Constitutionalist Revolution

The Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 (also known as the Paulista War or Brazilian Civil War) was the uprising by the population of the Brazilian state of São Paulo against the 1930 revolution, when Getúlio Vargas assumed the nation's presidency. Vargas was supported by the people, the military and the political elite of Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraíba. The movement grew out of local resentment over Vargas' rule by decree, unbound by a constitution, in a provisional government. The 1930 revolution affected São Paulo by eroding the autonomy that Brazilian states had under the 1891 constitution, preventing the inauguration of São Paulo governor Júlio Prestes (who had been elected president of Brazil in 1930 and overthrowing President Washington Luís, governor of São Paulo from 1920 to 1924. These events marked the end of the First Brazilian Republic.

The revolution's main goal was to press Vargas' provisional government to adopt and abide by a new constitution, since Prestes was prevented from taking office. As the movement developed and resentment of Vargas and his revolutionary government grew deeper, it came to advocate the overthrow of the federal government. It was speculated that one of the revolutionaries' goals was the secession of São Paulo from the Brazilian federation. This scenario was used as a guerrilla tactic by the federal government to turn the rest of Brazil's population against the state of São Paulo, but there is no evidence that the movement's commanders sought separatism.

The uprising began on July 9, 1932, after four protesting students were killed by government troops on May 23. The movement became known as MMDC, named for the first letters of the surnames of the students killed: Martins, Miragaia, Dráusio, and Camargo; a fifth student (Alvarenga) was also shot that night, and died months later. During the following months, the state of São Paulo rebelled against the federal government. Counting on the support of the political elite of two other powerful states, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo's politicians expected a quick war. The expected support did not materialize, and São Paulo's revolt was overwhelmed by force on October 2, 1932. In 87 days of fighting (July 9 to October 4) there were 934 official deaths, although unofficial estimates report up to 2,200 dead; many cities in the state of São Paulo experienced damage.

In spite of its military defeat, some of the movement's main demands were granted by Vargas: the appointment of a non-military state governor, the election of a Constituent Assembly, and the enactment of a new constitution in 1934. The new constitution was short-lived; in 1937, amidst growing extremism on the left and right, Vargas dissolved the National Congress and enacted another constitution which established the Estado Novo after a coup d'état. July 9 marked the beginning of the revolution, and is a holiday and the most important civic date of the state of São Paulo. Paulistas (as residents of São Paulo are known) consider the Revolution of 1932 the greatest movement of their civic history, and it was the first major revolt against the Vargas government.