Jânio Quadros

Jânio da Silva Quadros was born in Campo Grande, then part of Mato Grosso, and worked as a teacher in São Paulo before entering politics. He rose quickly as city councilor, state deputy, mayor and governor of São Paulo, campaigning with a broom as the symbol of his promise to sweep away corruption. Backed by the UDN and smaller parties, he won the 1960 presidential election by a wide margin. He took office in January 1961 and resigned on 25 August, blaming unnamed 'terrible forces'. His resignation opened a crisis over the succession of Vice President João Goulart. The military regime suspended his political rights in 1964. He returned as mayor of São Paulo in 1986 and died in 1992.

Jânio Quadros remains one of the most enigmatic figures in Brazilian politics. Supporters remember an energetic administrator and a gifted campaigner who drew votes across party lines, and his independent foreign policy is often credited with widening Brazil's diplomatic horizons. Critics describe a personalist leader who governed by memos, disdained parties and Congress, and mixed economic orthodoxy with eccentric moral decrees. His resignation after less than seven months is widely seen as a turning point: it provoked a military veto on Goulart's inauguration, a hasty switch to a parliamentary system and years of instability that ended in the 1964 coup. Historians still debate whether the resignation was an impulsive act or a calculated move that misfired.