Eleições no Brasil antes da democracia: O código eleitoral de 1932 e os pleitos de 1933 e 1934

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to understand the process of the Brazilian party and electoral systems' reconfiguration after 1930 and before the first democratic period in the country (1945-1964). Our analysis is focused in two stages: In the relationship between political elites and the formation of a new political and institutional order in the country, and in the effects of institutional changes on the political competition and political representation. Based on new data, we demonstrate that the elections held in 1933 and 1934 were the first plural and competitive elections in Brazil, where the possibility of assuming the office was guaranteed to the opposition. Thus, these elections expose a very different scenario from the one often presented by the consolidated literature on the First Republic of Brazil.