Ruy Barbosa

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
File:Ruy Barbosa 1907.jpg Ruy Barbosa in 1907
Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice
In office 30 January 1922 – 1 March 1923
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Epitácio Pessoa
Vice President of the Federal Senate
In office 25 October 1906 – 25 June 1909
Preceded by	Joaquim Murtinho
Succeeded by	Quintino Bocaiuva
Senator for Bahia
In office 15 November 1890 – 1 March 1923
Preceded by	Seat established by Decree No. 510 of 1890
Succeeded by	Pedro Lago
Minister of Finance
In office 15 November 1889 – 21 January 1891
President	Deodoro da Fonseca
Preceded by	Viscount of Ouro Preto
Succeeded by	Tristão de Alencar Araripe
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 15 December 1878 – 3 September 1884
Constituency	Bahia
Personal details
Born	(1849-11-05)5 November 1849 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Died	1 March 1923(1923-03-01) (aged 73) Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Party	Liberal (1871–1889)
Spouse	Maria Augusta Viana Bandeira ​ ​ (m. 1876)​
Children	5
Parents	João José Barbosa de Oliveira (father) Maria Adélia Barbosa de Almeida (mother)
Relatives	Marina Ruy Barbosa (great-great-great-granddaughter)
Alma mater	Faculty 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 politician, writer, jurist, and diplomat.

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 ran for the presidency multiple times, though all of his attempts ultimately failed.

Early life

File:Brasil Rui Barbosa 5000 a (22133177441).jpg

A depiction of Barbosa on a stamp

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. He was also one of the republicanist participants in the 1889 coup that overthrew the monarchy of Dom Pedro II, though in later years he would praise the late deposed monarch.

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. 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. However, historians today agree that Barbosa aimed to prevent any possible indemnification of the former slave-owners for this liberation. Indeed, eleven days after the abolition of slavery, a law project was deposed at the Chamber, proposing some indemnification to the slave owners.

Political career

Political stances

File:Brazilian 10 cruzados obverse.jpg

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.

See also

• Oração aos Moços

Bibliography

• , originally by Abingdon-Cokesbury Press.

External links

• .
• .
• Newspaper clippings about Ruy Barbosa in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW