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Severo Fagundes Gomes (August 10, 1924 — October 12, 1992) was a Brazilian politician and businessman. He was a Minister of State in Brazil and a Senator representing the state of São Paulo.

An entrepreneur in the agricultural and weaving sectors, with Tecelagem Parahyba [pt], he played an important role in his mandate as senator during redemocratization.

Severo died in a helicopter crash off the coast of Angra dos Reis, in the south of Rio de Janeiro state, which was also carrying Ulysses Guimarães.

Biography

Early years and education

The son of Augusta Fagundes Gomes and Olívio Gomes, Severo studied at traditional schools in the city of São Paulo, such as Caetano de Campos Normal School [pt] and St. Louis College.

He entered the traditional Law School of the University of São Paulo (USP). At the Faculty of Law, both student organizations were linked to the government of President Getúlio Vargas. Severo Gomes was one of the founders of a third group, the Academic Front for Democracy, and one of the signatories of the 'Manifesto to the Nation' (1/11/1943) against the Estado Novo, sponsored by the XI de Agosto Academic Center  [pt]. He also studied Social Sciences at Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Human Sciences.

Career

He graduated in law in 1947 and joined the family business. Influential in São Paulo's economic elite, he held advisory positions in trade associations and banks. He was also close to intellectuals and artists and was director of the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM).

A sympathizer of the National Democratic Union (UDN), he took part in the preparations for the military coup against President João Goulart, which began the Brazilian military dictatorship. After managing Banco do Brasil's agricultural credit portfolio, Castelo Branco announced him as Minister of Agriculture to replace Ney Braga [pt]. Close to the Minister of Finance, Antônio Delfim Netto, he took part in drawing up policies to curb the Land Statute [pt].

At the end of Castello Branco's government, he was removed from the government of Costa e Silva and Médici – who disliked Severo. After Geisel became president, Severo returned to the military government, this time as Minister of Industry and Trade. Incisive defender of nationalism, protectionism and Market reserves [pt], he defended the ban on the indiscriminate entry of foreign companies into the country and was one of the driving forces behind the National Information Technology Policy [pt], with Cristina Tavares [pt].

From the outset, he sought to apply what he would later call the “strategy of national independence”. To this end, the policy of the Industrial Development Council (CDI), a body linked to his ministry, was reformulated to strengthen national companies. During a trip to Rio Grande do Sul, he took on the defense of local shoe manufacturers, who were suffering from the imposition of import surcharges by the US government, while at the same time advocating the search for alternative markets. The US ambassador to Brazil, John Crimmins, later expressed his concern about the content of the statements.

In a lecture given at the Escola Superior de Guerra [pt] (ESG) in Rio de Janeiro, he pointed out the risks of excessive dependence on foreign markets and an inordinate involvement of foreign capital in the country's economy. He identified distortions in the economy and society resulting from the new direction taken by government policy after 1967, highlighting the concentration of income, regional inequalities and the deterioration of living conditions in large urban centers.

With this nationalist vision, in the same year he stopped the purchase of the Consul [pt] refrigerator factory in Santa Catarina by the Dutch group Philips. Because of his ideological views, hostility towards Severo Gomes increased in some of the country's largest newspapers, notably O Estado de S. Paulo and Jornal do Brasil.

With his political positions, his divergence with another government current of thought deepened, which was evidenced at the end of May when the ministers of Finance, Mário Henrique Simonsen, Planning and General Coordination, João Paulo dos Reis Veloso, and Agriculture, Alysson Paolinelli.

In December, when paranymphing a graduating class at the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) in São José dos Campos, he insisted on the same themes and defended the debate on the “Brazilian model”. The following month, he began to clearly preach political openness. In a lecture at the Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Sul [pt] (FIERGS), he proposed “a pact between small and medium-sized companies and the government that would strengthen national life politically”, the only way to “control the actions of state and foreign companies”. He said that “companies in Rio and São Paulo are allied with the big multinationals to prevent changes in the government's economic policy” and mentioned the “extreme right-wing forces that are preventing greater political openness”.

On February 1, 1977, Severo Gomes attended a dinner in São Paulo hosted by the president of the Cica [pt] group and Auxiliar Bank [pt], Rodolfo Bonfiglioli. During the reception, he got into a heated argument with engineer Carlos D'Alamo Lousada, a board member of the French and Brazilian Bank. A participant in the Dictatorship's conspiratorial phase, Lousada had been linked to Admiral Sílvio Heck [pt], with whom he later had a falling out, and had established relations with the Costa e Silva and Garrastazu Médici governments. After an exchange of accusations in which Severo Gomes was called a “leftist minister” and Lousada retorted by calling him a “fascist businessman”, the two insulted each other with swear words.

Later, Lousada phoned Roberto Médici, son of former president Garrastazu Médici, denouncing that Severo Gomes had called the two governments prior to General Geisel's fascist. After successive phone calls, the matter reached the president, who requested a report from the National Intelligence Service (SNI) and summoned the minister. The minister confirmed what he had said during the reception, including that “the military establishment opts for absolute security, which generates insecurity in civil society”.

In the 1982 São Paulo gubernatorial elections [pt], he was elected senator for the state of São Paulo, receiving 2 860 435 votes.

References

1. ^ "Senador Severo Gomes". Federal Senate. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
2. ^ Moreno, Jorge Bastos (February 4, 2012). "A história de Mora, capítulo 17: 'Severo Gomes é irmão!'". O Globo. Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
3. "Funcionários reativam a Tecelagem Parahyba". Folha de S.Paulo. March 1, 1994. Archived from the original on December 29, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
4. Gilly, Lara (December 3, 2018). "Peça que pode ser de helicóptero que caiu com Ulysses Guimarães em 1992 é achada em Paraty". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 15, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
5. "Ulysses Guimarães: A trajetória e a questão da morte presumida". Associação Servidores Públicos Estaduais Municipais do RJ (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on December 29, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
6. "Severo Fagundes Gomes - Base Arch". Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
7. ^ Arruda, Dárcio (August 11, 1993). "PL 0610-1993" (PDF). Municipal Chamber of São Paulo. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 29, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
8. ^ "SEVERO FAGUNDES GOMES". Centro de Pesquisa e Documentação de História Contemporânea do Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
9. Ferreira, Luzia (August 1, 2014). "Os intelectuais do Centro Nacional de Referência Cultural e a dinâmica do particular-universal (1975-1979)" (PDF). Associação Nacional de História (ANPUH). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
10. "Castelo que aproveitar trabalhadores desempregados pela sêca". Jornal do Brasil. 96 (120): 11. May 5, 1966.
11. "Lance livre". Jornal do Brasil. 96 (189): 10. May 13, 1966.
12. "Governo traça estratégia de luta contra a inflação". Jornal do Brasil. 94 (1): 1. April 9, 1974.
13. Netto, José Paulo (2016-06-20). Pequena história da ditadura brasileira (1964-1985) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Cortez Editora. ISBN 978-85-249-2278-7.
14. Sebastião, Filho (2011). "O Que a Escola Superior de Guerra (ESG) Ensinava" (PDF). Federal University of Ceará. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
15. ^ "SIMONSEN, Mário Henrique". Fundação Getulio Vargas. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
16. "REPORTED FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONSUL CASE". WikiLeaks. September 18, 1975. Archived from the original on January 1, 2025. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
17. Gomes, Severo (1977). Tempo de mudar. Porto Alegre: Editora Globo.
18. "Os resultados de São Paulo". A Tribuna. 89 (245): 3. November 25, 1982.