Jânio da Silva Quadros

Jânio da Silva Quadros (born Jan. 25, 1917, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso, Braz.—died Feb. 16, 1992, São Paulo) was a Brazilian politician who unexpectedly resigned the presidency after serving only seven months (Jan. 31–Aug. 25, 1961). A colourful and sometimes eccentric populist, he campaigned with a broom as a symbol of his pledge to “sweep out corruption.”

Quadros graduated from the University of São Paulo in 1939. He practiced law and taught Portuguese history and literature before entering politics in 1945. After Quadros was elected to the São Paulo city council (1947), he adopted the broom for his successful 1950 campaign for state deputy of São Paulo. As mayor of São Paulo (1953–54), he balanced the city budget in less than a year, and he had similar economic success as governor of the state (1954–58). A charismatic campaigner, he attracted the votes of the poor by affecting the image of a commoner with a rumpled appearance but also retained the support of much of the business community and other economic elites.

As president, Quadros banned bikini swimsuits, cockfights, and advertising in movie theatres, and he created a stir in foreign affairs when he reestablished diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, refused to support U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, and decorated the Latin American guerrilla leader Che Guevara. Quadros stunned the nation with his sudden resignation, enigmatically citing the “terrible forces” conspiring against him. In 1965 the military ousted his successor, and in 1968 Quadros was stripped of his political rights and sent into exile. After receiving amnesty in 1980, he returned to São Paulo, where he unsuccessfully ran for governor. He later served another term as mayor of São Paulo (1985–88) and hoped to become governor again before ill health forced him to retire from politics. His 1985 mayoral victory was at the expense of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, whose subsequent stint as president (1995–2003) would last far longer than Quadros’s truncated term.