1950 Brazilian general election

3 October 1950
Presidential election
 
Candidate Getúlio Vargas Eduardo Gomes Cristiano Machado
Party PTB UDN PSD
Popular vote 3,849,040 2,342,384 1,697,193
Percentage 48.73% 29.66% 21.49%


President before election

Eurico Gaspar Dutra
PSD

President-elect

Getúlio Vargas
PTB

Vice-Presidential election
 
Candidate Café Filho Odilon Braga Altino Marques
Party PSP UDN PR
Popular vote 2,520,790 2,344,841 1,649,309
Percentage 35.76% 33.26% 23.40%

Vice President before election

Nereu Ramos
PSD

President-elect

Café Filho
PSP

Legislative election
PartyLeader % Seats +/–
Chamber of Deputies (304 seats)
PSD Nereu Ramos 26.99 112 −39
UDN Prado Kelly 16.99 81 0
PTB Getúlio Vargas 16.47 51 +29
PSP Adhemar de Barros 7.29 24 New
PR Arthur Bernardes 2.82 11 +2
PTN 2.75 5 New
PST 2.13 9 New
LRP 0.96 1 New
PRP Plínio Salgado 0.94 2 0
PDC 0.74 2 0
PL 0.72 5 +4
PSB 0.48 1 New
Senate (22 seats)
PSD Nereu Ramos 15.45 6 −19
PTB Otávio Mangabeira 10.45 5 +2
UDN Prado Kelly 9.62 4 −8
PR Arthur Bernardes 7.27 2 +2
PSP Adhemar de Barros 6.72 3 +3
PST 1.62 1 New
PSB 0.20 1 New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

General elections were held in Brazil on 3 October 1950.[1] The presidential elections were won by Getúlio Vargas of the Brazilian Labour Party, whilst the Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, although they lost their majority in the former. Voter turnout was 72.1% in the presidential election, 72.0% in the Chamber elections and 77.7% in the Senate elections.[2]

Background

After living in self-imposed exile in his Riograndense ranch between his overthrow in 1945 and 1950, former President Getúlio Vargas, who had already been elected a senator in 1945, decided to run for the presidency, as the candidate of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), one of the two he founded after he decided to put an end to his 15-year dictatorship. Vargas, although in exile, remained active on the sidelines of Brazilian politics during the presidency of his former War Minister, Eurico Gaspar Dutra. He notably criticized his successor's economic policies, taking a hard nationalist and populist tone which appealed to the base of the PTB, organized labour.

In April 1950, the Social Democratic Party, also pro-Vargas but based more around industrialists and state political machines, rejected the idea of forming a coalition with the PTB or the UDN and decided to run its own candidate. They nominated Cristiano Machado, a little-known congressman for Minas Gerais.

However, Vargas was able to forge an alliance with a number of PSD state leaders, notably in his own state of Rio Grande do Sul and in Rio de Janeiro. In Pernambuco, he even forged an alliance with his traditional rivals, the UDN. This phenomenon - to nominate a candidate and support another - became known as "cristianization" in Brazil. In the state of São Paulo, he forged an alliance with Adhemar de Barros' Social Progressive Party (PSP), a populist electoral machine who dominated state politics. The PSP was the only other party to officially endorse him, and provided him with his running-mate (who was separately elected), João Café Filho. Vargas also assured himself of the support, or at least approval, of the military which had deposed him in 1945. He reconciled himself with the dominant figure of the military then, Góes Monteiro, who had played a role in his 1945 overthrow.[3]

The center-right National Democratic Union (UDN), noted for its radical anti-Vargas posture, once again nominated Eduardo Gomes as its candidate. The party proved woefully unable to expand its narrow electoral base, and not even the anti-Vargas rhetoric of 1945 could deliver more votes. The UDN and Gomes also proved their little comprehension of the evolving Brazilian political scene by supporting abolishing the minimum wage instituted in Vargas' past administration.[4]

During the Eurico Gaspar Dutra administration, the Brazilian Communist Party had its license revoked by the Superior Electoral Court in the context of the early Cold War. Communists oriented their followers not to vote, but a significant share of them voted on Vargas.

Presidential candidates

Results

President

Vargas won a convincing victory, with 48.7% of the vote and close to an absolute majority of votes cast. Despite the UDN's claim that he was not constitutionally elected (they claimed that a candidate needed an absolute majority of the votes), Vargas was inaugurated President in January 1951.[5]

As of 2023, this remains the last time that the bellwether state of Minas Gerais voted for the losing candidate.

CandidatePartyVotes%
Getúlio VargasBrazilian Labour Party3,849,04048.73
Eduardo GomesNational Democratic Union2,342,38429.66
Cristiano MachadoSocial Democratic Party1,697,19321.49
João MangabeiraBrazilian Socialist Party9,4660.12
Total7,898,083100.00
Valid votes7,898,08395.68
Invalid/blank votes356,9064.32
Total votes8,254,989100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,455,14972.06
Source: Nohlen

Vice-President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Café FilhoPSPPTB2,520,79035.76
Odilon BragaNational Democratic Union2,344,84133.26
Altino Arantes MarquesRepublican Party1,649,30923.40
Vitorino FreireSocial Labour Party524,0797.43
Alípio Correia NetoBrazilian Socialist Party10,8000.15
Total7,049,819100.00
Valid votes7,049,81985.40
Invalid/blank votes1,205,17014.60
Total votes8,254,989100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,455,14972.06
Source: DM

Chamber of Deputies

PartyVotes%Seats
Social Democratic Party2,068,40526.99112
National Democratic Union1,301,48916.9981
Brazilian Labour Party1,262,00016.4751
Social Progressive Party558,7927.2924
PSDPRPPST245,5433.20
UDNPRPSPPDCPSB240,5373.14
Republican Party216,2072.8211
National Labor Party211,0902.755
UDNPRPRPPDCPTBPL176,4322.30
Social Labour Party163,3412.139
PSDPL144,0241.88
UDNPST103,3681.35
UDNPR110,7331.45
PSDPRPSP94,6301.24
UDNPSPPLPST86,3261.13
PTBPSP84,4671.10
UDNPRPSTPRPPL83,5301.09
Labour Republican Party73,5010.961
Popular Representation Party72,3970.942
UDNPSDPRPLPSPPTB67,9830.89
Christian Democratic Party56,9650.742
Liberator Party55,3380.725
Brazilian Socialist Party36,6380.481
Others148,4771.940
Total7,662,213100.00304
Valid votes7,662,21392.98
Invalid/blank votes578,7837.02
Total votes8,240,996100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,445,14972.00
Source: Nohlen

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats
Social Democratic Party1,204,34915.456
Brazilian Labour Party814,79610.455
National Democratic Union749,9899.624
Republican Party566,5207.272
Social Progressive Party524,2616.723
Popular Representation Party244,7693.140
Social Labour Party126,4371.621
Liberator Party88,6141.140
Labour-Guiding Party56,1800.720
Labour Republican Party46,3250.590
Brazilian Socialist Party15,4580.201
Others3,358,43843.080
Total7,796,136100.0022
Valid votes7,796,13687.79
Invalid/blank votes1,084,31312.21
Total votes8,880,449100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,427,44177.71
Source: Nohlen

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p173 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3
  2. Nohlen, pp191-232
  3. Skidmore, TE: Politics in Brazil: 1930-1964, page 75. Oxford University Press, 2007.
  4. Skidmore, TE: Politics in Brazil: 1930-1964, page 77. Oxford University Press, 2007.
  5. Skidmore, TE: Politics in Brazil: 1930-1964, page 101. Oxford University Press, 2007.
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