22 figures mapped
Political Figures of Brazil
Leaders, thinkers and campaigners from Brazil, born between 1763 and 1949, each placed on the 12 axes of the 12 Axes Political Test from their own speeches, writings and record. Sources are on every profile.
Heads of state and government
In order of office
Emperor of Brazil (1831-1889)Dom Pedro IISecond and last emperor of Brazil, who reigned for 58 years as a constitutional monarch, presided over a gradual end to slavery and was deposed by...
President of Brazil (1930-1945, 1951-1954)Getúlio VargasBrazilian leader who governed for nearly 19 years, building labor laws and state industry while ruling as a dictator under the Estado Novo from 1937...
President of Brazil (1946-1951)Eurico Gaspar DutraBrazilian army marshal who served as Vargas's war minister under the Estado Novo and then as elected president from 1946 to 1951, banning the...
President of Brazil (1956-1961)Juscelino KubitschekBrazilian president who promised 'fifty years in five', pursued rapid industrialization through the Plano de Metas and moved the capital to Brasília...
Prime Minister of Brazil (1961-1962)Tancredo NevesBrazilian politician known for moderation and conciliation who served as prime minister in 1961-1962 and was elected president in 1985, dying before...
President of Brazil (1961)Jânio QuadrosBrazilian populist who rose from São Paulo city politics to the presidency on an anticorruption platform, governed for seven months in 1961 and...
President of Brazil (1961-1964)João GoulartBrazilian labor leader and Vargas heir who served as president from 1961 until the military coup of 1964, pressing for land reform, labor rights and...
President of Brazil (1964-1967)Humberto de Alencar Castelo BrancoArmy marshal who led the 1964 coup coalition into power and became the first president of Brazil's military regime, combining market-oriented...
President of Brazil (1974-1979)Ernesto GeiselArmy general and fourth president of Brazil's military regime who began the slow political opening, while state-led industrial planning expanded and...
President of Brazil (1985-1990)José SarneyBrazilian politician and writer who became the first civilian president after military rule in 1985, convened the assembly that wrote the 1988...
President of Brazil (1990-1992)Fernando Collor de MelloBrazilian politician who in 1989 became the first directly elected president since 1960, launched privatization and trade opening alongside a savings...
President of Brazil (1992-1994)Itamar FrancoBrazilian engineer and senator who became president after Fernando Collor's impeachment in 1992 and launched the Real Plan that ended chronic...
President of Brazil (1995-2003)Fernando Henrique CardosoBrazilian sociologist and social democrat who, as finance minister, led the Real Plan and then served two terms as president, privatizing state...
President of Brazil (2011-2016)Dilma RousseffBrazilian economist and former guerrilla who was tortured under military rule, became the country's first woman president in 2011 and was removed by...
President of Brazil (2016-2018)Michel TemerBrazilian constitutional lawyer and longtime PMDB leader who became president after Dilma Rousseff's impeachment in 2016 and passed a constitutional...
Legislators and politicians
In order of birth
1763-1838José Bonifácio de Andrada e SilvaBrazilian scientist and statesman who guided the 1822 break with Portugal, argued for ending the slave trade and gradual abolition, and was exiled...
1849-1910Joaquim NabucoBrazilian abolitionist, monarchist reformer and diplomat whose book O Abolicionismo (1883) argued that slavery shaped every part of Brazilian society.
1849-1923Rui BarbosaBrazilian jurist, senator and diplomat who drafted key laws of the early Republic, defended civil liberties through habeas corpus and argued for the...
1914-1977Carlos LacerdaBrazilian journalist and politician who led the anti-Vargas opposition in the UDN, governed Guanabara in 1960-1965, supported the 1964 coup and then...
1916-1992Ulysses GuimarãesBrazilian congressman who led the legal opposition to the military regime, championed direct elections and presided over the assembly that wrote the...
1917-2001Roberto CamposBrazilian economist, diplomat and legislator who designed the 1964-1967 stabilization program and later became the country's best-known advocate of...
1922-2004Leonel BrizolaBrazilian labor leader who led the 1961 Legality Campaign, nationalized foreign utilities in Rio Grande do Sul, spent 15 years in exile and later...
Quick quiz
Which Brazilian President Are You?
Answer 12 statements and see whose recorded views sit closest to yours. Free, about two minutes.
FAQ
Brazil: questions
Which political figures from Brazil are on PoliticalTests?
22 figures from Brazil, born between 1763 and 1949, including 15 heads of state or government. Each has a profile with sources. Leaders still active in politics are not included.
Where do figures from Brazil sit on the political compass?
On the economic axis, 10 sit on the left, 3 near the centre and 9 on the right. Up and down the compass, 7 are on the authority side, 8 near the middle and 7 on the liberty side.
How are these positions worked out?
Each person is placed on the 12 axes of the 12 Axes Political Test from their own speeches, writings, votes and record in office, with sources on every profile page. The compass shows two of those measures: economic views across, and the mean of the civil and society axes up and down. The placements describe stated positions, not character or success in office.
Where can I compare all Brazilian presidents?
The page Political Views of Brazilian Presidents puts every one of them on one compass and lists them in order of office.
United States
United Kingdom
Germany
France
Canada
Australia
India
Russia
Israel
Austria
Italy