For all his flaws, lean FF.
Lean FF, as he established an actual Brazilian state, not just controlled by landowners and planters. While he does have his negatives, he deserves FF, for creating a Brazilian state, industrializing the nation, and important labor legislation, his transition to turn Brazil into a democracy, (after making it a dictatorship) and to have an actual Brazilian nation-state, that was not a joke.
One can't escape the thought that overthrowing Pedro II and establishing República Velha was a huge downturn.