The Empire’s Largest City, São Paulo had been hit hard by the post-war economic downturn, one that would soon bring down the incumbent Liberal Government. Sensing weakness, allies of the palace sought a rare opportune to elect a Royalist candidate to such an influential mayoralty. With some nudging from the Empress, aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont entered the race under the banner of the Constitution Party, the most moderate of the Conservative Royalist bloc. Santos-Dumont was a national hero, and seemed an eminently sensible, modern monarchist. However he was not accustomed to public speaking, and his technocratic style left many alienated. And, quite frankly, the workers of São Paulo were never going to elect an outsider, especially one so blatantly backed by Rio.
Incumbent Mayor José Joaquim Cardoso de Melo Neto had been elected on a reformist platform, running against the powerful machine interests that had long dominated the city and the state. Once in office, however, he proved more accommodating that some of his erstwhile supporters might have like. In particular his efforts for self governance for the city were seen as tepid by many. However the Mayor now had the backing of most of the machine, although some bosses did jump ship to Santos-Dumont, as did disgruntled reformers intrigued by technocratic ideals.
With both liberal reformers and the machine split. The left saw an opportunity. The Labor Party and the Unionists both formally sat out, instead backing another movement. São Paulo had over the years attracted a large Afro-Brazilian community, a community that was gaining increased political consciousness. They had always faced discrimination, but scientific racism and American style segregation were emerging as real strands of thought on the right, including the possibility of rolling back universal suffrage. On the other side of the coin, high rates of service during the war had left many Blacks convinced of their self worth.
José Correia Leite was not originally from São Paulo, but had wound up there nonetheless. He was well educated, and active in the Afro-Brazilian press, as well as socialist-adjacent organizing. He had enjoyed a burst of fame following a successful tour of the United States, where he argued that the rivalry between the Empire and Republic was no reason to abandon racial solidarity. He himself was skeptical of his running, but a conclave of Black and Left-Wing Leaders anointed him the candidate.
Most wrote Leite off as a no hope candidate. If anything, his run meant the front runners could avoid awkward attempts to pander to Black voters. Both major blocs assumed that white labor leaders would never back a Black man. And indeed, fighting off racism from ideological comrades was part of the Leite campaign. However the War, as with everything, had changed much. Leite offered a vision of a City Hall that wasn’t on the side of the bosses. Most liberal reformers were terrified of a Black Mayor, but a sliver did defect.
As Election Day neared, the establishment began to wake up to the threat posed by Leite. The size of his rallies and the fervor of his supporters became too large to ignore. Santos-Dumas suffered the most from this, allies deserting to the incumbent to elect anyone but Leite. The Prime Minister was flown in to rally for the Mayor, although this may have harmed Melo Neto. The campaign’s also, predictably, quickly devolved into racist mudslinging. Leite would allow crime to run rampant, steal the art from city hall, steal your women, all the usual canards.
In the end, Santos-Dumas would fade into third place, and would die soon after incidentally. But the split in establishment power proved fatal once a true challenge to the Liberal vs, Royal dynamic emerged. All across Brazil, even far from São Paulo, Afro-Brazilians turned out in droves to celebrate the victory of “their man Leite.” In some ways, the racial dynamics overshadowed the size of the victory for the left. By putting aside their differences the Labor and Unionist parties had gotten an ally into government, while showing the masses were displeased with the status quo.
Leite would immediately face challenges, both from his Council and from the State Government, which suddenly kept a much closer eye on the Mayor’s office. Proposals for runoffs for Mayoral elections would follow, as would racist vitriol from all sides. However Leite would prove a successful mayor, passing many longtime goals of the reform movement, which would help him win election. He would remain an icon, and help turn São Paulo into the center of modern Afro-Brazilian culture and politics, as well as ensuring Black involvement as a key constituency of the Brazilian left. The 1933 São Paulo election is considered a harbinger of the “Kaleidoscope Era” of Brazilian politics, which saw both increased racial diversity as well as political fragmentation beyond the traditional two poles of Imperial politics.
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