Carlos Lacerda, Brazilian Crusader: Volume I: The Years 1914-1960 (Volume 1) - Softcover

Dulles, John W. F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292723733 ISBN 13: 9780292723733

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 2010

Synopsis

Playwright, journalist, and spectacularly successful governor, Carlos Lacerda was Brazil's foremost orator in the 20th century and its most controversial politician. He might have become president in the 1960s had not the military taken over. In the words of eminent historian José Honório Rodrigues, "No one person influenced the Brazilian historical process as much as Carlos Lacerda from 1945 to 1968."

In this volume, the first of a two-volume biography, Professor Dulles paints a portrait of a rebellious youth, who had the willfulness of his prominent father and who crusaded for Communism before becoming its most outspoken foe. Recalling Lacerda's rallying cry, "Brazil must be shaken up," Dulles traces the career of the journalist whose unsparing attacks on the men in power led authorities to imprison him and employ thugs who pummeled him physically. The story covers events in which Lacerda helped alter Brazil, such as the redemocratization in 1945 and his revelation of scandals in high places in the early 1950s. An unsuccessful attempt by government men to murder him in 1954 led to the suicide of President Getulio Vargas in 1954.

Lacerda's spirited oratory helped him become Brazil's most popular congressman, but it scared the rulers of Brazil and they prohibited the broadcast of his speeches after he returned from exile in 1956. Their effort to deprive him of his mandate stirred the entire nation and culminated in one of the most dramatic sessions ever held in the Chamber of Deputies.

Dulles, who knew Lacerda well and had access to his papers, sheds light on Lacerda the man, ardent in courtship and in all his undertakings, intellectually restless, and scornful of routine and mediocrity. Lacerda had a vitriolic pen that made bitter enemies, but, as disclosed in these pages, his courage and incorruptibility attracted an enthusiastic following, evident in the landslide election victories that brought him seats on Rio de Janeiro's city council and in the federal Congress.

About this title

About the Author:

John W. F. Dulles (1913-2008) was University Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Review:

"Carlos Lacerda will be hailed for many years as the finest biography of its subject in any language.... Lacerda was an exceptionally talented, multi-faceted, mercurial, and always controversial figure whose career mirrors the cultural advances and political turmoil of Brazil during the middle third of this century." (Rollie E. Poppino, professor of history, University of California, Davis)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0292723733
• ISBN 13: 9780292723733
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 554