Against Presidentialism and Professional Representation

Abstract

The Brazilian legislative power was absent during the Provisional Government (1930 - 1934). While Getúlio Vargas concentrated powers, important political actors were relegated to regional isolation. However, the jurist and politician José Augusto from Rio Grande do Norte, who had been removed from the position of Senator of the Republic, kept his engagement in crucial political activities in the press in Rio de Janeiro. The paper aims to analyze how his political performance evolved in the period of the Provisional Government of Getúlio Vargas, using as primary source journalistic documents and the articles he published in the newspapers Diário de Notícias and O Jornal. In the process, we take into account the context in which the political ideas at the time were embedded. José Augusto’s standpoint was then moving towards a defense of parliamentarism and political representation based exclusively on universal suffrage, in contrast to the political movements of Vargas’ support base, which was firmly committed to presidentialism (with centralization of power) and class representation as a revolutionary alternative at a time when the country was preparing to draft its new Constitution.