on July 16, 1934, less than four years after the coup d'état had overthrown the Old Republic. Vargas accepted this constitution in order to legitimise his power. The Constitution This constitution was the shortest-lived Constitution of Brazil, lasting only three years (until 1937). Despite its short life, this constitution was important because it was the first time a Brazilian constitution was written from scratch by directly elected deputies in multi-party elections. As a consequence of this, it incorporated a number of improvements to Brazilian political, social and economical life: Granted complete independence to the Supreme Court and subordinated all other courts to it. Extended political rights to all adults, regardless of sex. Introduced proportional voting for elections to the Chamber of Deputies, which included representatives of the people as well as a minority of representatives from trade unions and other professional organizations – a corporatist device introduced under the shock of the Russian Revolution and the influence of Italian fascism. Created a specific electoral court to supervise elections, under the control of the Supreme Court (previously the supervision of elections was under control of the Legislative Branch). Following a trend set by the German Weimar Constitution, acknowledged a whole host of social rights alongside political and civil ones: the national minimum wage, the eight-hour workday, mandatory weekly rest, paid vacations and indemnity for unmotivated firing. Created a labor court to supervise working conditions and codified rights and duties for both the employers and the employees. Was the first Brazilian constitution to list all four basic freedoms (speech, religion, movement and assembly) alongside the basic rights (life, freedom and property). "Estado Novo" Constitution (1937) Background On the night of November 10, 1937, Vargas announced in a nationwide radio address that he was seizing emergency powers under the pretext of suppressing a Communist-backed coup (the so-called Cohen Plan). On the same night, he promulgated a new constitution that effectively transformed his presidency into a legal dictatorship (the short interval suggesting that the self-coup had been planned well in advance). It was written by the minister of Justice, Francisco Campos, and proofread by Vargas and his minister of War (joint-commander of the Army and Air Force), Eurico Gaspar Dutra. The Constitution The new document was called the "Polaca", or Polish, Constitution because it was inspired by the Polish April Constitution of 1935. It was intended to consolidate the powers of the president, while