Artur da Costa e Silva was the second president of Brazil during the period known as Military dictatorship. Costa e Silva succeeded Humberto Castello Branco and had a reasonably short government, which lasted from 1967 to 1969. His government implemented a developmental policy that gave rise to the “miracleeconomic” and consolidated the transition to the “years of lead”.
Costa e Silva government
Artur da Costa e Silva assumed the presidency of Brazil on March 15, 1967. His election took place through indirect voting, that is, without popular participation. Costa e Silva succeeded Castello Branco in the presidency, and his election was the result of a growing pressure existing in the military means for a new president to increase the repression of the dictatorship.
In military circles, there was a dispute between Castello Branco's support group against the hardliners, the military in favor of a more rigid and authoritarian president. In this arm wrestling match, those known as hardliners were victorious, as they managed to secure the election of Costa e Silva.
Paradoxically to the fact that Artur Costa e Silva was a gamble by those who wanted the regime to harden, the marshal's speech promised the regime's liberalization. In his inauguration, Costa e Silva promised to “prepare the way for a democracy that is authentically ours”, as noted by historian Marcos Napolitano|1|.
As we know today, Costa e Silva's speech was nothing but empty words, and what was seen during his government was the hardening of the regime, in which the decree of the Institutional Act No. 5. In addition, the fact that, during his government, the persecution of student and workers movements intensified.
Economic policy
With regard to economic policy, the Costa e Silva government, in some respects, followed a different direction. The austerity that had characterized the economy during the Castello Branco years was replaced by a politics developmental which had as its main objective to increase government spending and encourage consumption as a way to heat up the economy.
Development policy had as its main objective, as the word already suggests, to promote rapid development economy of the country, much like what had happened during the 1950s, but with an ideological orientation distinct. In practice, the government reduced interest rates as a way to stimulate the economy and increased public investment.
Read too:Fourth Republic (1946-1964)
This developmental policy resulted in the beginning of what became known as the “economic miracle”. The miracle basically consisted of a period of intense economic growth in Brazil and lasted from 1968 to 1973. During Costa e Silva's government, Brazilian GDP growth was 11.2% in 1968 and 10% in 1969|2|.
Regarding the “economic miracle”, it is important to consider that repression and censorship played a relevant role in its “success”, since critics of this economic policy were silenced. Apart from the remarkable economic growth, the miracle had serious consequences for Brazil in the long term:
It increased the concentration of income, since economic growth was not accompanied by wage appreciation.
He increased the Brazilian foreign debt, as a result of the astronomical expenses practiced during the dictatorship.
Strengthening the opposition
From 1967 onwards, opposition to the military regime expanded considerably and in different groups in society. The Costa e Silva government had to deal with political dissent, with the strengthening of student and worker movements, and with the armed guerrillas that were beginning to be born in the country.
In the political aspect, dissidences had already started during the government of Castello Branco, especially after the decree of Institutional Act No. 2, which decreed the end of direct elections in the Brazil. After AI-2, a big name in Brazilian conservatism during the Fourth Republic publicly expressed his opposition to the military regime: Carlos Lacerda.
In 1964, Carlos Lacerda had supported the coup, hoping that the military would return power to civilians as soon as João Goulart was deposed – which he did not. Before AI-2, one of the names quoted to win the 1965 presidential election was Carlos Lacerda himself, but the end of direct elections in Brazil made the journalist break with the regime.
Carlos Lacerda created the Wide Front, an opposition group that defended the return of democratic principles in Brazil and the continued development of our economy. To strengthen his movement, Lacerda went after Jango and JK, getting support from the former presidents of Brazil. The dissemination of the ideas of the Frente Amplio displeased the regime, and for this reason the group was banned in 1968.
Opposition to the military regime also strengthened in the student milieu, especially from 1968 on – a year in which student movements, in almost the entire world, were in evidence. Student dissatisfaction with the dictatorship was strengthened after student Edson Luís was killed in Rio de Janeiro in early 1968, during a student protest.
Also access:May 1968
The death of student Edson Luís caused a commotion and mobilized several groups of students to intensify protests against Costa e Silva. During the first half of that year, numerous violent protests took place, of which the main highlight was the Hundred Thousand March, which took place in Rio de Janeiro on June 26, 1968. This march was strongly supported by artists and intellectuals.
The government's response to student movements was harsh and it was decreed that no further protests could take place from July onwards. In August, UnB, one of the main universities in the country, was invaded by government troops. The violent persecution of student movements that acted illegally made many students join the armed struggle.
The labor movement also showed up during the Costa e Silva government, and there were at least two prominent cases that took place, one in Minas Gerais and the other in São Paulo. In one of the cases, the government even agreed to negotiate a salary adjustment, but, in any case, both cases were marked by the violence of the repression and the persecution of union leaders. This repression disarticulated the labor movement for nearly a decade and only returned with force in the late 1970s, in the ABC region of São Paulo.
The dictatorship closes the circle: the AI-5
This whole scenario made it clear to the military that opposition to the government was widespread and spread across different layers of society. This did not please the Armed Forces, which responded by increasing repression and closing the circle on society. From that came the Institutional Act No. 5, a milestone that started the “years of lead”.
The regime's hardening triggered a situation that, in the eyes of the military, represented the beginning of parliamentary insubordination. It all started in 1968, when an MDB deputy called Márcio Moreira Alves made a speech denouncing the torture practiced by the military against its opponents.
In his speech, the deputy asked: "When will the Army not be a ravacouto of torturers?" |3|. The repercussion of his speech among the military was immediate and generated great discomfort. The military demanded that the deputy be prosecuted as a result of his speech. The National Congress refused to prosecute Márcio Moreira Alves, and this was used as a justification for the decree of Institutional Act No. 5.
Regarding this event, some considerations can be made:
1. Part of the military has wanted, for some time, to harden the regime.
2. Congressmen's refusal to punish the deputy could set a dangerous precedent for political insubordination.
Institutional Act No. 5 was born out of a meeting that became known as “massblack”. Institutional Act No. 5 was read on the radio, on national television, by Minister of Justice Gama e Silva and materialized the hardening of the regime. The AI-5 was the way the military found to expand the apparatus of repression against the regime's opponents.
End of the Costa e Silva government
The end of Artur Costa e Silva's government was shortened after the president suffered a stroke in March 1969. As the military refused to hand over power to Costa e Silva's deputy, Pedro Aleixo, a provisional junta was created that governed the country until the appointment of Emilio Medici as president of Brazil.
|1| NAPOLITANO, Marcos. 1964: History of the Military Regime. São Paulo: Context, 2016, p. 86.
|2| FAUSTO, Boris. History of Brazil. São Paulo: Edusp, 2013, p. 411.
|3| SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and STARLING, Heloisa Murgel. Brazil: a biography. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2015, p. 455.
*Image credits: FGV/CPDOC