DUTRA, EURICO GASPAR

born May 18, 1885, Cuiaba, Brazil died June 11, 1974, Rio de Janeiro soldier and president of Brazil (194550), whose administration was noted for its restoration of constitutional democracy. Dutra was commissioned a second lieutenant in the cavalry in 1910 and received routine assignments and promotions for the next 22 years. He consistently supported the established government against all revolutionary movements. Dutra thus opposed Getlio Dorneles Vargas, who seized power in a coup in 1930, but he later defended Vargas in the 1932 So Paulo revolt and became one of the principal figures in devising the 1937 constitution for Brazil under Vargas' rule. Eight years later (October 1945), when Vargas attempted to prevent elections, Dutra led a successful coup and was elected president in December with the support of the Social Democratic Party. He also gained the support of rural workers and, on Vargas' recommendation, of the Brazilian Labor Party. Dutra returned Brazil to respected democratic freedoms and strove to improve relations with the United States through the Organization of American States. His administration, however, lacked direction in its financial policy, and, with the resulting public discontent, Vargas won the 1951 election for president.