Rodrigues Alves

Rodrigues Alves was born in 1867, in Guaratinguetá, São Paulo. Lawyer; councilman of D. Pedro II during the empire's regency; governor of São Paulo in several occasions; senator and later the fifth president of Brazil. During his term the Vaccine Revolt broke out, turning into the most memorable moments in politics in Brazil. Due to poor and inadequate health system at the nation's capital (then located in Rio de Janeiro), the outbreak of many diseases like typhus, tuberculosis, measles and leprosy were very common. Alves allowed the chief public health officials of the state to enforce any law to prevent more outbreaks, forcing down vaccines into the public. The event was successful despite the controversy. Alves was regarded as one of the greatest Brazilian presidents and with such great popularity, he managed to get a new term a few years later, in 1918 - re-election wasn't available back in the early years of the Republic. However, he wasn't able to assume his new presidency due to being affected by the Spanish influenza around the time of inauguration day. Delfim Moreira took as a vice hoping the president would recover but on January 1919, Alves died.