Carnival During the Vargas Era

By: S. Dias

​Carnival was not always the glorious and globally recognized celebration that it is today, in fact, the elite and authorities once associated it with disorder and social marginalization. However, the government of Getúlio Vargas used Carnival and samba as symbols of national identity, revolutionizing the celebration. 
The Vargas Era, 1930-45, represents one of the most significant periods in Brazilian history, marked by the expansion of social and workers’ rights and the restriction of political participation. During the dictatorial period of the Vargas Era called the Estado Novo, a new constitution was introduced that severely limited the influence citizens had over politics. Political parties were extinguished, the press was censored, the National Congress was closed, and the political power was centralized in the executive branch. Despite these constraints, workers largely benefited from the government where workers’ rights were regulated, the Labor Court was institutionalized, and the Consolidation of Labor Laws was adopted. Furthermore, samba and Carnival shifted from being socially marginalized to being presented as a national symbol.
Before the Vargas Era, samba was strongly associated with Afro-Brazilian communities, especially in urban Black neighborhoods in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. The music genre and dance originated in Bahia among enslaved and freed Africans and later developed further in Rio de Janeiro. The Vargas government was focused on building a stronger and more unified idea of Brazil, embracing nationalism. Samba and Carnival were useful for that project because they were already popular and emotionally powerful. Instead of treating samba only as a lower-class or racialized practice, the government increasingly elevated it as a core cultural symbol of Brazil. For Vargas’ government, this shift was politically useful because it allowed the regime to present itself as close to the brazilian people even though it surpressed political rights. 
One of the most significant developments during this period was the formal organization of samba schools. These groups originated in working-class neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, where communities gathered to rehearse music, create costumes, and prepare performances for Carnival. In 1932, the first official samba school parade was organized in Rio de Janeiro. This event marked the beginning of a formal competition in which different samba schools present themed performances featuring music, choreography, and elaborate costumes for present stories. Over time, these parades became the central attraction of Rio’s Carnival and helped transform the celebration into the global cultural spectacle that it is today.
During the 1930s and 1940s, radio became one of the most powerful forms of mass communication in Brazil. Samba songs and Carnival music were widely broadcast across the country, allowing people in different regions to engage with cultural traditions that had previously been concentrated in specific cities.
Carnival’s transformation during the Vargas Era communicates the complex relationship between culture and politics. While the Estado Novo restricted political freedoms and centralized power, the government simultaneously promoted cultural expressions such as samba and Carnival as symbols of Brazilian identity. At the same time, this process reveals an important contradiction in the Vargas government where a dictatorship that limited political participation also relied on popular culture to strengthen its connection with the people. The developments of the 1930s and 1940s ultimately laid the foundations for the modern Carnival, transforming it into one of the most iconic cultural events in Brazil and a celebration recognized around the world today.