Plínio Salgado

Plínio Salgado (; January 22, 1895 – December 8, 1975) was a Brazilian politician, writer, journalist, and theologian. He founded and led Brazilian Integralist Action, a political party inspired by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.

Initially a supporter of the dictatorship led by Getúlio Vargas, he was later persecuted and exiled in Portugal for promoting an uprising against the government. After his return, he launched the Popular Representation Party, and was elected to represent Paraná in the Chamber of Deputies in 1958, being re-elected in 1962, this time to represent São Paulo. He was also a candidate in the 1955 presidential election, securing 8.28% of the votes. After the 1964 coup d'état, which led to the extinction of political parties, he joined the National Renewal Alliance, obtaining two terms in the Chamber of Deputies. He retired from politics in 1974, just a year before his death.

Early life Born in the small conservative town of São Bento do Sapucaí in the São Paulo state, Plínio Salgado was the son of Colonel Francisco das Chagas Salgado, a local political leader, and Ana Francisca Rennó Cortez, a teacher. A very active child at school, he had special interest for mathematics and geometry. After the loss of his father, at the age of 16, which is said to have made him a bitter young man, his interests shifted towards psychology and philosophy.

At the age of 20, Salgado founded and directed the weekly newspaper Correio de São Bento. In 1918, he began his political life by taking part in the foundation of a party called Partido Municipalista.

Integralism

In 1930, Salgado supported the presidential candidacy of Júlio Prestes against Getúlio Vargas. The President, however, banned the Integralist party, treating it the same way he had treated other political parties after transforming Brazil into a one-party state. He is buried at Morumbi Cemetery.