# Law No. 3876 of January 30, 1961

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105648026](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105648026)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-3876-of-january-30-1961

## Summary
Law No. 3876 of January 30, 1961 is a Brazilian federal statute that granted an annual subsidy of CR$ 25,000,000.00 to the São Paulo Museum of Art for a period of five years. Enacted during the final days of Juscelino Kubitschek's presidency, this law represents a direct federal investment in cultural institution funding through legislative appropriation.

## Key Facts
- **Enactment Date:** January 30, 1961
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3876/1961
- **Law Type:** Federal statute (lei federal) enacted by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Grant Amount:** CR$ 25,000,000.00 (twenty-five million cruzeiros) annually
- **Duration:** Five years
- **Recipient:** Museu de Arte de São Paulo (São Paulo Museum of Art)
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **President at Promulgation:** Juscelino Kubitschek
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília
- **Official Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Jurisdiction:** Applies to the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **LexML Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3876
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3876.htm
- **Main Subjects:** Purchasing, São Paulo state, and grant subsidy (stated as "Aquisição," "Estado De São Paulo (Sp)," and "Subvenção")
- **Wikimedia Project:** Included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws focus list

## FAQs
**What financial support did Law No. 3876 provide?**
The law authorized an annual subsidy of CR$ 25,000,000.00 to be paid to the São Paulo Museum of Art each year for five consecutive years, establishing a structured federal funding mechanism for the institution.

**Who signed Law No. 3876 into effect?**
President Juscelino Kubitschek promulgated the law on January 30, 1961, during his final month in office, as recorded by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil's legislative archive.

**Where can the original text of this law be accessed?**
The complete official text is available at the URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3876.htm, maintained by the Brazilian federal government's legislative documentation system.

**What is the permanent identifier for this law in Brazil's legal system?**
The law carries the LexML Brazil identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3876, which provides a unique, persistent reference within Brazil's legal markup language framework.

**What type of legal instrument is Law No. 3876?**
It is classified as a federal statute (lei federal), which is a formal written document that creates law and serves as the concrete manifestation of statutory law within Brazil's legal hierarchy.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 3876 of January 30, 1961 matters because it exemplifies direct federal government intervention in cultural sector financing through legislative action rather than executive decree. By establishing a multi-year subsidy commitment, the law provided the São Paulo Museum of Art with predictable operational funding during a critical period of institutional development. This approach demonstrates how Brazil's federal system could target specific cultural institutions for sustained support, bypassing traditional state-level funding mechanisms. The law's structure—specifying both amount and duration—created a binding financial obligation that protected the museum's budget from annual appropriation uncertainties. As a federal statute, it carries the full weight of national law, making it more durable than administrative decisions and establishing a precedent for congressional involvement in cultural policy. The timing during Kubitschek's presidency is significant, as his administration (1956-1961) was known for ambitious modernization projects, and this law reflects a parallel commitment to cultural infrastructure. The public domain status of statutes in Brazil ensures this law remains freely accessible to researchers, museum administrators, and legal scholars studying cultural policy frameworks.

## Notable For
- **Targeted Cultural Funding:** Specifically designates a single museum for substantial federal support rather than distributing funds through a cultural ministry or grant program
- **Fixed Duration Commitment:** Establishes a rare five-year guaranteed funding stream, unusual for legislative appropriations which typically occur annually
- **Cruzeiro Denomination:** Uses the cruzeiro (CR$) currency, marking it as a product of Brazil's pre-real monetary system
- **Presidential Transition Timing:** Enacted on January 30, 1961, just weeks before President Kubitschek left office on January 31, 1961
- **Brasília Publication:** Published in Brazil's newly inaugurated capital, which had become the seat of government only ten months earlier on April 21, 1960
- **LexML Standardization:** Among the early laws cataloged in Brazil's LexML identification system with a structured URN format
- **Wikimedia Documentation:** Included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating its significance for digital preservation of Brazilian legal heritage

## Body

### Legislative Context and Classification
Law No. 3876 of January 30, 1961 operates as a federal statute within Brazil's legal system. As a statute, it functions as a formal written document that creates law and manifests statutory law through legislative enactment. The law follows the standard Brazilian legislative process, originating as a draft law and culminating in presidential promulgation. It is classified as a subclass of written work, document, and rule, distinguishing it from broader concepts of legislation or legal acts. The statute applies to the entire jurisdiction of the Federative Republic of Brazil, though its effects are concentrated in São Paulo state. The legal citation "Lei nº 3876/1961" serves as the standard reference format in Brazilian legal practice.

### Financial Provisions and Museum Support
The core provision of Law No. 3876 authorizes an annual subsidy of CR$ 25,000,000.00 for the Museu de Arte de São Paulo. The law explicitly states this grant extends for five years, creating a fixed-term financial commitment. The amount, denominated in cruzeiros, reflects Brazil's currency before the 1994 introduction of the real. This subsidy structure provided the museum with predictable, multi-year funding, a significant advantage over annual budget allocations. The law's digest summarizes this purpose: "CONCEDE AO MUSEU DE ARTE DE SÃO PAULO, DURANTE CINCO ANOS, A SUBVENÇÃO ANUAL DE CR$ 25.000.000,00." The main subjects identified in the law's metadata include purchasing, São Paulo state, and the grant itself, indicating the federal government's role in subsidizing acquisitions or operations at the state-level institution.

### Administrative and Publication Details
President Juscelino Kubitschek approved Law No. 3876 on January 30, 1961, using the determination method of promulgation. The law was published in Brasília, which had officially become Brazil's capital on April 21, 1960, making this among the early laws issued from the new federal capital. The official text appears in Brazilian Portuguese, the country's sole official language. The Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil maintains records of this enactment through its legislative documentation portal. The law's publication date matches its enactment date, standard practice for Brazilian federal legislation.

### Legal Identification and Access Systems
Law No. 3876 carries multiple permanent identifiers for legal research and digital archiving. The LexML Brazil system assigns it the URN identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3876, following the standardized format for Brazilian legislation. This identifier encodes the jurisdiction (br:federal), document type (lei), date (1961-01-30), and number (3876). The law is accessible online at the official URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3876.htm, hosted by the Brazilian federal government's legislative archive. This digital preservation ensures public access, consistent with the principle that statutes are public domain documents not subject to copyright restrictions in jurisdictions like the United States and France.

### Historical and Political Context
The law's enactment occurred during the final hours of President Juscelino Kubitschek's administration, which ended on January 31, 1961. Kubitschek's presidency (1956-1961) emphasized national development and modernization, including the construction and inauguration of Brasília as the new capital. Law No. 3876 reflects this developmentalist approach extended to cultural institutions. The five-year subsidy timeframe would have covered fiscal years during the subsequent presidency of Jânio Quadros, who took office on January 31, 1961, and resigned on August 25, 1961, making the multi-year commitment particularly significant given the political instability that followed. The law predates Brazil's 1964-1985 military regime, representing democratic-era cultural policy.

### Jurisdictional and Linguistic Specifications
The law applies to Brazil's entire federal jurisdiction, though its direct beneficiary operates in São Paulo state. This demonstrates the federal government's authority to fund state-level cultural institutions directly. The law is written in Brazilian Portuguese, which differs from European Portuguese in orthography and some lexical choices. The language specification appears in the law's metadata, confirming its compliance with Brazil's constitutional mandate that Portuguese be the official national language. The law's formulation as a federal statute ensures its precedence over conflicting state or municipal legislation under Brazil's legal hierarchy.

### Wikimedia and Research Documentation
Law No. 3876 appears on the focus list of WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a Wikimedia initiative dedicated to improving coverage of Brazilian legislation. This inclusion indicates its recognized importance for encyclopedic documentation. The law's metadata includes references dated January 28, 2021, and April 10, 2021, showing recent verification of its details through official sources including the LexML.gov.br portal and the Presidency's legislative database. These references provide audit trails for legal researchers and historians studying cultural funding mechanisms in mid-20th century Brazil.

### Related Legal and Governmental Framework
As a statute, Law No. 3876 functions within Brazil's broader legal framework where statutes serve as primary manifestations of statutory law. The law is caused by the legislative process and functions as a part of the legal act continuum. Its creation followed draft law stages before reaching presidential promulgation. The law's public domain status ensures that courts, administrators, and citizens can freely reproduce and reference its text without copyright restrictions. This accessibility principle is fundamental to rule-of-law systems, ensuring that those governed by the law can access its precise terms. The law's specificity regarding amount, duration, and recipient distinguishes it from more general appropriations statutes that delegate spending discretion to executive agencies.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3876)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3876&ano=1961&data=30/01/1961&ato=fa9ATQE5keVRVT4f9)
3. LexML Brasil