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It was precisely at a moment of acute epidemic crisis that Rio de Janeiro saw the rise of one of the most notable figures in Brazilian scientific thought. Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz, a native of São Luiz do Paraitinga in the state of São Paulo, was still in his thirties when he was invited by the then president of the Republic, Rodrigues Alves, to take charge of the Diretoria Geral de Saúde Pública, forerunner of today's Ministry of Health, in 1903. The position carried its share of prestige, but the task was an arduous one. It was a matter of devising ways to put a definitive end to a chronic problem in the city: the epidemics that plagued the population of Rio with every new turn of the seasons. This was a campaign promise that landed in the physician's lap at a moment when Rio was suffering, all at once, from three epidemics – bubonic plague, yellow fever, and smallpox.
Portrait of Oswaldo Cruz at the beginning of his activities as director general of public health of Brazil, 1903. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph of an adult man. He is wearing a classic suit with a white shirt and a vest. His hair is dark and pulled back. His face has a short, thick beard. At the bottom of the image, there is a logo with the name "Casa de Oswaldo Cruz" and the Fiocruz symbol.By that point, Oswaldo Cruz was no beginner. A professional since the age of twenty, a graduate of the Rio de Janeiro School of Medicine, he had been the first Brazilian to study at the Institut Pasteur in Paris – where, in 1899, he specialized in bacteriology. Moreover, his experience in public health was also nothing new. In 1894, Cruz joined the commission of the Federal Sanitary Institute, responsible for launching the guidelines for the campaign against the cholera epidemic in the Paraíba Valley. Five years later, alongside Vital Brazil and Adolfo Lutz, he was appointed to investigate the outbreak of bubonic plague at the port of Santos. Then, in 1900, he took over the technical direction of the Federal Serum Therapy Institute, one of the first domestic producers of the so-called “anti-plague vaccines” and popularly known as the Manguinhos Institute – the same institution that would, in the future, become the Oswaldo Cruz Institute Foundation (Fiocruz). For anyone planning a modernizing shock in the capital of the Republic, the sanitarian's résumé seemed more than ideal, as it combined solid training, recognized experience, and good connections.
It's true that Rio's modernization and sanitation process was riddled with contradictions. It was, at one and the same time, preventive and authoritarian, public and exclusionary. This was the case with the so-called "bota-abaixo" (tear-downs) promoted by mayor Pereira Passos's urban planning project, as well as with the forced visits of the sanitary campaigns. Of poor origin, most of Rio's population simply had to adapt to the "civilizing airs" imposed by the authorities. The very same authorities who, in blowing these winds, left behind a trail of destruction and indignation over tenements and wooden shacks.
In any case, in his first months as director general of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz succeeded in controlling the transmission of the centuries-old yellow fever and bubonic plague epidemics in Rio de Janeiro. Backed by cutting-edge research, the physician decided to tackle the problem at its root: it was necessary to eliminate the vectors of the diseases. While the ostentatious disinfection carried out by the “mosquito-killing brigades” had been causing some unease, in the case of the bubonic plague, the unorthodox preventive measure of buying up rats even garnered significant popular support. What truly proved unpopular was the proposal for mass smallpox vaccination in 1904 — a measure that, despite the turmoil of the Vaccine Revolt, ended up producing positive effects in the fight against the disease. From then on, Oswaldo Cruz became one of the best-known public figures, widely portrayed by the press.
But the sanitary reformer's plan was not restricted to the capital's domains. He wanted to bring those actions to the other regions of Brazil. At the head of the Serum Therapy Institute – which stopped being "Federal" to become "of Experimental Pathology of Manguinhos" –, he crossed the country, from Amazonas to Rio Grande do Sul, on two expeditions that lasted 111 days of travel, between 1905 and 1906. It was the first time that a group of scientists set out to get to know up close the sanitary ills of Brazil's hinterlands – and, of course, to gather material for the development of research that sought to mitigate these ills.
Oswaldo Cruz at the microscope in the Manguinhos laboratory, observed by his son Bento Oswaldo Cruz and by Burle de Figueiredo. 1910. Photo: J. Pinto. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
Image description: This is a historic black-and-white photograph of a scientific laboratory. On the left side, there is a door with decorative stained-glass panels and a counter holding glass jars and bottles. In front, there is a table with more bottles and containers. In the center, three men are focused on a microscope. The man in the middle is looking through the microscope, while the other two watch attentively. On the right, there is a cabinet with drawers and bottles. The room appears to be lit by lamps hanging from the ceiling.Meanwhile, the research center that had been inspired by the Institut Pasteur was already internationally recognized as the largest in Latin America dedicated to the study of tropical diseases. In 1908, the Institute officially became known as Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Around that same time, construction had already begun on the new headquarters: an imposing castle in neo-Moorish architecture, nestled in a forest in the Zona Norte of Rio. Or, as Afrânio Peixoto put it, an “enchanted palace, such as the fantasies of the caliphs never achieved in the Orient.”
Oswaldo Cruz and scientists arriving at Manguinhos by horse-drawn carriage [1908-1909]. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
Image description: This is a black-and-white historical photograph. On the left side of the image, we see a large palm tree and some old buildings. In the center, there is a group of people seated in a two-wheeled carriage, drawn by a horse not visible in the image. The individuals are wearing formal early twentieth-century clothing. On the right, there is a building under construction with wooden structures and roof tiles. In the background, more buildings and trees are visible.Oswaldo Cruz continued his activities as a guide at the Institute until his death, in 1917. During this time, he was sworn in at the Brazilian Academy of Letters and was appointed mayor of Petrópolis. But none of these titles seem to measure up to his greatest achievement: changing the way science was done in Brazil and shaping new generations engaged with the use of scientific knowledge for the common good. His legacy remains alive in the more than 120 years of Fiocruz's work. One of the most respected institutions for scientific and technological development in health worldwide, with units in different Brazilian states and one in Mozambique. A valuable national heritage "in favor of life."
General view of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Campus, 1927. Photo: J. Pinto. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
Image description: This is a historic black-and-white photograph of an architectural complex. On the left side, we see a series of smaller buildings, including a tower with a dome. In the center, there is a large building with several windows and ornamental details. On the right, there is another building with two tall towers and domes. The complex is surrounded by trees and a lawn. In the background, we see an open landscape with some distant buildings and mountains on the horizon.
