The author of this book is the gaúcho Fernando Ferrari, several times elected by the people of his State, Rio Grande do Sul, to the State and Federal Legislature. In 1947, in the capacity of State Representative, Ferrari wrote the entire chapter on the “Ordem Social e Economica da Constituição Gaúcha” (Pertaining to the social and economic order of the Constitution of Rio Grande do Sul). Later he was elected Federal Congressman and, immediately after that, he was chosen to be the leader of his party in Congress. In May of 1959 Ferrari—thanks to his idealism and efficiency—was nominated by the students and workers of his State to run for the Vice-presidency of the Republic, in the elections of 1960. Ferrari had as his opponent, the president of the Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (Brazilian Labor Party)—João Goulart—and also the “mineiro” Milton Campos (representative of the State of Minas Gerais). In spite of having obtained nearly 2,500,000 votes, Ferrari was defeated by his “fellow-gaúcho” Goulart, now President of Brazil.
The present book contains 21 chapters and constitutes, from the first page to the last, a “libelo” (pamphlet) and at the same time an outline of political ideals. This “libelo” can be summarized in a political order that Ferrari terms “materialized:” “the war of the power for power itself, of the interests, of the vanities.” In addition to the 21 chapters, the book contains 10 journalistic articles, referring to the political campaign of the candidate for the vice-presidency.
Fernando Ferrari was one of the founders of the “Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro” and says that he was influenced in his ideas by Getúlio Vargas and Alberto Pasqualini. The latter is like Attlee in England, and was the real teacher of the author of this book. As an introduction Ferrari published the speech he delivered at the cemetery, the day of Pasqualini’s funeral, expressing sorrow for the death of that true philosopher of Brazilian Labor. The rest of the chapters—in their majority—set forth Ferrari’s struggle against the candidate and president of the PTB and against “the unipersonal and caudilhesco sense of action of Goulart” (pp. 6, 27, 35, 36, 39, 41, etc.). Ferrari tries to show the necessity of a new political program for the PTB—“which is not a democratic party” (p. 27) but “an alliance of heterogeneous groups, private property of a family oligarchy, with a wealthy latifundiary at the presidency” (p. 43). Ferrari was candidate for the post of vice-president using the slogan “Campaign of the Clean Hands” (Chap. III). Due to that slogan and other reasons he was expelled from the PTB (p. 75). In Chapter VII he explains why and how he was candidate for the vice-presidency by the Partido Democrata Cristão (PDC, Democratic Christian Party), forming immediately a new “civic and non-partisan entity” denominated “Movimento Trabalhista Renovador (Labor Reformer Movement). In his campaign Ferrari developed several social theses, always trying to find solutions for the pressing Brazilian problems, including agrarian reform, a subject with which he is very familiar. The different economic processes which he made use of in his campaign were also explained in the book. The alliance with Jânio Quadros was largely explained (p. 112), and in Chapter XVII Ferrari transcribes and comments upon the important support which he received from Brazilian intellectuals, such as from the Folklorist Luis da Camara Cascudo; from the writer Erico Veríssimo; from the Sociologist Gilberto Freyre; from the President of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Austregésilo de Athayde; and from important Brazilian journalists who published graciosamente (gratis) several articles favoring his campaign (which is not very common in Brazil, especially so close to the big elections).
From reading the 238 pages of this book one arrives at the conclusion that its author wants a change in the political parties—especially in the Brazilian Labor Party—based on a new laborist philosophy very different from that which is being followed by the leaders of the PTB since Getúlio Vargas. The book obviously shows the ideals of a young politician who hopes to be able to reform the vices of Brazilian politics, which he describes in abundant detail.
