“A dance over the abyss”: the strategies of José Américo de Almeida’s candidacy in the presidential campaign of 1937

ABSTRACT

The presidential campaign of 1937 took place in a competitive scenario, with two candidates who divided the government’s allied base and the authoritarian attacks by Getúlio Vargas, as well as politicians and military personnel close to him. The objective of this text is to identify the strategies mobilized by José Américo de Almeida and his coreligionists to make feasible and execute his candidacy. We could observe that this group was not passive in the scenario presented, mobilizing tools available to them in various ways, in order to form a program and an electoral base built upon an interpretation of the project of the Revolution of 1930.

KEYWORDS:
Campaign of 1937; José Américo; Northern Bloc