Paulo Virgínio (born Paulo Gonçalves dos Santos, – 28 July 1932) was a Brazilian rural laborer who became one of the martyrs and civil heroes of the 1932 Brazilian Constitutionalist Revolution."July 9th: the marks in São Paulo of the revolution behind the holiday" BBC News Brasil
A symbol of popular resistance against the dictatorship of then-president Getúlio Vargas, he was killed in the Cunha neighborhood of Aparição (at km 56.9 of the current State Road SP-171) with eighteen shots in the back for not revealing to the pro-government forces from Rio de Janeiro, present in those surroundings, where the garrisons of the Public Force (now the Military Police) of São Paulo were positioned along that road and what the possible paths would be to bypass the center of the municipality and reach the city of São Paulo, avoiding the land blockade.
His nickname derives from "Paulo of Virgínio", that is to say "Paulo, son of Virgínio", in reference to his father's name; however, it is possible to find in literature a variant with the letter "L" ("Virgílio")"The Unknown Martyr – A Brief Remembrance of Paulo Virgílio" São Paulo in Foco or mixed with his surname ("Paulo Virgínio Gonçalves"), as mentioned on the electronic page about Brazilian Criminal Action No. 3,190/1933,"Paulo Virgínio Gonçalves" ARQUIMEDES/STM of the Superior Military Court (STM) of Brazil. His nickname bears no relation or reminiscence to the work Paul et Virginie by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, 1788.
Early life
Paulo Gonçalves dos Santos was born in Taboão, a neighborhood located about twenty kilometers south of the city of Cunha, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Regarding his exact date of birth, there are significant historical discrepancies. Some sources indicate the year 1899 (giving him a symbolic age range corresponding to the age of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion); however, the Society of the Veterans of 1932 maintains the date 26 September 1897: the Sunday of his baptism under the public administration of the Parish of Our Lady of Conception (Mother Church of Cunha), as the oldest testimony of his newborn existenceSOCIEDADE VETERANOS DE 32 - MMDC, Associação. "I die, but São Paulo wins! – Paulo Gonçalves dos Santos, Martyr and Hero from Cunha". [S. l.], [28/07/2018]. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1083016378516966&id=200379003447379&set=a.200401880111758. Official Association page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mmdc32/about_profile_transparency) – resulting in an age older than 33. In Brazilian law, ecclesiastical documents, such as baptismal or marriage certificates, issued before or during the transition to the mandatory general civil registry (now RG) in 1888, possess public faith for the purpose of proving parentage and birth date in cases of absence of the RG or any other civil document."Whose ID card was number 1?" Superinteressante
Dos Santos is descended from a family of peasant farmers who inhabited the Taboão hinterland, a neighborhood of Cunha located in the Indaiá zone (a fraction of the Serra do Mar, bordering the highlands of Bocaina), near the natural state line () with Rio de Janeiro. His father's name was Virgínio Gonçalves dos Santos and his mother's name was Maria Joaquina de Jesus. As his private life is not in the public domain, there are not many mentions of his childhood or lifestyle: only that he received a modest education and, during his growth, always remained in the vicinity of that hinterland, living with few resources, in the Caipira ethnic way of being (that is, as a simple person from the countryside).
As a young man, he learned how to tend to agricultural fields, and he worked for local landowners, looking after plows and crops, which consolidated his identity as a tiller (a general agricultural laborer; ). In the book Cruzes Paulistas (first published in 1936), the jurist and public prosecutor José Augusto César Salgado (who began his legal career in the district of Cunha city)"César Salgado: The Prosecutor of the Americas" São Paulo Public Ministry (PDF) described him as a humble, intelligent and friendly person. During his rural upbringing, the rural laborer acquired empirical knowledge of the paths and trails that connected various locations between the Paraíba Valley and the Atlantic coast, transporting cargo from Cunha to Paraty and vice-versa with his fellow tropeiros (), all on horseback along the road that was part of the old Caminho do Ouro (Gold Trail) and has today become the State Road SP-171 on the São Paulo side (until Guaratinguetá city) and the State Road RJ-165 on the Rio de Janeiro side."Cruzes Paulistas: those who fell, in 1932, for the glory of serving São Paulo" Benedicto Montenegro; Jefferson Biajone et al. (PDF), pp. 528–533
Dos Santos's life as a rural laborer was humble; he and his family lived in a rustic house made of wattle and daub, a typical dwelling of Caipiras () societies living in deep isolation, far from Brazilian urbanized areas. As there are not many historiographical mentions of his daily actions, it is not a simple task to reconcile popular tales with what actually happened. However, what can be stated and verified is that during the period of political transition between the Old Republic and the Vargas Era, he started a family – marrying Juventina Maria da Conceição"Eduardo César Werneck: 'You didn't know, but this happened in 1932'" Jornal ROL and becoming the father of three children (named Virgílio, José, and Júlia)"Children of Paulo Virginio, from left to right Uncle Virgílio, Aunt Júlia, and my father José Paulo Virginio". Available at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/memoriacunhense/permalink/8565997350083042/, Memória Cunhense - Facebook – and always remained with them in the area of the neighborhoods near the state line, about twenty kilometers away from the urban zone.
During the beginning of 1932, due to the clash with Rio de Janeiro (then the seat of the Federal District) of Brazil, civilians who did not enlist, as was the case with Paulo, had to be cautious when moving through the municipality and avoid entrenched zones. However, the absence of fast and efficient means of communication, such as radio or telegraph, left the rural population somewhat oblivious to large-scale events and the imminent conflict that was brewing.
Beginning of the Vargas Era
The political scenario during the period when Paulo Virgínio dos Santos was born was known as the Old Republic era, the time after the dissolution of the Empire of Brazil (a constitutional monarchy), when Brazil began to be governed by a series of military or political party leaders. The system of alternating power that characterized the Old Republic, based on cooperation between the state governments of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, underwent a definitive reconfiguration in 1929. Assessing the global economic crisis taking place, then-president Washington Luís demanded a management aligned with São Paulo's financial policy and, for this reason, chose to nominate Júlio Prestes – also from São Paulo – as his successor. This decision diverged from the expectations of the Minas Gerais leadership, who were awaiting the nomination of a name from their federal unit. Faced with this new scenario, Minas Gerais sought other alliances, joining with the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Paraíba and forming the "Liberal Alliance", a party that presented Getúlio Vargas from Rio Grande do Sul as the opposition candidate "The end of the Coffee with Milk Republic and the Revolution of 1932" National Library - Government of Brazil .
Although Júlio Prestes was declared the winner in the March 1930 elections, the results were contested by the opposition. The climate of instability was heightened by the assassination of Vargas's vice-presidential candidate, the Paraíban lawyer João Pessoa, an event that served as a catalyst for the Revolution of 1930 (known as "The Coup of 1930")."The Tenentes in Power: A New Perspective on the Brazilian Revolution of 1930" JSTOR - John D. Wirth On November 3rd of that year, the Brazilian Federal Military Junta handed power over to Getúlio Vargas, who took office as Chief of the Provisional Government of Brazil, beginning the Vargas Era."Revolution of 1930: 75 years" Legislative Assembly of São Paulo (ALESP) This model of government was instituted under the premise of being a transitional administration, whose main objective would be to prepare the country for a new democratic phase; however, in practice, it allowed Vargas to concentrate full powers in his hands while the new structure of the Republic remained undecided.
As a result of this new scenario, Brazil began to be governed by decrees that suspended the limits on presidential power in the Brazilian Constitution of 1891; without those limits, there is no "higher law" above the president, meaning that President Vargas's decisions could be made directly, without the need for approval by Congress or consultation with other democratic powers."The Revolution of 1930 and the construction of the National State" Hora do Povo This fact gave rise to the term "Varguista Dictatorship"."The dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas: the Estado Novo" Jusbrasil
In 1929, the Wall Street stock market crash triggered a global economic downturn (the Great Depression) which would cause serious consequences in the following years. Faced with this crisis, in an attempt to safeguard Brazilian foreign trade, Getúlio Vargas ordered the literal burning of coffee stocks in Brazilian warehouses. The coffee was the main exported product at the time; however, the economic contraction was inevitable and drained the resources of São Paulo (the largest contributor to the coffee industry), generating unemployment in both urban centers and rural areas: about 30% of the employed Brazilian workforce was immediately dismissed."The crisis of 1929" Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABIC)
In response, Vargas implemented measures such as Decree No. 19,482, which limited immigration, attempting to give preference to the national workforce."Decree No. 19,482, of 12 December 1930" Chamber of Deputies However, despite the creation of the Ministry of Labor on 26 November, 1930, these actions imposed rigid federal control over labor unions. For the population, the scenario remained marked by deplorable working conditions and a growing loss of political autonomy, fueling deep dissatisfaction against the federal government."Corporatism in the Vargas Era (1930-1937)" UFERSA Journals
The state of São Paulo, which until then had occupied a central position in the country's leadership, found itself in a critical situation relative to the other federative units. In addition to the stagnation of the economy caused by the coffee crisis, São Paulo's citizens began to be governed by interventors appointed directly by Vargas, removing the autonomy of local rulers. The lack of a full National Constitution and the perception that the state's needs were being neglected by the Federal District generated deep frustration in São Paulo society. This discontent united different social classes around a common goal: the redemocratization of the country."1932: The war of the Paulistas against Getúlio Vargas" Ensinar História This was the scenario of uncertainty and tension that would soon reach the mountains of Cunha, transforming the lives of rural workers like Paulo Virgínio and other local countrysiders.
Casus belli of the Constitutionalist Revolution and the Battle of Cunha