Events in the year 1952 in Brazil.
Incumbents
Federal government
President: Getúlio Vargas
Vice President: Café Filho
Governors
Alagoas: Arnon de Mello
Amazonas: Álvaro Botelho Maia
Bahia: Régis Pacheco
Ceará: Raul Barbosa
Espírito Santo: Jones dos Santos Neves (until 31 January) Francisco Alves Ataíde (from 31 January) Goiás: Pedro Ludovico Teixeira Maranhão: Eugênio Barros Mato Grosso: Fernando Corrêa da Costa Minas Gerais: Juscelino Kubitschek Pará: Zacarias de Assumpção Paraíba: José Américo de Almeida Paraná: Bento Munhoz da Rocha Neto Pernambuco: Agamenon Magalhães (until 24 August) Antônio Torres Galvão (from 24 August-12 December) Etelvino Lins de Albuquerque (starting 12 December) Piauí: Pedro Freitas Rio Grande do Norte: Silvio Piza Pedrosa Rio Grande do Sul: Ernesto Dornelles Santa Catarina: Irineu Bornhausen São Paulo: Lucas Nogueira Garcez Sergipe: Arnaldo Rollemberg Garcez
Vice governors
Alagoas: Antônio Guedes de Miranda
Ceará: Stênio Gomes da Silva
Espírito Santo: Francisco Alves Ataíde
Goiás: Jonas Ferreira Alves Duarte
Maranhão: Renato Bayma Archer da Silva
Mato Grosso: João Leite de Barros
Minas Gerais: Clóvis Salgado da Gama
Paraíba: João Fernandes de Lima
Piauí: Tertuliano Milton Brandão
Rio de Janeiro: Tarcísio Miranda
Rio Grande do Norte: Vacant
São Paulo: Erlindo Salzano
Sergipe: Edelzio Vieira de Melo
Events
March
4 March: A crowded steam-powered passenger train derails while crossing a bridge over the Pavuna River near Anchieta station, sending two old wooden carriages broadside onto the adjacent line. A modern high-speed electric freight train travelling in the opposite direction ploughs into the wooden carriages, telescoping them upwards. 119 people are killed and more than 200 are injured, resulting in an outcry prompting a major new investment in Brazilian railways. 15 March: The military assistance agreement between Brazil and the United States is signed by the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Neves da Fontoura and American ambassador, Herschel Johnson at the Itamaraty Palace in Rio de Janeiro.
April
28 April: Pan Am Flight 202 crashes in the Amazon Basin approximately southwest of Carolina, Maranhão. All 50 people on board are killed in the worst-ever accident involving the Boeing 377.
June
20 June: President Getúlio Vargas signs a law, creating the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES, formerly BNDE).
August
12 August: A Douglas C-47A registered PP-ANH is destroyed after a in-flight fire, causing it to crash near Palmeiras de Goiás. All 24 people on board are killed.
October
14 October: The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil is founded in Rio de Janeiro. 29 October: The National Institute of Amazonian Research is created through Decree 31,672.
December
14 December: The city of Paranavaí is founded.
Arts and culture
Films
O Canto do Mar, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. Sai da frente, film debut of Amácio Mazzaropi. Tico-Tico no Fubá, directed by Adolfo Celi, starring Anselmo Duarte and Tônia Carrero.
Music
João Gilberto - "Quando Ela Sai"
Television
Sítio do Pica-pau Amarelo, written by Tatiana Belinky and based on the series of novels of same name by Monteiro Lobato.
Births
January
18 January – Túlio Mourão, pianist and composer
February
22 February – Marcos Caruso, author, director, screenwriter and actor
May
10 May – Vanderlei Luxemburgo, professional football coach and former player
August
17 August – Nelson Piquet, racing driver
19 August – Milton Hatoum, writer
September
10 September – Paulo Betti, actor
December
14 December – Pedro Collor de Mello, business and brother of former president of Brazil Fernando Collor (died 1994)
Deaths
February
2 February – João Guilherme Fischer, agronomic engineer (born 1876)