The period from 1945 (with the coup that ended Vargas’ first period as president) to the coup of 1964 is known as the “Second Republic” or the “Populist Period.” It was marked by presidents who, for the first time in Brazilian politics, appealed to the people rather than the nation’s elite. In this period presidents attempted many reforms aimed at strengthening the power of—and citizens’ pride in—the central government, such as nationalizing oil, developing an auto manufacturing industry, and reforming land rights. While appeasing the public, these policies frightened both the military and foreign companies who had grown accustomed to access to Brazil’s resources and markets.
Read about the changes undergone during this period and the changing politics of the country through biographies of three presidents of the period: