republic · South America
Estado Novo (Brazil)
Origins
On 10 November 1937 Getúlio Vargas, president of the Second Brazilian Republic, closed Congress with army support and imposed a new constitution modelled on European authoritarian regimes, creating the Estado Novo, or New State. Elections planned for 1938 were cancelled.
Rule and society
Vargas ruled by decree, abolished political parties and censored the press through the Department of Press and Propaganda. He centralised power, burning state flags in a public ceremony. He introduced a minimum wage in 1940 and the Consolidation of Labour Laws in 1943, winning working-class support. The state founded the National Steel Company at Volta Redonda. Brazil joined the Allies in 1942 and sent an expeditionary force to Italy in 1944.
Decline and legacy
As the war ended, pressure for democracy grew, and the military deposed Vargas on 29 October 1945. Elections followed, and the constitution of 1946 created the Fourth Brazilian Republic. Vargas returned to power by election in 1951.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Estado Novo (Brazil). In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/estado-novo-brazil
- MLA
- “Estado Novo (Brazil).” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/estado-novo-brazil. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Estado Novo (Brazil).” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/estado-novo-brazil.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Estado Novo (Brazil)’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/estado-novo-brazil (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻