Word: caf
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...present. Last August, in the midst of a shattering political crisis, after a group of top-ranking generals had warned him that he must resign for the country's good, tragic Getulio Vargas put a bullet through his heart. That was the time for Vice President Joao Café Filho (which translates as John Coffee Jr.) to step forward...
...strikingly different character from Vargas, Café Filho is far more concerned with the problems of today than the projects of the future, utterly lacking in any taste for the intricate maneuvers and favoritism of partisan politics. Instead of trying to hold all the administrative strings in his own hands, he has brought teamwork into the government, delegating real authority to his ministers and giving them firm support. Instead of trying to cure Brazil's economic ailments with painkilling expedients, he has adopted a bitter-medicine program of "disinflation" and austerity...
Barred by the constitution from succeeding himself. Café Filho has only 14 more months (the remainder of Vargas' term) to apply his remedies. "I am perfectly aware of the time limitation I am up against," he said recently. "And I do not pretend to be a miracle man. What I am trying to do is apply common sense to this job. I am not running for President: I am already President. I do not need to court popularity or votes...
...Café Filho has already shown a magnificent disregard for personal popularity. Determined to plug all possible dollar-exchange leaks, he angered federal Senators and Deputies by canceling their highly prized privilege of bringing a new car into the country every few years. Determined to hold down expenditures, he vetoed a bill to raise the pay of government doctors, stuck to his decision, though the doctors threatened a nationwide strike...
...season (mid-December through mid-March) instead of moving to the 26-mile-distant city of Petropolis, up in the cool mountains, as Brazilian chiefs of state have done since the days of Emperor (1822-31) Pedro I. "This government has no time for a vacation," Café Filho explained...