The official presidential photo of Jânio Quadros, from the Brazilian Gallery of Presidents.

Jânio da Silva Quadros was born in Campo Grande in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul on January 25, 1917. He spent his childhood in Curítiba and earned a degree in law from the University of São Paulo. Quadros worked briefly as a geography teacher and as a law professor before entering politics.

In 1947 he was elected to the city council of São Paulo, serving in that role until 1950. During his term he introduced more laws than any other elected official in Brazil, including several that benefited the working class. In 1950 he was elected to the São Paulo State Senate, earning more votes than any other candidate, serving from 1951 to 1953.

After his mandate as state senator, Quadros decided to run for mayor of São Paulo. He beat the establishment candidate, even though his opponent, Francisco Antonio Cardoso, had significantly more resources and spending power. Quadros served as mayor of São Paulo until 1955, when he resigned in order to campaign for governor. He ran against his longtime political rival Ademar de Barros as a candidate representing two parties that had formed an alliance, the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PTB) and the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB). Quadros was elected by a 1 percent margin in 1955 and served as governor until 1959.

Quadros’ meteoric rise is attributed to his dramatic rhetorical style and his promises to root out corruption. It was in this manner that he campaigned for the presidency of Brazil in 1960 for the conservative National Democratic Union (UDN). His campaign symbol was a broom; he promised to “sweep away corruption.” Quadros won 48 percent of the vote, the highest percentage for any presidential candidate at the time (Kubitschek had come to power with only 36 percent), beating his opponent Marshall Henrique Lott by a landslide.

Quadros alienated his supporters on the right by, among other controversial acts, visiting communist Cuba and awarding the National Order of the Cruzeiro do Sul, a presidential honor awarded to foreign dignitaries, to Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Published under Creative Commons by Agencia Brasil.

Quadros took office with inflation and the national debt on the rise, which he blamed on his predecessor’s high rate of spending in attempts to modernize the country. The new president, who had never been a long-term member of any political party, found it difficult to navigate the multi-party Brazilian system. In the realm of foreign policy, Quadros decided to adopt a ‘neutral’ policy, visiting Cuba and resuming relations with the Soviet Union. This cost him the support of the UDN, his only source of support in Congress, essentially leaving him powerless.

In a surprise move, Quadros handed his resignation to the deadlocked Congress on August 5, 1961, seven months after taking office. It is speculated that his hope was that Congress would reject his resignation due to his popularity and the fact that his vice-president, João Goulart, was a renowned Getulista, granting Quadros a new reservoir of political capital. Things did not go as planned, and Congress accepted his resignation. Goulart became president with limited powers after the army threatened to overthrow him, serving for just one year before the 1964 coup.

Quadros’ letter of resignation to the Congresso Nacional, signed August 25, 1961. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The eccentric former president Quadros had a failed run for the governorship of São Paulo in 1962. Soon after, the dictatorship stripped him of his political rights, as did ex-Presidents João Goulart and Juscelino Kutschek. The three men, along with former Guanabara governor Carlos Lacerda, attempted to form a political alliance against the military regime, but that effort failed. Quadros had his political rights reinstated in 1974 and returned to the political arena in 1982, once again losing the election for the governorship of São Paulo. In 1985 he was elected mayor of São Paulo.

Jânio Quadros died in São Paulo on February 16, 1992.