Juscelino Kubitschek

His government was marked by a time of political stability and maintenance of the democratic regime. Kubitschek used his outstanding political ability to reconcile Brazilian society. He managed to rebuild the government structure, as he transferred the capital from Rio de Janeiro to its new location in Brasilia.

He avoided any direct clash with his political adversaries, like the UDN, the main opposition party of the Kubitschek administration. He also gave political amnesty to the men who took part in the "revolta de Jacareacanga".

As a practicing doctor, Juscelino was passionate about reforming healthcare.[9] Kubitschek campaigned on establishing a central health bureaucracy that previously did not exist to address rural health issues more adequately. The most notable is DNERU which was an agency created to address tuberculosis, Malaria and issue vaccines in areas of the Brazilian backcountry where access to healthcare was scarce. He also oversaw the reorganization of SUS.[10]

Opening of the General Motors factory in São José dos Campos by President Kubitschek, 1959.

Although his main project was to develop the national industry, it was with the "Goals plan", launched in 1956, that there was a greater opening of the national economy for foreign capital. He exempted from taxes all the machines and industrial equipments imports, as well as to the foreign capital. However, the exemption was made only if the foreign capital was associated with the national capital ("associated capital"). To amplify the internal market, he developed a generous credit policy.

He promoted the development of the automobile industry, naval industry, heavy industry, and the construction of hydro-electric power stations. With the exception of the hydro-electric industry, Juscelino practically created an economy without state-owned companies. He also had a very progressive agenda on the Education front, however that was never carried out.

Kubitschek also cared a lot for the construction of the great transregional roads. He was criticized for focusing only in road construction and putting aside the rail transportation. Today, this decision is still controversial. Still, the construction of the roads helped the integration of the Amazonic region, together with the construction of Brasilia.

The economy boomed, but some critics blamed him later for the inflation and debt. In fact, the development shown under his leadership suffered a lot in the '70s and '80s exactly because of the industrialization boom. With a stronger industry and thus more dependent on energy resources, Brazil has been one of the countries that most suffered from the oil crisis of '73 and '79. Having to import over 80% of its consumption, the quadrupling of oil prices greatly contributed to Brazil's debt, inflation and lacking competitiveness.

By the end of his term, the foreign debt had grown from 87 million dollars to 297 million dollars. Inflation and wealth inequality had grown larger, with rural-zone strikes that spread to the urban areas. However, the minimum wage from that time is still considered the highest at any moment in Brazilian history. He also initially sought a loan from International Monetary Fund, but backed out of the negotiations.[7]

Kubitschek ended his time in office with a growth of 80% in industrial production but with an inflation rate of 43%.

Construction of Brasília, 1959.

The idea of building a new capital in the center of the country was already idealized in the Brazilian constitutions of 1891, 1934 and 1946, but it was only in 1956 that planning began to take form in response to Kubitschek's campaign promise to develop the interior. Initially the move of the capital from Rio de Janeiro was controversial and had division and opposition from people within Rio and throughout Brazil. Debates that included statesmen, residents, and professionals were televised on the TV show "Que sera do Rio" and letters to the editor in Correio da Manhã.[11]

The work, led by urban planner Lucio Costa, architect Oscar Niemeyer and landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx, started in February 1957. More than 200 machines were put to work and 30,000 workers came from every part of the country, though most from the northeast. The construction went on day and night to meet the objective of finishing Brasília by 21 April 1960, in a homage to the Inconfidência Mineira and Rome's founding. A completely new capital city, its streets, government palaces, infrastructure, living facilities, etc., suddenly emerged in the middle of a savanna in just 41 months, and before the target date. As soon as it was inaugurated, Brasília was considered a masterpiece of modern urbanism and modern architecture.

Brasilia plays a strategic role in integrating Brazil's farthest regions, bringing development to unpopulated areas and guaranteeing Brazil's cultural and territorial unity.

The construction of Brasilia, fostered the development of many roads, linking Brazil's vast territories. One important example was the construction of the Belém-Brasilia road. Previously, the only way to go from Rio or São Paulo to Belém was via ship on the Atlantic Ocean. During the Second World War, this weak link had been blocked by German U-Boats, virtually disrupting all commerce.

Monument to Kubitschek and his wife Sarah in front of the JK Memorial.

The new capital was soon to help integrate all the Brazilian regions, create jobs and absorb a workforce from the Brazilian Northeast, and to stimulate the economy of the Central-west and North but a lot of accidents happened during the construction of Brasilia and the government did not mention it.[12]

Kubitschek was not free from controversies and was often accused of corruption. In Brazilian history, he remains the president with the greatest list of achievements, so he was vulnerable to attacks from all sides. The accusations began at the time he was governor and intensified during his presidency. The building of Brasília was the main source of accusations. There were serious reasons to believe that people from Juscelino's political group had been favored in the construction. Also, the Brazilian Pan-Air held a monopoly on people and goods transportation during the construction, another source of controversy. Inflation increased during his administration.[12]

During his time in office, Time wrote that he had the seventh greatest fortune in the world, a claim that was never proven. In fact, upon his death many years later, it was shown he had earned very modest means. This did not stop a candidate for the next presidency, Jânio Quadros, from stating during his presidential campaign that he would "sweep the corruption out of the country". Later, during the military regime, Juscelino would be questioned about the corruption allegations and about his supposed ties with communist groups.

Kubitschek was succeeded by Jânio Quadros in 1961. After the military took power in 1964, Kubitschek's political rights were suspended for 10 years. He went into self-imposed exile and stayed in numerous U.S. and European cities.[13]

• Collar of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
• Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
• 1st Class of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
• Grand Cross of the Order of Christ
• Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Honorary Knight Grand Cross of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire