Prestes, Luís Carlos

Prestes, Luís Carlos

(born Jan. 3, 1898, Pôrto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Braz.—died March 7, 1990, Rio de Janeiro) Brazilian revolutionary. Beginning in 1924, he led a rebel force on a three-year trek through Brazil's interior in an effort to spark a rebellion in the countryside. Although the effort failed, he became a romantic hero. He went on to lead the Brazilian Communist Party, which advocated ending payments on the national debt, nationalization of foreign-owned companies, and land reform. Imprisoned after a violent uprising in 1935, he was released after World War II and later served briefly as a senator.