Military Dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1985)

TheMilitary Dictatorship in Brazil was an authoritarian regime that began with the military coup on March 31, 1964, with the deposition of President João Goulart.

The military regime lasted 21 years (1964-1985), established censorship of the press, restriction of political rights and police persecution of opponents of the regime.

The March 31, 1964 Coup

The military coup of March 31, 1964 aimed to prevent the advance of popular organizations of the government of João Goulart, accused of being a communist.

The starting point was the resignation of President Jânio Quadros, on August 25, 1961. The National Congress temporarily swore in the president of the Chamber, deputy Ranieri Mazzili, as the vice president was on a trip to China.

As João Goulart began his return journey, the military ministers issued a veto on Jango's inauguration, as they maintained that he defended leftist ideas.

The impediment violated the Constitution, and was not accepted by several segments of the nation, which began to mobilize. Demonstrations and strikes spread across the country.

Faced with the threat of civil war, a proposal for Constitutional Amendment No. 4 was made in Congress, establishing the parliamentary regime in Brazil.

That way, Goulart would be president, but with limited powers. Jango has accepted the reduction of his powers, hoping to get them back in due course.

Congress voted in favor of the measure and Goulart took office on September 7, 1961. Deputy Tancredo Neves was appointed to occupy the position of prime minister.

Parliamentarianism lasted until January 1963, when a plebiscite ended the short republican parliamentary period.

João Goulart Government

In 1964, Jango decides to launch the "Basic Reforms" in order to change the country. Thus, the president announced:

• Land expropriations;
• nationalization of oil refineries;
• electoral reform guaranteeing the vote for the illiterate;
• university reform, among others.

Inflation reached 73.5% in 1963. The president demanded a new constitution that would do away with the "archaic structures" of Brazilian society.

The president was supported by university students who acted through their organizations, one of the main ones being the National Union of Students (UNE).

Likewise, communists of various tendencies developed intense work of organization and popular mobilization, despite acting illegally. In the face of growing unrest, the government's opponents accelerated the coup.

On March 31, 1964, President João Goulart was deposed by the military and Jango took refuge in Uruguay. Those who tried to resist the coup suffered harsh repression.

To fill the power vacuum, a military junta took control of the country. On April 9, Institutional Act nº 1 was enacted, giving powers to Congress to elect the new president. The chosen one was General Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, who had been Chief of Staff of the Army.

This was just the beginning of military interference in the political management of Brazilian society.

The concentration of power

After the 1964 coup, the political model established aimed to strengthen the executive power. Seventeen institutional acts and about a thousand exceptional laws were imposed on Brazilian society.

With Institutional Act nº 2, the old political parties were closed and bipartisanship was adopted.

• the National Renewal Alliance (Arena), which supported the government;
• the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), representing the opponents, but surrounded by narrow limits of action.

The government, through the creation of the National Information Service (SNI), set up a strong control system that made it difficult to resist the regime. Headed by General Golbery do Couto e Silva, this body investigated all those suspected of conspiring against the regime, from businessmen to students.

In economic terms, the military tried to restore the country's credibility with foreign capital. Therefore, the following measures were taken:

• Containment of wages and labor rights;
• increase in utility tariffs;
• credit restriction;
• cut government spending;
• decrease in inflation, which was around 90% per year.

Among the military, however, there was disagreement. The most radical group, known as the "hard line", pressured the Castelo Branco group, so that they would not accept attitudes of dissatisfaction and remove civilians from the core of political decisions.

Internal differences between the military influenced the choice of the new president general.

On March 15, 1967, General Artur da Costa e Silva, linked to the radicals, assumed power. The new Constitution of 1967 had already been approved by the National Congress.

The institutional acts enacted during the governments of Generals Castello Branco (1964-1967) and Artur da Costa e Silva (1967-1969), the practice, ended the rule of law and democratic institutions in the country.

despite all repression, the new president faced difficulties. The Frente Ampla was formed to oppose the government, led by journalist Carlos Lacerda and former president Juscelino Kubitschek.

Society's Resistance

Society reacted to the arbitrariness of the government and we can cite an example in the world of the arts. In 1965, the play "Liberdade, Liberdade", by Millôr Fernandes and Flavio Rangel, was staged, which criticized the military government.

Brazilian music festivals were important scenarios for the performance of composers, who composed protest songs.

The Catholic Church was divided:the more traditional groups supported the government, but the more progressive ones criticized the doctrine of national security.

Workers' strikes demanded an end to the wage squeeze and wanted freedom to structure their unions. Students held marches complaining about the lack of political freedom.

With the increase in repression and the difficulty of mobilizing the population, some leftist leaders organized armed groups to fight against the dictatorship. Among the various leftist organizations were the National Liberation Action (ALN) and the October 8 Revolutionary Movement (MR-8).

The strong atmosphere of tension was aggravated by the speech of deputy Márcio Moreira Alves, who asked the people not to attend the celebrations on September 7th.

In order to contain the manifestations of opposition, General Costa e Silva decreed in December 1968, the Institutional Act nº 5. This suspended the activities of the Congress and authorized the persecution of opponents.

In August 1969, President Costa e Silva suffered a stroke and vice-president Pedro Aleixo, a civilian politician from Minas Gerais, took over.

In October 1969, 240 general officers nominated General Emílio Garrastazu Médici (1969-1974), former head of the SNI, for president. In January 1970, a decree-law tightened prior censorship of the press.

To fight against leftist groups, the Army created the Information Operations Detachment - Center for Internal Defense Operations (DOI-CODI).

The activity of Organs repressive organs dismantled the urban and rural guerrilla organizations, which led to the death of dozens of leftist militants.

Economic growth

With a strong repressive scheme in place, Medici governed trying to convey the image that the country had found the path to economic development. Added to winning the 70's Cup, this ended up creating a climate of euphoria in the country.

The loss of political liberties was compensated by increasing modernization. Oil, wheat and fertilizers, which Brazil imported in large quantities, were cheap, being incorporated into the export list, soy, ores and fruits.

The sector that grew the most was durable goods, home appliances, cars, trucks and buses. The construction industry grew.

More than 1 million new homes, financed by the National Housing Bank (BNH), were built in ten years of military rule. There was talk of "Brazilian miracle" or "economic miracle".

Aerial view of the General Dale Coutinho housing complex built with funding from BNH, in Santos, in 1979.

In 1973, the "miracle" suffered its first difficulty, as the international crisis abruptly raised the price of oil, making exports more expensive.

The increase in interest rates in the international financial system raised the interest on the Brazilian foreign debt. This forced the government to take out new loans, increasing the debt even more.

Redemocratization

On March 15, 1974, Médici was replaced in the Presidency by General Ernesto Geisel (1974-1979). He took over promising to resume economic growth and restore democracy.

Even slow and controlled, political opening began, which allowed the growth of oppositions.

The Geisel government increased the state's participation in the economy. Several infrastructure projects continued, including the Steel Railroad in Minas Gerais, the construction of the Tucuruí hydroelectric plant on the Tocantins River and the Carajás Project.

It diversified Brazil's diplomatic, commercial and diplomatic relations, seeking to attract new investments.

In the 1974 elections, the opposition, united in the MDB, won a wide victory. At the same time, Geisel sought to contain this advance, limiting electoral propaganda during the 1976 elections.

The following year, in the face of the MDB's refusal to approve the reform of the Constitution, Congress was closed and the president's term was increased to six years.

The opposition began to put pressure on the government, along with civil society. With increasing pressure, the already reopened Congress approved, in 1979, the repeal of AI-5. Congress could no longer be closed, nor could the political rights of citizens be revoked.

Geisel chose General João Baptista Figueiredo as his successor, indirectly elected. Figueiredo took office on March 15, 1979, with the commitment to deepen the process of political opening.

However, the economic crisis continued, with the external debt reaching more than 100 billion dollars, and inflation reaching 200% a year.

Political reforms continued to be carried out, but the hardliners resorted to terrorism like what happened in Riocentro in 1981. Several parties emerged, including the Social Democratic Party (PDS) and the Workers' Party (PT). The Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) was founded.

The spaces of struggle for the end of the presence of the military in the central power were multiplying.

Campaign for direct elections

In the last months of 1983, a campaign for direct elections for president, the "Diretas Já", began throughout the country, which brought together various political leaders such as Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Lula, Ulysses Guimarães, among others.

The movement that reached its peak in 1984, when the Dante de Oliveira Amendment, which intended to restore direct elections for president, would be voted on.

On April 25th, the amendment, despite obtaining the majority of votes, did not obtain the 2/3 necessary for its approval.

Soon after, a large part of the opposition forces decided to participate in the indirect elections for president. The PMDB launched Tancredo Neves, for president and José Sarney, for vice.

Once the Electoral College had gathered, the majority of votes went to Tancredo Neves, who defeated Paulo Maluf, the PDS candidate. Thus ended the days of the military dictatorship.

Presidents during the Military Dictatorship in Brazil

White Castle

Arthur da Costa e Silva

Provisional Governing Board

• Aurélio de Lira Tavares, Minister of the Army;
• Augusto Rademaker, Minister of the Navy;
• Márcio de Souza e Melo, Minister of Aeronautics.

Emílio Garrastazu Medici

Ernesto Geisel

João Baptista Figueiredo

Read further :

• Brazil Republic
• Years of Lead
• Music and the Military Dictatorship in Brazil
• Operation Condor
• Questions about the Military Dictatorship