A newspaper considered innovative for its time, for incorporating modern graphic standards and mass communication techniques that were still rare in the country, Última Hora also left its mark on history because of its political character. Its name is inseparable from that of Samuel Wainer, founding journalist, editor-in-chief and director. But also from that of Getúlio Vargas, whom Wainer supported.
Capa do jornal Última Hora
Founded in 1951, the daily publication described itself as opposed to the oligarchic structure of the Brazilian press. Six months later, it was already the highest-circulation evening paper in Rio de Janeiro. In March 1952, the newspaper began circulating in São Paulo. It soon stirred anger in the anti-Vargas press, which waged an intense campaign against Última Hora. At the forefront of the rivalry was Carlos Lacerda, an opponent of Getúlio Vargas, political leader of the UDN, and owner of the Tribuna da Imprensa, who accused Wainer of ideological falsehood, claiming that, being a foreigner (he had been born in Moldavia), he could not, under the 1946 Constitution, own a newspaper in Brazil. With the 1964 coup, Wainer had his political rights revoked and went into exile in France. In 1971, he sold the newspaper to the group that owned Folha de S. Paulo.