About Jânio Quadros Jânio da Silva Quadros (Portuguese pronunciation: ˈʒɐnju da ˈsiwva ˈkwadɾus), PC (January 25, 1917, in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul — February 16, 1992, in São Paulo) was a Brazilian politician who served briefly as President of Brazil in 1961.Quadros's meteoric career can be attributed to his widespread use of populist rhetoric and his extravagant behavior. He became mayor of the city of São Paulo in 1953 and governor of the state of São Paulo just two years later, in 1955. He was elected president of Brazil by a landslide in 1960, taking office on January 31, 1961. Quadros laid the blame for the country's high rate of inflation on his predecessor, Juscelino Kubitschek. As president, Quadros outlawed gambling, banned women from wearing bikinis on the beach, and established relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba (for getting into a neutral international policy). The re-establishment of relations with the Socialist Block in the middle of the Cold War meant that the National Democratic Union (Brazil) no longer supported his leadership in congress, he was thus left with no real power.