Brazil

Paraguay, known as the War of the Triple Alliance. The three allies suffered a humiliating defeat. 1871: The children of slaves were emancipated. 13 May 1888: Princess Isabel, who was acting as regent for her aged father, approved the ‘Golden Law’, which abolished the institution of slavery. The plantation owners subsequently recruited increasing numbers of immigrants from Europe. 15 November 1889: High-ranking army officers led a coup d’état and forced the royal family to flee to Portugal. Gen. Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca was elected as the President of a provisional Government. 1890: Following a number of disputes with Parliament, Gen. Deodoro dissolved the Government and ruled by decree. 1891: Deodoro resigned; he was replaced by Floriano Peixoto. A new Constitution was adopted, establishing a federal system for the country, thenceforth known as the United State of Brazil, and providing for an elected Congress, comprising a House of Representatives and a Senate. 1894: Prudente de Morais was elected the first President of the federal republic. 1915-17: A rebellion took place in Constesdo against the despotism of the landowning élite; the revolt was inspired by a local healer, Miguel Lucena Boaventura. 1917: General strikes occurred in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Recife, Santos and Porto Alegre. July 1922: A group of junior military officers led an unsuccessful revolt in Rio de Janeiro. 1924: A further rebellion was attempted by members of the armed forces in São Paulo. 1929: During the global economic depression precipitated by the collapse of the stock markets in New York (USA), the coffee industry suffered from a fall in demand, causing hardship in Brazil, where coffee was the dominant export crop. March 1930: Presidential elections were won by the government candidate, Júlio Prestes, who gained most of his support among the electorate of the larger states. His opponent was Getúlio Vargas, who represented a coalition of opposition parties and urban and military dissidents. November 1930: Following a revolt among supporters of Vargas, President Prestes was forced to resign and Vargas was appointed the leader of a provisional Government. 1934: The Constituent Assembly elected Vargas to the presidency. A new Constitution enacted a number of reforms, including the introduction of suffrage for women. 1935: A revolt by the Communist movement was suppressed. 1937: Although he was re-elected President, Vargas was assisted by the armed forces in abrogating the Constitution. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved and Vargas proclaimed the establishment of the Estado Novo, which was to be organized on corporatist principles. The President proceeded to impose protectionist policies and also enacted social-welfare reforms. 1939-45: President Vargas took the country into the Second World War on the side of the Allies. Troops were sent to assist the Allied campaign in Italy; the USA also provided

presidential elections, the candidate of the Partido Social Democrático (PSD), Eurio Dutra, received 55% of the votes cast. January 1946: A new Constitution was promulgated, providing for the decentralization of power and regular elections. 1950: With the support of the Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (PTB), Vargas was reelected President; he subsequently authorized the establishment of federal-financed banks and corporations and introduced further social-welfare policies favourable to the working classes. 24 August 1954: Following a dispute with opposition parties and the military, intensified by allegations that his bodyguard had attempted to assassinate one of his opponents, Vargas committed suicide. 1955: A coalition of the PSD and the PTB elected Juscelino Kubitschek as President. During his time in office, Kubitschek supervised the expansion of heavy industry and the development of a basic infrastructure. April 1960: The country’s new federal capital, Brasília, was inaugurated. October 1960: Jânio Quadros, representing the União Democrática Nacional (UDN), was elected President. João Goulart of the PTB was elected Vice-President. July 1961: Quadros resigned, alleging a lack of support within Congress.