Araripe, 1916 – Recife (Brazil), 2005

By Ivana Jinkings

Elected three times as governor of the state of Pernambuco (1962-1964, 1986-1990, and 1994-1998), Miguel Arraes de Alencar was one of the leading figures of leftist nationalism before the 1964 coup. His first term as governor was marked by the extension of labor rights to rural areas and measures in favor of the lower classes.

A lawyer, his first public office was as Secretary of Finance in the state government of Barbosa Lima Sobrinho in 1947. He served as a state deputy for the PSD (1950-1954), mayor of Recife (1959-1962), and governor of the state for the PST (Social Labor Party). Arraes had his mandate revoked by the military regime due to his support for the Ligas Camponesas (Rural Leagues) and agrarian reform, as well as his alliance with the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB). After eleven months in prison in Fernando de Noronha, he went into exile in Algeria, where he remained from 1965 to 1979. With the amnesty, he returned to Brazil and joined the PMDB. In 1982, he became the most voted federal deputy from the Northeast. In 1990, he joined the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), of which he was president. When he died in 2005, he was serving as a federal deputy.