“Brigadeiro” is also an aeronautical patent – and the name of the sweet is a tribute to Brigadier Eduardo Gomes, candidate for the presidency of the Republic in 1945.
According to reports from people who followed his campaign, Gomes, who was very personable, conquered a group of fans in São Paulo who organized parties to promote him. They made sweets and exchanged them for donations. These events became popular and people began to invite their friends to eat the “sweet brigadeiro”, which, over time, became just “brigadeiro”.
Despite the delicacy’s fame, Gomes, who was running for the National Democratic Union, lost the election to General Eurico Gaspar Dutra, of the Social Democratic Party.
Gomes’ fame did not spread to Rio Grande do Sul, where the sweet is called negrinho.
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Source: Eduardo Viaro, etymologist at the University of São Paulo.