Janio Quadros vs Lin Zexu

Jânio Quadros was elected president of Brazil in 1960 as the candidate of the National Democratic Union (UDN) and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC). He assumed office on January 31, 1961, with a mandate to combat corruption and inflation.

Quadros launched a campaign against corruption and bureaucracy, including banning the use of official cars for personal purposes and reducing government spending. These measures were popular but faced resistance from political elites.

Quadros resigned from the presidency on August 25, 1961, after only seven months in office. He claimed he was forced out by 'occult forces' and hoped to return with greater powers, but his resignation was accepted by Congress, leading to a political crisis.

Quadros awarded the Order of the Southern Cross, Brazil's highest honor, to Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara in August 1961. This act angered conservative sectors and the military, contributing to the political tensions that led to his resignation.

Lin Zexu's destruction of opium and his letter to Queen Victoria demanding an end to the trade led Britain to declare war in 1839. The First Opium War resulted in China's defeat, the Treaty of Nanjing, and the cession of Hong Kong, marking the start of the 'Century of Humiliation'.

As Imperial Commissioner in Guangzhou, Lin Zexu confiscated and destroyed over 20,000 chests of British opium at Humen (Bogue) in June 1839. This direct action against the illegal drug trade was intended to halt the opium crisis but provoked British military retaliation.

Following China's defeat in the Opium War, Lin Zexu was scapegoated by the Qing court and exiled to Xinjiang in 1841. During his exile, he studied local conditions and advocated for frontier defense, but his removal from power weakened the anti-opium faction.

During his exile, Lin Zexu compiled the 'Gazetteer of the Four Continents' (Sizhou Zhi), a collection of translated Western texts on geography, politics, and military technology. This work introduced Chinese scholars to global affairs and influenced later reform movements.