In analyzing Jânio Quadros' political career, historians and social scientists pointed out that he acquired political strength as a national leader by proposing a rational and impersonal State administration. He would represent the antithesis of Getúlio Vargas and Adhemar de Barros, whose political actions had a remarkable paternalistic content. This, however, does not seem to be entirely correct. Through letters he received between 1959 and 1960, when disputing the presidential elections, it is possible to observe that many of his supporters considered him a politician able to defend traditional social relations. Some invoked him to fight against speculators who stored goods in an inflationary scenario, while others treated him as a paternal figure by asking him money, jobs in the public administration and other sorts of favor. In this text, the author suggests that such demands could convey political manifestations and be expressions of citizenship.
Jânio Quadros; Popular traditions; Paternalism; Citizenship; Letters