Brazil in the Era of Fascism: The “New State” of Getúlio Vargas

Abstract

The Authoritarian 'Reverse Wave' of the Interwar Period in Latin America In his review of the Oxford Handbook of Fascism (2009), edited by Richard Bosworth, Roger Griffin stressed that it was ironic that the task was given to an historian that "has in the past often expressed his irritation with those concerned with 'the history of fascism' (or rather 'comparative fascist studies') (…) In some respects, then, asking Bosworth to be the Duce of OUP's ambitious project is like asking a vegan restaurateur to head a team of cooks preparing a medieval banquet where spits rotate slowly, laden with basted pigs and lambs". 1 In fact, and contrary to Bosworth, as Roger Griffin demonstrates in is masterful The Nature of Fascism (1996), Mussolini Dictatorship provided powerful institutional and political inspiration for other regimes of the "Era of Fascism". Mussolini' type of leadership, institutions and operating methods already encapsulated the dominant models of the twentieth-century dictatorship at least in three domains: personalised leadership, the single or dominant party, and the 'technico-consultative' political institutions, based on

“O mais cristão dos sistemas políticos modernos”

“…Nos países da América Latina, os católicos estiveram entre os principais grupos que recepcionaram e fizeram circular as ideias fascistas na região ao longo das décadas de 1920 e 1930 -e grande parte do ideário autoritário e corporativista de diversas matrizes ideológicas em voga na Europa nesse momento (ABREU; COSTAGUTA, 2021;PINTO;FINCHELSTEIN, 2019;BERTONHA, 2019;CASSIMIRO, 2018;CEPÊDA, 2017;FINCHELSTEIN, 2010;BENDICHO BEIRED, 2007). Segundo Bertonha (2022, p. 208), "o catolicismo teve uma influência fundamental na formatação de outros fascismos e autoritarismos, [...] mas só foi realmente hegemônico no espaço latino, fornecendo uma base comum para os debates dentro do campo da direita e, especialmente, da extrema-direita".…”

The Portuguese ‘New State’ and the Diffusion of Authoritarian Models in Interwar Latin America

“…55 The New State established in Brazil by Getúlio Vargas (1937-45) is the most important case of the institutionalization of corporatism in an authoritarian setting in Latin America. 56 Although corporatist representation was outlined in the 1937 Constitution, social corporatism had a durable legacy and Vargas's dictatorship represented a much more powerful break with political liberalism than was the case with other contemporary regimes in Latin America. On the other hand, in Brazil, the diffusion of corporatism was more developed in conservative and fascist political circles and movements and as a proposed reform of political representation within a liberal framework.…”