhower.

And how did I meet Carlos? Under rather bizarre circumstances. It was in New York City well after the coup of 1964. I was in town to attend some scholarly convention. I took the subway and as I stepped into the car we recognized each other, although we did not speak. Two strangers in the Big Apple. Such are the ways of the world.

Further Readings

Carlos Lacerda was born in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Although a supporter of the left in his youth, he became politically conservative and anti-communist as grew older. He established the newspaper publication Tribuna da imprensa in 1949. He also pursued a career in politics, winning a seat on Rio de Janeiro’s legislative chamber in 1947 and later serving as the city’s UDN representative in the Chamber of Deputies. A fervent critic against Vargas and his administration, Lacerda survived a botched assassination attempt in 1954. A few months later, he faced a deluge of death threats in the wake of Vargas’ suicide and went into hiding. However, Lacerda successfully regained success in the political sphere, serving as the Governor of Guanabara in 1960. In 1968, after forging alliances with Kubitschek and Goulart in an effort to overthrow the military dictatorship, Lacerda was arrested and banned from campaigning for political office for a decade.