Tenório Cavalcanti was one of those historical figures whose life would probably be considered ASB if he was a fictional character. Born in Alagoas in 1906, he moved to the state of Rio de Janeiro (more specifically the future city of Duque de Caxias, then a district of Nova Iguaçu), where he worked as a farm manager and was later elected to a seat in the local city council.
From that moment onward he was involved in several shootouts and other spectacular incidents, earning him much fame and a fearsome reputation. After the end of the Estado Novo dictatorship in 1945, Tenório was elected to the RJ state assembly the following year, and then to the Chamber of Deputies in 1950. He did so as a member of UDN, and not only was he a strong critic of Getúlio Vargas, but he and his newspaper Luta Democrática ("Democratic Fight") were fully supportive of the plot to overturn Juscelino Kubitschek's election in 1955.
He pulled a 180 degree turn by the sixties, however, breaking with UDN and supporting Brizola's campaign to ensure João Goulart's accession as president in 1961. He ran for the governorship of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro in 1960 and 1962 respectively, but despite getting a respectable share of the vote he lost both races. The 1964 coup d'état finally put an end to his political career.
So, was there any way someone like Tenório could've been elected to the presidency? He was a national figure, one whose profile grew with every scandal he got himself into, and as if that weren't enough he wore a black cape to hide a submachine gun, and was surrounded by goons/bodyguards.
His biggest mistake, in my view, was that he took too long to run for executive office, and only did so at a time his star was already on the decline thanks to the rise of PTB as an actor in RJ politics. Perhaps, had he become governor of Rio in 1954 (the candidate UDN chose IOTL didn't do too badly), he could pull a Jânio Quadros in 1960?
@Gukpard @Guilherme Loureiro @Taunay
From that moment onward he was involved in several shootouts and other spectacular incidents, earning him much fame and a fearsome reputation. After the end of the Estado Novo dictatorship in 1945, Tenório was elected to the RJ state assembly the following year, and then to the Chamber of Deputies in 1950. He did so as a member of UDN, and not only was he a strong critic of Getúlio Vargas, but he and his newspaper Luta Democrática ("Democratic Fight") were fully supportive of the plot to overturn Juscelino Kubitschek's election in 1955.
He pulled a 180 degree turn by the sixties, however, breaking with UDN and supporting Brizola's campaign to ensure João Goulart's accession as president in 1961. He ran for the governorship of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro in 1960 and 1962 respectively, but despite getting a respectable share of the vote he lost both races. The 1964 coup d'état finally put an end to his political career.
So, was there any way someone like Tenório could've been elected to the presidency? He was a national figure, one whose profile grew with every scandal he got himself into, and as if that weren't enough he wore a black cape to hide a submachine gun, and was surrounded by goons/bodyguards.
His biggest mistake, in my view, was that he took too long to run for executive office, and only did so at a time his star was already on the decline thanks to the rise of PTB as an actor in RJ politics. Perhaps, had he become governor of Rio in 1954 (the candidate UDN chose IOTL didn't do too badly), he could pull a Jânio Quadros in 1960?
@Gukpard @Guilherme Loureiro @Taunay
