Nilo Procópio Peçanha (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈnilu pɾoˈkɔpju peˈsɐɲɐ]; 2 October 1867 – 31 March 1924) was a Brazilian politician who served as seventh president of Brazil.

His family lived in a state of poverty in the remote and poor neighborhood of Morro do Coco, Campos dos Goytacazes, and moved to the downtown area when Peçanha started elementary education.

[5][12][13] Some scholars assert that, despite his tez escura (dark skin color), Nilo Peçanha always hid his black origins, and to this day his descendants and family have denied that he was a mulatto.

[15] In any case, his origins were very humble: he used to claim that he had been raised on day-old bread and paçoca (a candy made with peanuts, cassava flour and sugar).

The marriage was a social scandal since the bride escaped her house to marry her poor and "mulatto" groom, despite his status as a promising young politician.

Rui Barbosa started a run for the presidency promoting the "Campanha Civilista" (civilist campaign) against the Marshal Hermes da Fonseca, and attracted the opposition and discontent of the military.

[17] Peçanha was a man of sharp political wit who carved a practical and non-doctrinaire course between the positivists and the idealistic adherents of a pure Republican system that fought each other during the first decades of Brazilian Republic.

[17] During his presidency, Peçanha created the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, as well as the Indian Protection Service (SPI) and inaugurated the first system of technical schools in Brazil.

The campaign was fierce with mutual attacks and the famous case of letters falsely attributed to candidate Artur Bernardes which insulted the military and the former president Marshal Hermes da Fonseca.