Delfim Moreira

Who was Delfim Moreira?

Delfim Moreira da Costa Ribeiro was a Brazilian politician. He was born in Minas Gerais state to a Portuguese father and to a Portuguese Brazilian mother who traced her ancestry back to the early settlers of Brazil.

Delfim Moreira, elected vice president of Rodrigues Alves in 1918, provisionally ruled the country since the Brazilian Constitution provided for new elections in case of disability of the President before completing two years in office. Rodrigues Alves did not even entered office, for he was stricken by the "Spanish flu" and died on 16 January 1919. Delfim Moreira himself also did not have good health, suffering from some psychological conditions, therefore his short tenure was known as "the republican regency" since the government Minister of Transportation and Public Works, Afrânio de Melo Franco, stood out in the president's decision-making.

Three days after the new government took over the country, a general strike hit the capital and the city of Niterói. The president ordered the closure of unions in Rio de Janeiro, on 22 November.

On 21 June 1919, a portion of the anarchists founded the Brazilian Communist Party.