Ruy Barbosa

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This article is about the jurist. For the municipality in Bahia, see Ruy Barbosa, Bahia. For the municipality in Rio Grande do Norte, see Ruy Barbosa, Rio Grande do Norte.

Ruy Barbosa
Ruy Barbosa in 1907
Vice President of the Federal Senate
In office
25 October 1906 – 25 June 1909
Preceded byJoaquim Murtinho
Succeeded byQuintino Bocaiuva
Senator
In office
15 November 1890 – 1 March 1923
ConstituencyBahia
Minister of Finance
In office
15 November 1889 – 21 January 1891
PresidentDeodoro da Fonseca
Preceded byViscount of Ouro Preto
Succeeded byTristão de Alencar Araripe
General Deputy
In office
15 December 1878 – 3 September 1884
ConstituencyBahia
Personal details
Born(1849-11-05)5 November 1849
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Died1 March 1923(1923-03-01) (aged 73)
Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Political partyLiberal (1871–1889)
Spouse
Maria Augusta Viana Bandeira
​
​
(m. 1876)​
Children5
Parents
  • João José Barbosa de Oliveira (father)
  • Maria Adélia Barbosa de Almeida (mother)
RelativesMarina Ruy Barbosa (great-great-great-granddaughter)
Alma materFaculty of Law of Largo de São Francisco

Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (5 November 1849 – 1 March 1923), also known as Rui Barbosa, was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician.[1][2]

He was a prominent defender of civil liberties who called for the abolition of slavery in Brazil, Barbosa represented Brazil in the second Hague convention, argued for Brazil's participation in World War I on the side of the Allies, and personally ordered the destruction of all government records pertaining to slavery while he was Minister of Finance.

He was forced into exile during the presidency of Floriano Peixoto, as his economic policies while he was finance minister paved the way for a disaster in the Brazilian economy. After exile, Barbosa would run an extremely memorable campaign for the presidency, though it ultimately failed.

Early life[edit]

Rui Barbosa was born in Salvador, Bahia. He gave his first public speech for the abolition of slavery when he was 19. For the rest of his life he remained an uncompromising defender of civil liberties. Slavery in Brazil was finally abolished by the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law") in 1888. Part of Barbosa's legacy to history is that he authorised, as Minister of Finance on 14 December 1890, the destruction of most government records relating to slavery.[3] The avowed reason for this destruction, which took several years to be enacted and was followed by his successors, was to erase the "stain" of slavery on Brazilian history.[4] However, historians today agree that Barbosa aimed to prevent any possible indemnification of the former slave-owners for this liberation.[4] Indeed, eleven days after the abolition of slavery, a law project was deposed at the Chamber, proposing some indemnification to the slave owners.[4]

Political career[edit]

Political stances[edit]

Rui Barbosa on a 1986 10 Brazilian cruzado banknote

Barbosa's liberal ideas were influential in drafting of the first republican constitution. He was a supporter of fiat money, as opposed to a gold standard, in Brazil. During his term as finance secretary, he implemented far-reaching reforms of Brazil's financial regime, instituting a vigorously expansionist monetary policy. The result was chaos and instability: the so-called fiat experiment resulted in the bubble of encilhamento, a dismal politic-economic failure. Due to his controversial role during it, in the following administration of Floriano Peixoto, he was forced into exile until Floriano's term ended. Years later, after his return he was elected as a Senator. He headed the Brazilian delegation to the 2nd Hague Conference and was brilliant in its deliberations. As candidate of the Civilian Party in the presidential election of 1910, Barbosa waged one of the most memorable campaigns in Brazilian politics. He was not successful and lost to Marshal Hermes da Fonseca. He ran again in the elections of 1914 and 1919, both times losing to the government candidate.

During World War I, he played a key role among those who advocated the Allied cause, arguing that Brazil should be more involved in the war. Barbosa died in Petrópolis, near Rio de Janeiro, in 1923.[5]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Portal MF 200 anos — República". 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009.
  2. ^ Scott, James Brown (1923). "Ruy Barbosa: November 5, 1849—March 1, 1923". American Journal of International Law. 17 (3): 541–542. doi:10.1017/S0002930000199129. ISSN 0002-9300.
  3. ^ "Population, Citizenship and Human Rights in Brazil: Elements for a System of Indicators", Conference (paper), International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), 2005, archived from the original on 10 June 2007, retrieved 29 March 2007.
  4. ^ a b c van Deursen, Felipe, Escravos: povo marcado, Aventuras na História (in Portuguese), BR: Abril, archived from the original on 12 October 2009, retrieved 23 October 2009.
  5. ^ Cardim, Carlos Henrique (2007) A raiz das coisas. Rui Barbosa: o Brasil no Mundo (The root of things. Rui Barbosa: Brazil in the World) (in Portuguese) Civilização Brasileira. ISBN 9788520008355. pp. 15, 19, 22.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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Academic offices
Patron:
Evaristo da Veiga 		1st Academic of the 10th chair of the
Brazilian Academy of Letters
28 January 1897–1 March 1923 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
3 December 1908–15 May 1919 		Succeeded by
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