Epitácio Lindolfo da Silva Pessoa (Portuguese pronunciation: [epiˈtasju lĩˈdowfu dɐ ˈsiwvɐ peˈsoɐ]; 23 May 1865 – 13 February 1942) was a Brazilian politician and jurist who served as 11th president of Brazil between 1919 and 1922, when Rodrigues Alves was unable to take office due to illness, after being elected in 1918.

In 1921, President Epitácio Pessoa, concerned about causing a geopolitical faux pas, is known for having banned any non-white players from Brazil national football team.

Young Epitácio managed to make the acquaintance of Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca through the connections of his eldest brother José.

After his return to Brazil he became Minister of Justice in the government of Campos Sales, during which time he invited Clóvis Beviláqua, a colleague from his days as a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Recife, to write a civil code for the country that would eventually be adopted in 1916.

Levi Carneiro, in his "Livro de um Advogado", notes that as a justice Pessoa never voted in favor of any case in which he had been assigned to elaborate the views of the court.

There is another view of this election, however: the belief that after the death of Rodrigues Alves the elite of Minas Gerais and São Paulo wanted to choose a new candidate from outside their own ranks.

Brazil exported raw materials at compensatory prices and enlarged its industrial base, manufacturing products that were previously imported.

Pessoa did not escape from the intrigues of state politics and used the federal government to intervene on behalf of state-based interest groups in return for support in Congress.

The process of finding a successor for Pessoa therefore happened within a highly charged climate in which the lieutenants and subalterns (the tenentes) of the Armed Forces called for profound political reforms.

In response, the Military Club and the noted politician Borges de Medeiros called for the creation of a court of honor to review the legitimacy of Bernardes' election.

The assassination of his nephew João Pessoa was a strong emotional blow to Epitácio, and in its aftermath he retired from public life.