Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician, who served as President during two periods: the first was from 1930–1945, when he served as interim president from 1930–1934, constitutional president from 1934–1937, and dictator from 1937–1945. After being overthrown in a 1945 coup, Vargas returned to power as the democratically elected president in 1951, serving until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the longest of any President, and second in Brazilian history only to Emperor Pedro II among heads of state. He favored nationalism, industrialization,
Juan Vargas and Celina Vargas, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the late 1940s as part of the Bracero program. Vargas graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA from University of San Diego and earned an MA in Humanities from Fordham University in New York City. After college, Vargas joined the Jesuit Novitiate (introduction) in Santa Barbara. In the Jesuits, Vargas served in an orphanage in the civil-war-torn jungles of El Salvador. After leaving the Jesuits, he decided on law school and graduated in 1991 with a JD from Harvard Law School, making him a classmate of President Barack