Carlos Lacerda

Who was Carlos Lacerda?

Carlos Frederico Werneck de Lacerda was a Brazilian journalist and politician.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Lacerda was the son of a family of politicians from Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro state.

When he was a law student, Lacerda became sympathetic to left-wing ideas, but by the 1940s he had transformed into a staunch anti-communist conservative.

He started his journalism career at Diário de Notícias in 1929. In 1949 he founded the newspaper Tribuna da Imprensa.

Starting his political career in 1947, Lacerda was elected to the legislative chamber of the city of Rio de Janeiro. In 1950 he was elected a UDN party representative for the state of Rio in the Chamber of Deputies. He became well known for his uncompromising opposition of the government of President Getúlio Vargas, even demanding Vargas' overthrow.

He survived an assassination attempt in August 1954 which became known as the crime of Rua Tonelero. The attempt is widely believed by historians to have been made by men acting under the orders of Gregório Fortunato, O Anjo Negro, a Black man who was the head of Vargas' personal bodyguards.