When Prestes won the March 1930 presidential election, the Alliance denounced his victory as fraudulent, though no revolutionary fervor persisted until late July when Vargas's running mate, João Pessoa, was assassinated. Though the assassination was largely the result of a personal feud, Pessoa became a martyr for the revolutionary cause. On 3 October, Rio Grande do Sul, under the leadership of Vargas and Goís Monteiro, broke out in rebellion. By the next day, the revolution had reached the North and Northeast under Juarez Távora, and Minas Gerais formally declared allegiance to the revolution within a week of its start despite minor resistance.
