Frederico Deusto

His Excellency Frederico Deusto
Deusto in 1940
President of Produzland
In office 1 October 1935 – 29 March 1979
Preceded by	Carlos IV (King of Produzland) Filipe Góes (Prime Minister of Produzland)
Succeeded by	Alberto Saldanha Seabra
President of the Government of Produzland
In office 31 January 1934 – 29 March 1979
Deputy	Ricardo Alcantara Marciano Sapateiro Grandes Alberto Saldanha Seabra
Preceded by	Filipe Góes
Succeeded by	Ronaldo Antunes
Personal details
Born	(1895-12-04)4 December 1895 Santizo, Galícia, Kingdom of Produzland
Died	29 March 1979(1979-03-29) (aged 83) Burlon, Federal Republic of Produzland
Political party	União Nacional
Spouse	Rosana Batista Varejão (m. 1922)
Parents	Tomás Braga Deusto (father) María da Silva Castilho (mother)
Residence(s)	Brito, Burlon
Education	Infantry Academy of Araújo
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Produzland (1909–1935) Federal Republic of Produzland (1935–1979)
Branch/service	Produese Armed Forces
Service years	1909–1979
Rank	Major
Unit	11th Anacletan Regiment 24th Galician Reserve Regiment
Battles/wars	Olympic War Jashnagari Front First Battle of Linhares Battle of Assunção Battle of São Pedro Battle of Teixeira Parthonopian Front Battle of Tiglio Basso

Frederico Castilho Deusto was a Produese statesman who served as President of Produzland from 1935 to 1979. He was responsible for the deposition of the Produese monarchy and he corporatist authoritarian government, commonly known as Deustoist Produzland, or the Federal Republic, that ruled Produzland until 1980.

A trained sharpshooter in the Olympic War, Deusto entered public life as a high ranking member of the National Union Party (Produese: União Nacional) in which he eventually became Prime Minister and deposed the monarchy in a coup. Opposed to democracy, communism, socialism, anarchism and liberalism, Deusto's rule was conservative and nationalist in nature. Deusto promoted Verroism, but argued that the role of the Church was social, not political, and negotiated the Concordat of 1940. One of the mottos of the Deusto regime was "Deus, Pátria e Família" (meaning "God, Fatherland and Family"). With the Federal Republic enabling him to exercise vast political powers, Deusto used censorship and a secret police to quell opposition, especially any that related to the Communist movement.

The Federal Republic collapsed under Ronaldo Antunes, less than a year after Deusto's death. Evaluations of his regime have varied, with supporters praising its outcomes and critics denouncing its methods. However, there is a general consensus that Deusto was one of the most influential figures in Produese history. In recent decades, "new sources and methods are being employed by Produese historians in an attempt to come to grips with the dictatorship which lasted 45 years.

Background

His parents with Frederico in arms, on the day of his baptism on 17 December 1895

Deusto was born in Santizo, near Sabedra en Cortes (Galícia), to a family of modest income on 4 December 1895, he was baptised thirteen days later at the church of São Francisco, with the baptismal name Frederico Márcio Letícia Guilherme; Frederico for his paternal grandfather, Márcio for his godfather, Letícia for his maternal grandmother and godmother, and Guilherme for the saint day of his birth.

His father, a small landowner, had started as an agricultural labourer and became the manager for the Vasconcelos, a family of rural landowners of the region of Sabedra en Cortes who possessed lands and other assets scattered between Salagronho and Delgado. He was the only male child of two fifth cousins, Tomás Braga Deusto (1839–1932) and his wife María da Silva Castilho (1845–1926). His four older sisters were Maria Castilho Deusto, an elementary school teacher; Elisa Castilho Deusto; Maria Leopoldina Castilho Deusto; and Laura Castilho Deusto, who in 1887 married Abel Pais de Sousa, brother of Mário Pais de Sousa, who served as Deusto's Interior Minister. The Deusto family is of eastern Agudician ancestry where the name is also known as Deustu in Cabecan.

Military Career

Deusto's father served in the War of the Parthonopian Succession, and Deusto wanted to follow in his footsteps in the Produese Armed Forces. To his father's chagrin, Frederico decided to try out for the Produese Army. In 1909, he entered the Infantry Academy in Araújo. At the age of fourteen, Deusto was one of the youngest members of his class, with most boys being between sixteen and eighteen, despite this, he was one of the top performers physically in his class. His grades were average; though his good memory meant he seldom struggled in mental tests. He would graduate in July 1912 as second lieutenant, coming in at position 113 out of 312. At 19, Deusto was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant in June 1914. Only months later he obtained a commission to Anacleto. Produese efforts to occupy their remaining Norian territories provoked tensions between the Produese and Jashnagari governments, beginning the first of a period of Anacletan rebellions. Their tactics resulted in heavy losses among Produese military officers, and also provided an opportunity to earn promotion through merit. Deusto quickly gained a reputation as a great sharpshooter during the lead up to the war in Anacleto.

Produese-Anacletan soldiers hold several young Jaixnáganos captive.

Stationed at São Gabriel on Ulelu, Deusto and the rest of the Anacletan regiments fought guerilla warfare against the Jashnagari while most of the fighting between the two nations remained at sea. Deusto later recalled this period as some of the best of his life despite the horrors of war. He was shot in his left leg and was out of commission for three weeks in the summer of 1917, and returned as an elite sharpshooter in the war. Later in 1918, aged 22, he was shot by enemy machine gun fire. He was badly wounded in the abdomen, specifically the liver, in a skirmish at Medeiras. The physicians of the battle later concluded that his intestines were spared because he inhaled the moment he was shot. He returned again, and with that he was promoted to major at the end of February 1918 at age 23. This made him the youngest major in the Produese army.

After the war in Jashnagar ended in the Treaty of Cojazeira, Deusto was recalled to Produzland to serve in the war in Lira, Deusto was allegedly heartbroken after spending six years in the archipelago, and saw it as a second home. Deusto returned to his hometown in Galícia and married Rosana Batista Varejão in 1922. After his honeymoon he was soon sent to the front line in Parthonopia as a member of the 24th Galícian regiment only to return to Galícia a few weeks later after being blinded in a chlorine gas attack. Deusto would not return to the front lines and moved to Delgado with his wife in 1925 just before the wars end. For his efforts in Anacleto he was summoned to Burlon to be presented to King Carlos IV where he was awarded the Medalha Militar.

From the Olympic War to the Produese Revolution

After the war Deusto debated whether on returning to military service, which he ultimately decided against in favor of staying in Burlon with his wife and becoming an intelligence officer for the Unidade de Reconhecimento (Reconnaissance Unit) of the Produese government and was tasked with investigating socialist parties and the communist movement that had gained traction after the war. Investigating several extreme right parties as well may have influenced his political opinions going forward, specifically many extreme right supporters not considering the spoils of the war as enough to compensate the tired country from the 12 years of war, something Deusto agreed with, however he remained strictly anti-communist. Deusto rose his ranks through the organization and eventually became Chairman of the Reconnaissance Unit. He found the office greatly powerful and used the organization to enforce censorship and quell opposition.

Deusto in 1925.

This is when Deusto collaborated with several authoritarian advocates such as Ricardo Alcantara and João Batista da Costa to found the União Nacional (National Union) party in 1929, which grew rapidly after its creation with many Produese beginning to shift on the political spectrum with wartime factories closed, returning veterans unemployment skyrocketing, and the economy being in shambles, as well as dissatisfaction with the government as during the Olympic War to boost moral the government under conservative Prime Minister Francisco Estêvão promised soliders things like the vote and free land. Many returning veterans were displeased to find the latter unfulfilled, however they did receive the vote. A major boost came to the party when later in 1929 Prime Minister Estêvão proposed a solution to the weak government the current parliamentary system had created. He decreed the winning party would automatically get 66% of the seats and a clear majority in parliament. National Union supported this notion, and the party's tendency to use intimidation to achieve their goal played a role in parliament agreeing to support the system. The party grew in influence in parliament under new Prime Minister Filipe Góes, on par with the major parties of parliament as well as the socialist PTSP lead by Amancio Sousa.

In 1934 the country had an election and União Nacional won about 65% of the seats and Deusto became the Prime Minister in accordance, debates still exist today on how legitmate the vote was. While there was violence against Deusto's opponents, however he was wildly popular and many in the country were hoping he would fix the current problems. Over the next year Deusto was rapidly reforming the government, some of União Nacional's supporters wanted them to become more extreme and hostile but Deusto did not want to risk losing more support in the Congress of Deputies. He transitioned from being the Prime Minister of Produzland to being the President of the Government and the next year he banned all opposition parties, had Amancio Sousa arrested and used censorship and a secret police to quell opposition, especially any that related to the communist movement.