The word
nego on the state flag is
Portuguese for "I deny" or "I refuse", referring to the events that led to the
Brazilian Revolution of 1930.
Due to
Milk Coffee Politics in Brazil, the
president of the country always alternated between someone from the state of
Minas Gerais and someone from the state of
São Paulo. In 1929, the incumbent president from São Paulo,
Washington Luís, was supposed to support a politician from Minas Gerais as the next president, but he instead decided to nominate someone from São Paulo for the second time in a row,
Júlio Prestes. The state governor of Paraíba,
João Pessoa Cavalcânti de Albuquerque, refused to support the appointment of Júlio Prestes, and in 1930, Pessoa joined the alliance for the overthrow of the federal government. The revolution succeeded in toppling the Old Republic and installing
Getúlio Vargas—who was from neither Minas Gerais nor São Paulo—as the president of Brazil, however, João Pessoa was assassinated; there is still debate as to whether the motive behind his murder was personal, political, or both. Following these events, the word
nego was added to the flag of Paraíba.
