Juscelino Kubitschek
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His Excellency Juscelino Kubitschek | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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President of Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 31 January 1956 – 30 January 1961 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vice President | João Goulart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Nereu Ramos (acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Jânio Quadros | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | PSD (1945–1965) | 12 September 1902||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 2, including Márcia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parents |
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Alma mater | Federal University of Minas Gerais School of Medicine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Profession |
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Signature | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Allegiance | Brazil Minas Gerais | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Branch/service | Brazilian Army Military Police of Minas Gerais | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years of service | 1931–1933 1937–1940 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | Lieutenant colonel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Battles/wars | Constitutionalist Revolution | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuseˈlinu kubiˈʃɛk(i) dʒi oliˈve(j)ɾɐ]; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosperity and political stability,[1] being most known for the construction of a new capital, Brasília.
Early life and career
Kubitschek was born into a poor family in Diamantina, Minas Gerais.[2] His father, João César de Oliveira (1872–1905), who died when Juscelino was two years old, was a traveling salesman. He was raised by his mother, a schoolteacher named Júlia Kubitschek (1873–1973).[3] His mother was of part Czech descent. He was educated at a seminary school in Diamantina, where he was an average student.[4]
Kubitschek attended the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte when he turned twenty.[5] He became a licensed medical doctor after seven years of schooling. He then went to live in Europe for a few months after graduating eventually returning to Brazil after the revolution of 1930 that marked the ascension of President Getúlio Vargas.
Kubitschek served as a doctor in the military police and saw patients at a military hospital in Minas Gerais. Kubitschek befriended the Governor of Minas Gerais, Benedito Valadares, who named Kubitschek his Chief of Staff in 1932. Two years later in 1934 Kubitschek ran for office for the first time, becoming a member of the Federal
He would run again for the Federal Chamber of Deputies in 1945, and in 1950 ran for Governor of the state of Minas Gerais. As Governor he was noted with focusing on addressing transportation and energy establishing a government energy corporation that built five new power plants, and he promoted improving roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals.[7]
Presidency
After President
Before Kubitschek was even inaugurated, however, rumors of a military coup were brewing and the opposition party
His economic plan had 31 goals distributed in six large categories: energy, transport, food, base industries, education, and the main goal, the
Healthcare
As a practicing doctor, Juscelino was passionate about reforming healthcare.[11] Kubitschek campaigned on establishing a central health bureaucracy that previously did not exist to address rural health issues more adequately. The most notable is DNERU which was an agency created to address tuberculosis and malaria, and issue vaccines in areas of the country where access to healthcare was scarce.
Economy and major works
Although his main project was to develop national industry, it was with the "Goals plan", launched in 1956, that there was a greater opening of the national economy for foreign investment. He made all imported machines and industrial equipment exempt from taxes, as well as to assist foreign capital. However, the exemption only applied if the foreign capital was associated with the national capital ("associated capital"). To amplify the internal market, he developed a generous credit policy.
He promoted the development of the automobile industry, naval industry, heavy industry and the construction of hydroelectric power stations. With the exception of the hydroelectric industry, Juscelino practically created an economy without state-owned companies. He also had a very progressive agenda proposed for Education; however, that was never carried out.
Kubitschek cared a great deal about the construction of transregional roads. He was criticised for focusing only in road construction and putting aside the railways, a decision still controversial today. The construction of the roads helped the integration of the Amazon region, together with the construction of Brasilia.
In the short term the economy boomed, with a stronger industry under his leadership. More dependent on energy resources, Brazil became one of the countries most affected by the oil crises of 1973 and 1979. Having to import over 80% of its consumption, the quadrupling of oil prices greatly contributed to Brazil's debts and spiralling inflation, for which his administration was directly blamed by the critics as a result. In fact, the economy continued to suffer well into the 1980s as Brazil's industries became less and less competitive in the global market.
By the end of his term, the foreign debt had grown from 87 million
Kubitschek ended his time in office with a growth of 80% in industrial production but with an inflation rate of 43%.
The construction of Brasília
The idea of building a new capital in the center of the country was already idealised in the
The work, led by urban planner Lúcio Costa, architect Oscar Niemeyer and landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx, started in February 1957. More than 200 machines were put to work and 30,000 workers came from every part of the country, though most from the northeast. The construction went on day and night to meet the objective of finishing Brasília by 21 April 1960, in a homage to the Inconfidência Mineira and Rome's founding. A completely new capital city, its streets, government palaces, infrastructure, living facilities, etc., suddenly emerged in the middle of a savanna in just 41 months, and before the target date. As soon as it was inaugurated, Brasília was considered a masterpiece of urbanism and modern architecture.
Brasilia plays a strategic role in integrating Brazil's farthest regions, bringing development to unpopulated areas and guaranteeing Brazil's cultural and territorial unity.
The construction of
The new capital was soon to help integrate all the Brazilian regions, create jobs and absorb a workforce from the
Allegations of corruption
Kubitschek's government was often accused of corruption. The accusations began at the time he was governor and intensified during his presidency, when the construction of Brasília began. There were serious reasons to believe that people connected to Juscelino had been favored in the construction. Also, the airline Pan-Air Brazil held a monopoly on the transport of people and goods during this period, yet another source of controversy.[13]
During his time in office, Time magazine wrote that he had the seventh greatest fortune in the world, a claim that was never proven.[14] In fact, upon his death many years later, it was shown he had earned very modest means. This did not stop a candidate for the next presidency, Jânio Quadros, from stating during his presidential campaign that he would "sweep the corruption out of the country".[15] Later, during the military regime, Juscelino would be questioned about the corruption allegations and about his supposed ties with communist groups.
Kubitschek was succeeded by
Return to Brazil and death
Kubitschek returned to Brazil in 1967, but died in a car crash in 1976, near the city of Resende in the state of Rio de Janeiro. 350,000 mourners were present at his burial in Brasília. He is now buried in the JK Memorial in Brasilia, which was opened in 1981.[17]
On 26 April 2000, the former governor of Rio de Janeiro, Leonel Brizola, alleged that the former presidents of Brazil, João Goulart and Kubitschek, who died a few months apart in 1976, were murdered as part of the US-backed Operation Condor, and requested the investigation of their deaths as part of the National Truth Commission investigations.[17] They were originally reported to have died respectively of a heart attack and a car accident.[18][19] On 27 March 2014, the commission concluded that Kubitschek was not assassinated.[17][20]
Honours
The
Many cities have things named after him, such as Juscelino Kubitschek, Santa Maria. "JK" is a ubiquitous acronym honouring the ex-president, who is often seen by Brazilians as the "father of modern Brazil".
Foreign honours
- Collar of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
- Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
- 1st Class of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (posthumously)
- Order of Christ
- Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Honorary Knight Grand Cross of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Media
In 2006,
Descendants
In 1980, his daughter
See also
- 1964 Brazilian coup d'état
- History of Brazil (1945–1964)
References
- ^ "Homenageados › Juscelino Kubitschek". Centro Cultural Oscar Niemeyer (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "10 em Tudo". 10 em Tudo. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- ^ "Júlia Kubitschek". GeneAll.net. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- ^ "Juscelino Kubitschek | Brazil: Five Centuries of Change". library.brown.edu. Brown University Library. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
The future president was thus raised by his mother, a schoolteacher of Czech descent.
- ISBN 978-0-89680-163-9.[page needed]
- ^ ."Juscelino Kubitschek".
- ^ "Juscelino Kubitschek | president of Brazil | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ JSTOR 3513595.
- JSTOR j.ctt13x173z.12.
- ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- .
- .
- ^ a b "O verdadeiro JK". Opinião e Notícia. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
- ISSN 0040-781X.
- ^ a b "Jânio Quadros | Brazil: Five Centuries of Change". library.brown.edu. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Áudio histórico imperdivel o ex presidente juscelino kubitscheck sabendo que ia ser cassado se dirige pela última vez ao povo brasileiro". Veja. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
- ^ a b c "Brazil ex-president was 'not killed in political plot'". BBC News. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Brasil examina su pasado represivo en la Operación Cóndor". El Mostrador. 11 May 2000. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
- El Clarín. 6 May 2000.
- ^ "Comissão Nacional da Verdade: A Morte do ex-Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira" (PDF). National Truth Commission. 12 December 2013.
- ^ "Canal Zap: Globo estréia minissérie sobre JK - 03/01/2006 - Da Redação". televisao.uol.com.br. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
Further reading
- Alexander, Robert J. (1991). Juscelino Kubitschek and the Development of Brazil. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies, ISBN 0-89680-163-2
- Bojunga, Cláudio. (2001). JK: o artista do impossível. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Objetiva, ISBN 85-7302-407-0(in Portuguese)
External links
- "The Man from Minas". Time. 13 February 1956. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010.