Vargas, Getúlio Dornelles, 1883-1954, Brazilian statesman, twice president (1930-45, 1951-54). The popular governor of Rio Grande do Sul (1928-30), he ran for the presidency in 1930, was defeated, charged fraud, and led a successful revolt. His position as president was heavily supported by nationalistic forces in the military. A new constitution guaranteeing states' rights and forbidding reelection of the president was altered in 1937; a corporative state, the Estado Novo, was established on the model of Portugal. Industrial development and agricultural diversification were encouraged, but to little effect. In 1945, Vargas promised elections, but he was suspected of planning to remain in power and was ousted by a group of army officers. Still popular, he was elected senator two months later. He was again elected president in 1950 and was inaugurated in 1951. Three years later, under pressure from the army and threat of impeachment, he resigned and committed suicide.

(born March 28, 1936, Arequipa, Peru) Peruvian writer. Vargas Llosa worked as a journalist and broadcaster before publishing The Time of the Hero (1963), his widely acclaimed first novel. It describes adolescents striving for survival in the hostile environment of a military school, the corruption of which reflects the larger malaise afflicting Peru. His commitment to social change is evident in his early novels, essays, and plays. He turned increasingly conservative, especially in the face of the Maoist Shining Path insurgency, and in 1990 he ran for president of Peru. His best-known works include The Green House (1965), Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977), and The War of the End of the World (1981), an account of a 19th-century Brazilian religious movement. In 1994 he won the Cervantes Prize (a prestigious literary award given for Spanish-language literature).

Learn more about Vargas Llosa, (Jorge) Mario (Pedro) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Vargas may refer to:

People

• see Vargas (surname)
• Juan Manuel Vargas, Peruvian footballer

Places

• Vargas (state), Venezuelan state
• Getúlio Vargas, municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

In fiction

• Vargas (James Bond), a SPECTRE assassin in James Bond's Thunderball
• Vargas (comics), the Marvel comics character
• Edgar Vargas, a character in Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
• Rocco Vargas, a science-fiction comic-book hero created by Daniel Torres

See also

• Varga
• Varda