Everything about Juscelino Kubitschek totally explained
Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (JK) (
September 12,
1902 –
August 22,
1976) was a prominent
Brazilian politician who was
President of Brazil from
1956 to
1961. He was born in
Diamantina,
Minas Gerais, and died in
1976. His term was marked by relative economic prosperity and political stability, being most known by the construction of a new capital,
Brasília.
Life
His father, João César de Oliveira (
1872-
1905), who died when Juscelino was two years old, was a traveling salesman. Juscelino's mother, a schoolteacher named Júlia Kubitschek (neé Kubíčeková;
1873-
1971), was of
Czech descent..
Although trained as a medical doctor, Kubitschek was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies of Brazil from his home state in
1934. However, with the advent of
Getúlio Vargas'
Estado Novo in
1937, Kubitschek was forced to return to practicing medicine. Nevertheless, he was appointed
mayor of
Belo Horizonte in
1940.
He was again elected to the National Congress of Brazil in
1945, and became governor of the state in
1950. In
1955, he ran for president with the slogan "Fifty years of progress in five", and won.
He was sworn in on
January 31,
1956 as President of what was then known as the
Republic of the United States of Brazil.
His five year tenure resulted in Brazil progressing by leaps and bounds. Among many projects he managed to complete was
Brasília, the new capital of Brazil, located in the heart of the country. On
October 2,
1956, during his first visit to the place chosen for the construction of the new city — a high prairie (planalto) location in the central part of Brazil — Kubitschek enthusiastically made the following prophesy: "From this central highland, from this lonely place which very soon will be the head office of the main national decisions, I see the future of my country and I can foresee, faithfully, a new dawn for my homeland relying on its destiny." Brasilia was chosen inland to separate business and political corruption in the capital,
Rio de Janeiro, and develop the interior. However, political and economic clout has transferred mostly from Rio to
São Paulo as opposed to
Brasilia. He also completed major road construction, as well as founding Brazil's automotive industry.
The economy boomed, but at some cost. Much of the investment in industry was funded by printing money. His opponents alleged that he'd brought "fifty years of
inflation in five." Like many other Latin American currencies, the
cruzeiro was repeatedly devalued. The country also went further into debt trying to pay for various ambitious projects, although such debts were very small compared to the tremendous rise of the external debt made by the military during their dictatorship, which started in 1964 with a coup d'état and lasted for 21 years.
Kubitschek was succeeded by
Jânio Quadros in 1961. When 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.
Return to Brazil and death
He returned to Brazil in
1967 but was killed in a car crash in
1976, near the city of
Resende in the state of
Rio de Janeiro. 350,000 mourners were present at his burial in Brasília. He is now buried in the Memorial JK, which was opened in
1981. Most Brazilians believe he was killed by the military regime, due to his prominent role in the fight for democracy.
On April 26, 2000, former governor of Rio de Janeiro,
Leonel Brizola, alleged that the ex-presidents of Brazil,
João Goulart and Kubitschek, were assassinated in the frame of
Operation Condor and requested the opening of investigations on their death. They were purported to have died respectively of a heart attack and in an accident.
Honours
The
Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport of
Brasília and the
Juscelino Kubitschek bridge were named after him. There is also a luxurious hotel named
Kubitschek Plaza located in that city.
In
1980, his daughter
Márcia (
1942–
2000) married
Cuban-American ballet star
Fernando Bujones. Márcia Kubitschek was elected to the
National Congress of Brazil in
1987 and served as
lieutenant governor of the
Brazilian Federal District from
1991 to
1994.
Many cities have things named after him, "JK" is a ubiquitous acroynm honoring the ex president, who is often seen by Brazilians as the "father of modern Brazil".
Further Information
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