João Mangabeira and the Book “Rui, the Statesman of the Republic” (1943-1945): the context, ideas and reception of the work

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the publication of the book “Rui, o Estadista da República” (Rui, the Statesman of the Republic) by politician and constitutionalist João Mangabeira. Published in 1943, the book can be considered a political-intellectual milestone in the revaluation of political liberalism and the figure of Rui Barbosa in the context marked by the beginning of the Estado Novo crisis and the advance of the Allies during the Second World War. In order to understand the process of producing the book and its intellectual and political significance, we present the relationship between João Mangabeira and Rui Barbosa simbolism since the First Republic, a brief historical overview of the context in which the work was conceived, the representations and ideas constructed by João Mangabeira about Rui Barbosa and the reception that the book received in the intellectual circles of the time.