The article discusses the professional experience of Samuel Pessoa (1898-1976), parasitologist and physician, within the framework of the Getuilio Vargas government's political and administrative reforms. Pessoa's trajectory shows that growing bureaucratization of all state sectors, presented new challenges to enforcers of public health policies. Nevertheless, this trend did not imply a radical sterilization of the public health campaign approach endorsed by the medical elite in the 1920s. An examination of Pessoa's career reveals how Brazil's various 'sanitary schools' did not necessarily espouse antagonistic views; rather, Pessoa himself proved a recognized proponent of 'developmentalism', influenced by a more technicist public health model, yet did not turn his back on the 1920s discussions, particularly when it came to his interest in sanitary initiatives in rural Brazil.