Just at noon on the day after elections, the vote count began in Rio's Hotel dos Estrangeiros. Electoral Board No. 13 opened the first presidential ballots. The judge looked at the first ballot and intoned: "The first vote is for Getulio Vargas." The second, third and fourth ballots were also for Vargas. Not until the fifth ballot did Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes score. The first vote for Christiano Machado, the government's candidate, was recorded even later.
As the count went on, it became clear that Vargas was running well out in front. In...
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