History of South America

Constitution of 1937

The Constitution of 1937 it was the 4th Brazilian Constitution and the 3rd of the republican period.

It became known as the “Polish” Constitution for having fascist-inspired laws, such as the Polish Magna Carta of 1935.

The text was prepared by the jurist Francisco Campos and granted on November 10, 1937.

Vargas addresses the nation on the new Constitution. Detail of the front page of Jornal do Brasil, on 11.19.1937.

Historical Context

In the 1930s, liberal democracy was increasingly discredited and the world turned to totalitarian ideologies such as German Nazism or Italian Fascism. Likewise, the socialism preached by Stalin was increasingly authoritarian and centralist.

In Brazil, these political currents were represented by the Brazilian Communist Party, aligned with the Soviet Union and the fascist-inspired Brazilian Integralist Action.

President Getúlio Vargas had also shown that he preferred a more centralized political regime. He was slow to call elections for the 1934 Constituent Assembly, and he displeased several opponents by concentrating power more and more in his hands.

The Constitution of 34 was liberal and decentralizing, and it seemed that democracy had returned to Brazil. Upon taking office as president, Vargas swore on this constitutional text, but the next day, he would pronounce his famous phrase “I will be the reviser of this Constitution.”

The following year, Getúlio Vargas suffered an attempted coup by communists led by Luís Carlos Prestes.

The episode, known as Intentona Comunista, resulted in two years of repression and arbitrary arrests, and would serve as a pretext for the consolidation of Vargas in power.

In 1937, another coup attempt was discovered that was supposedly plotted by the communists, the Cohen Plan. Faced with this threat, Getúlio Vargas declares the creation of the Estado Novo. In one fell swoop, he dissolves the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate and grants a new Constitution to the country. This was supposed to go through a referendum, but that never happened.

Learn more about the Cohen Plan and the Estado Novo.

Characteristics of the 1937 Constitution

  • It would be up to the president to nominate the interventors (state governors) and they should nominate the municipal authorities,
  • the Electoral Justice and political parties were extinguished,
  • the right to a Writ of Mandamus or Popular Action suspended,
  • institution of prior censorship of the media,
  • the media were required to publish and/or broadcast government communications,
  • prohibition of the right to strike,
  • death penalty for political crimes.
  • the Legislative power, at all levels, has been extinguished. Thus, there were no more City Councils or State Deputies.

Closing note of the activities of the Regional Electoral Court, 11.14.1937.

Consequences

With the 1937 Constitution, the power of the president reached its centralizing apex. In a symbolic ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, state flags were burned, regional anthems and local political parties were banned.

Getúlio Vargas would suffer a new coup attempt by the Integralists in 1938, but these were quickly dismantled. Thus, he was able to govern in a dictatorial manner until 1945 when he would suffer a coup d'état articulated by the Army and part of the Brazilian conservative forces.

Read about:

  • Era Vargas
  • Brazilian Constitutions
  • Freedom of Expression
  • Exercises on the Vargas Era

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