BETWEEN DEAD AND WOUNDED, EVERYONE SAVED! THE ELECTORAL PROCESS OF 1958 IN PIAUÍ.

Abstract

In 1958, in Piauí, an automobile accident occurred that took the lives of dozens of workers and two politicians of great expression in the state, Demerval Lobão and Marcos Parente. The incident occurred on the eve of the elections and the two were opposition candidates for respectively the government and the senate. The accident gained features of a tragedy, becoming known as Desastre da Cruz do Cassaco. With the proximity of the election, it was necessary that the opposition cast into other names and the successful candidate for the government by the PTB-UDN coalition was the rich young Francisco das Chagas Caldas Rodrigues and the Senate the brother of the late candidate Joaquim Parente, taking during the 20 days of the campaign the banner of the accident as a political project, winning votes and hearts.