Prestes

Prestes is a surname of Portuguese origin. In historical and biographical contexts, the name is most closely associated with Luiz Carlos Prestes, a prominent Brazilian army officer and political leader of the 20th century. Prestes played a central role in the Brazilian left and is a key figure in studies of the country's early republican politics.

Luiz Carlos Prestes (1898–1990) was a leading member of the Brazilian Communist movement and a vocal advocate for social and political reforms. He is best known for organizing and leading the Prestes Column, a long military-political expedition across a large portion of Brazil in the mid-1920s. The journey, undertaken with allied leaders, aimed to mobilize popular support for reform and to challenge the oligarchic governance of the period. The column traversed many states, drawing attention to rural hardship and political corruption, and it left a lasting imprint on Brazilian political memory.

In addition to its association with Prestes, the surname persists as a family name in Brazil and Portugal, appearing in various biographical works and historical studies related to Brazil’s modern political history. The term Prestes is thus primarily recognized for its link to Luiz Carlos Prestes and the Coluna Prestes, while also serving as a broader identifier for descendants and other individuals bearing the name.