In 1924, by invitation of the governor Florentino Ávidos, he occupied the functions of state's secretary for Education, for a brief time.
It was in the time of his term as governor that the Wall Street's crisis took place, which especially affected Espirito Santo's economy, mostly dependent on the monoculture of the coffee back in that days.
Aristeu de Aguiar supported Júlio Prestes as candidate for the presidency of Brazil in the elections of March 1930.
In spite those elections were actually won by Júlio Prestes, the loser candidate, Getúlio Vargas, alleging electoral fraud, launched a national rebellion in order to take the office as President of Brazil by force.
As his legal successor, the vice-governor Joaquim Teixeira de Mesquita, ran away as well, the President of Brazil, Washington Luís, appointed the legalist colonel José Armando Ribeiro de Paula as a provisional governor for the state.