João Goulart he was the 24th president of Brazil and his government extended from September 1961 to April 1964. Well known as Jango, the Gaucho politician assumed the presidency after the resignation of Janio Quadros, in a scenario of great political crisis. João Goulart's government was one of the most troubled in the republican history of our country.
The government of João Goulart can be divided into phasesparliamentarian and presidentialist. His main events are related to the discussion around Basic Reforms, structural reforms proposals by the president, and the coup conspiracy, which took place during Jango's term and resulted in his dismissal by middle of Civil-Military Coup of 1964.
Accessalso: Artur Costa e Silva, the military president who signed the AI-5
Context
Jango's government is inserted in the period of Fourth Republic (1946 to 1964) and became known as the Brazil's first democratic experience. It was a time of popular unrest, greater public involvement in politics, economic growth, and urbanization.
The transformations underway in Brazil directly reflected in the political debate, and the expansion of demands policies for democratizing policies made this period one of the most politically agitated in our country. story. A clear demonstration of this was the growth of political parties to an unprecedented extent.
The demands of the population gave rise to social movements that demanded what was the right of Brazilians. unionsinworkersurbanandrural they spread in significant numbers throughout the country and spearheaded the struggle of urban workers for better conditions. O movementstudent it also gained strength in the defense of democracy, social equality and improvement of the school system in Brazil.
During this period, the labor — political ideology, developed by Getulio Vargas in the 1940s, which proposed the integration of the worker into the political discourse, as well as measures that would promote a certain social equality through the actions of the State.
This political project focused on the party created by Vargas in 1945, the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), and gained momentum throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. This assertion can be proven through data that point to a substantial growth in PTB voting and in the number of deputies elected by that party throughout the Fourth Republic.
In opposition to the growth of the labor project was the National Democratic Union (UDN), conservative party that acted throughout the Fourth Republic, to block the advance of labor agendas and social rights, and that used coup as a political weapon. The UDN was directly related to the Civil-Military Coup that toppled Jango, in 1964, and started a dictatorship in Brazil.
Possession of Jango
As mentioned, the expansion of the Labor political project (of which Jango was a part) was accompanied by the growth of a conservative agenda headed by the UDN. Jango had already come under considerable pressure from the military and conservatives during the second government of Getúlio Vargas, and, in 1961, a new event put a spotlight on him.
In 1961, Goulart was vice president of Brazil and was on a diplomatic mission in China, by order of President Jânio Quadros. On August 24, the president announced his resignation from the presidency as part of a strategy aimed at a self-coup. Jânio's strategy failed, and the controversy focused on the inauguration of the vice-president, João Goulart.
Immediately, military ministers announced that if Goulart stepped on Brazilian soil to take over the presidency, he would be arrested. This started a serious political crisis that lasted two weeks and left Brazil on the margins of a warcivil. What conservatives and the military wanted was for Goulart to be prevented from assuming the presidency.
However, this desire of conservatives and military was seen as scam, since the Brazilian legislation, in light of the 1946 Constitution, stipulated that the inauguration of the presidency should be transmitted to the vice president. Thus, João Goulart's possession was legal. The Labor politician even thought of resigning so that a new election could be invited, but the posture of the military convinced him to resist and fight for possession.
The action of the military and conservatives to prevent João Goulart's inauguration mobilized groups from the left in favor of Jango's defense, and the highlight goes to the performance of LeonelBrizola, governor of Rio Grande do Sul, brother-in-law of João Goulart and one of the most important cadres of Brazilian labor at the time.
Leonel Brizola headed the Legality Campaign, which spread across the country to defend the inauguration of João Goulart. Brizola guided Jango to return to Brazil and promised armed resistance to secure ownership of your brother-in-law. He entrenched himself in the Palácio do Piratini, the seat of government in Rio Grande do Sul, and made speeches via radio defending Jango's inauguration.
Brizola's actions ensured international support in defense of Goulart, as well as popular support. The historian Jorge Ferreira says that the Central Committee of the Democratic Resistance Movement had 45 thousand volunteers, who, armed, guaranteed to fight for the referred possession|1|. Finally, Brizola and Jango received support from the Third Army, a group made up of about 40,000 soldiers|2|.
The possibility of civil war during this crisis was real. The headquarters of the Legality Campaign, Palácio do Piratini, in Porto Alegre, ran the risk of being bombed by military troops defending the coup's exit. The solution found by Congress was submit Tancredo Neves to Uruguay, where Jango was, in order to offer him the possession of the presidency provided that in a parliamentary regime, in which the president's powers are reduced.
The agreement took place, and João Goulart assumed the presidency on the day September 7, 1961. He was the first and only president in our history to govern within a parliamentary system.
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Jango in the presidency
João Goulart's government can be divided into two phases: the parliamentary one, from September 1961 to January 1963; and the presidential one, from January 1963 to April 1964, when his government was interrupted by the Civil-Military Coup.
parliamentary stage
![Hermes de Lima (in a suit, wearing glasses) was the third prime minister in the parliamentary phase of João Goulart's government. [1]](/f/0eda8033f0d17f1ebe339877cbf0e740.jpg)
Parliamentarianism lasted for 14 months of government de Jango and was abandoned when the population expressed their desire for presidentialism in the plebiscite held in January 1963. João Goulart had his role neutralized due to the limitations that the parliamentary system imposed on the president.
Parliamentarianism in Brazil was considerably unstable, and this was symbolized by the short duration of ministerial cabinets. In all, our country had three prime ministers, who were:
Tancredosnows (Sep./1961 to Jun./1962)
Francisco de Paula Brochado da Rocha (Jun./1962 to Sep./1962)
Hermesinlime (Sep./1962 to Jan./1963)
In this first moment of government, João Goulart had a real dimension of the problems that the country was suffering, since the Brazil's indebtedness was serious and the social pressure for improvements in living conditions was increasing. In the context of their possession, peasants and students were the two most radicalized groups, an indication of the serious problems existing in these areas.
Another element of tension was the inflation, which increasingly put pressure on the income of middle and lower class workers. Finally, João Goulart should balance Brazilian policy, guaranteeing the satisfaction of his opponents: the conservatives of the UDN and the military, both eager for the coup.
The parliamentary phase witnessed the negotiations of the president with the United States to resolve the Brazilian debts, but they were not successful, since the North Americans were afraid of the direction that João Goulart's government would take. The President of the United States, John Kennedy, gave permission for the US secret service to destabilize Brazil in order to ensure Jango's overthrow.
At foreign policy, João Goulart continued the policy independent of its predecessor. Goulart defended a third way that would not force Brazil to necessarily align itself with either the North Americans or the Soviets. He maintained good relations with both sides and refused to ratify the sanctions imposed by the United States on Cuba at the Punta del Este Conference in 1962.
The relationship with the United States worsened with other measures taken by the Jango government, such as the nationalization of iron mines, located in the state of Minas Gerais. Leonel Brizola, in turn, expropriated a North American telephone service company in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Also in 1962, the Jango government ratified the Profit Remittance Law, a project that defined that foreign companies could send only 10% of their annual profit abroad. Brazil was under intense pressure from the US ambassador not to enact this law, as it harmed the economic interests of US companies in our country.
All these events soured relations between the United States and Brazil. With that, the Americans chose to support a conservative and coup movement, in order to weaken and, consequently, overthrow João Goulart. In 1962, in addition to the North Americans, the group of Brazilian civilians and military acted for the coup.
The last highlight to be made is regarding the anticipation ofplebiscite that would decide whether Brazil would remain in parliamentarism or return to presidentialism. This plebiscite was scheduled to take place in 1965, in the last year of João Goulart's government, however, it was advanced and held in January 1963. The population decided, with 82% of the votes, to return to presidentialism.
presidential stage
![João Goulart, meeting with members of his party, the Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro. [1]](/f/8ddc51fdc154477bed13f2c0234669df.jpg)
Once reinstated to presidential powers, João Goulart undertook a reform program strongly defended by the Brazilian left in the early 1960s. The left wanted a broad program of structural reforms that would combat Brazil's historic obstacles.
Thus, the main highlight of the government during the presidential phase were the debates of the Basic Reforms, a reform program in the following areas: agrarian, tax, educational, urban, electoral and bank. The first major debate took place on the issue of land reform, and that's what stopped Jango's government.
The debate on agrarian reform was driven by leaguesPeasants, an organization of peasants that was formed in the 1950s to fight for rural workers' access to land. In the political sphere, the debate was intense, and in the countryside, violence proliferated when landowners attacked unionized rural workers.
The debate got stuck by the question of indemnity to those who would have expropriated land above 500 hectares. Land owners, the UDN and the PSD demanded that compensation be made cash and cash. The government, in turn, only accepted compensation through public debt bonds that underwent monetary correction.
Without a way out, the debate did not move forward and Jango's support waned. Little by little, elements of the PSD, a traditional ally of the PTB and Labor, withdrew their support for the government. Jango was in a complicated situation, as he had to deal with the left committed to carrying out its reforms and with a right eager for the coup. In the middle of it all, the military was divided between left and right.
Accessalso: Getúlio Vargas – one of the most famous politicians in Brazilian history
scam
The coup of the far right was a threat that haunted Brazilian politics during the Fourth Republic. Getulio Vargas, JK and João Goulart himself had felt firsthand the effects of the coupism of this extreme right, which was concentrated in the UDN. The great exponent of this group was Carloslacerda, elected governor of Guanabara (state created in 1960 and corresponding to the city of Rio de Janeiro after the transfer of the capital to Brasília).
The conspiracy for the coup was born as soon as João Goulart took over as president of Brazil and brought together different groups, whether civilians or military. Thus, big onesentrepreneurs met with big names of the armed forces and, financed and supported by the United States, conspired to overthrow Goulart. The Civil-Military Coup of 1964 was the result of this conspiracy.
An indication of this occurred in 1962, when the Brazilian Institute of Democratic Action (Ibad) financed hundreds of candidacies of state and federal deputies and governors with a conservative bias. The money used by Ibad was made available by the CIA, the US intelligence. This was a demonstration that the United States was not satisfied with João Goulart's government and wanted to destabilize Brazilian politics to guarantee a political scenario of greater subservience to interests North Americans.
Ibad's action was discovered, and the institution was closed by corruptionelectoral after a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) confirms the irregularities committed. Ibad was not the only institution that worked secretly to destabilize the government of João Goulart, there was also the Institute for Research and Social Studies (Ipes).
Ipes was formed by people from the great Brazilian business community, representatives of foreign companies, journalists and military personnel who acted in the creation of an extensive narrative against the government, calling for a anti-communist speech. For this, didactic and audiovisual materials were produced and events were organized with a view to spreading this conservative bias.
In addition, Ipes served as a space for the military and the large business community to meet in order to architect the plan to overthrow João Goulart and form a new government that would guarantee to meet economic interests foreign. In addition, the aim was to guarantee the country's economic development based on a platformconservative and authoritarian. It was, therefore, a project of political domination of Brazil in the long term.
In addition press campaign against the government João Goulart was relentless, like the newspapers O Globo, Jornal do Brasil and Folha de S. Paulo, and from the Tupi and Globo stations. The media played a crucial role in disseminating the campaign that defended the removal of João Goulart through a coup.
The approximation of the military and businessmen in the conspiracy against João Goulart was part of an ideology conveyed by War College (ESG), an institution that emerged from within the Armed Forces (FFAA), which preached this union as a guarantee of economic development in Brazil.
Historically, such an ideology within the FFAA reinforced the military's domination of politics through an authoritarian posture. In the context of Cold War, this idea was reinforced, and the fight against an "internal enemy" he turned to labor and left-wing groups, contrary to the conservative and authoritarian agenda.
Also access:Attempt on Rua Tonelero – the assassination attempt on Carlos Lacerda
political radicalization
The Brazilian scenario, as we can see, was one of radicalization. Groups on the right plotted a coup and the implantation of an authoritarian regime, and groups on the left defended that the debated reforms be implemented anyway.
João Goulart governed in a very difficult situation and could not waver or show weakness in his position as president. However, he faltered in two moments, and that damaged his position and his image. The first case occurred with Sergeants' Rebellion, and the second, with the state of siege proposal.
In September 1963, around 600 FFAA soldiers rebelled because of the STF's determination that prohibited them from running for political office in the 1962 elections. This rebellion took place in Brasília, taking important parts of the city and imprisoning the STF minister and the president of the Chamber. The movement was quickly quelled, but it showed that conquering the capital was easy and demonstrated the president's weakness when he did not comment on the matter.
The proposed state of siege took place in October 1963. Jango was instructed by military ministers to declare a state of siege on account of Carlos Lacerda's statements to an American journalist. In the interview, Lacerda accused Jango of being totalitarian, called on the US to intervene in the situation in Brazil, in addition to stating that the military debated what to do with the president.
The ministers who guided Jango to decree a state of siege wanted to use this mechanism to arrest Carlos Lacerda for his statements. The president reflected on the request and forwarded it to Congress for approval.
João Goulart was criticized both by the right, which accused him of plotting a coup, and by the left, which believed that this measure would lead to the repression of social movements. Even Leonel Brizola criticized this act by João Goulart, and, days later, the president withdrew the request for a state of siege.
Accessalso: How many coups have taken place in Brazil's history since its independence?
Civil-Military Coup
In 1964, João Goulart's situation was complicated, and he decided to bet. Opted for take a left lane and called a rally to assure the population of its commitment to Basic Reforms. This was the Central do Brasil rally, held on March 13, 1964. The announcement that the president would reinforce his support for agrarian reform caused Jango's large allied group, the PSD, to break with the presidency.
The Central do Brasil Rally sealed the fate of João Goulart. Jorge Ferreira says that this speech “unified the right-wing conspirators, civil and military, in their actions to depose the president, and also acted among the liberals, casting among them serious suspicions about the real intentions of Goulart"|3|.
The reaction of conservative groups to the president's attitude was immediate, and on March 19, the Family March with God for Freedom, which had the participation of about 500 thousand people, a portion of the population considered to be expressive. The march expressed people's fear of the supposed “communist threat” and called for a coup by the military.
In late March, a revolt in the navy broke out and the president gave everyone involved an amnesty. This angered the military because, in their view, amnesty for those involved in the rebellion sent a message of disrespect to the hierarchy and discipline of the military. Jango's image with the military was definitely damaged.
The military, led by Humberto Castello Branco, planned to take power in mid-April, from a military rebellion that would count on the US military support, if necessary. The crisis in the military means was so intense that the coup came out of where it was not expected and came unplanned.
At dawn on March 31, 1964, the General Olímpio Mourão, commander of the 4th Military Region, in Juiz de Fora, started a rebellion. The troops he led left for Rio de Janeiro with the intention of deposing João Goulart from the presidency. The state of Minas Gerais had rebelled against the president, and its governor, Magalhães Pinto, supported the military rebellion.
João Goulart had possibilities to resist and ended the rebellion, but decided not to resist to avoid bloodshed, and the coupists easily seized power. Furthermore, there was no resistance from any of the leftist groups most influential in Brazil. The Peasant Leagues, the Communist Party, the General Command of Workers and Leonel Brizola did not even show a reaction.
The action of the military followed for the following days and led to the deposition of João Goulart of the presidency through a parliamentary session chaired by Auro de Moura. A few days later, the General Humberto Castello Branco was elected president of Brazil, and the military has already set the tone for what would be the next 21 years of Brazil: opponents were persecuted, politicians were impeached and the torture has become a practice.
Those who expected the coup to be only transitory, such as Carlos Lacerda, Magalhães Pinto, Ademar de Barros and others, were frustrated. The military did not want to relinquish power, and the support given by these politicians to the coup was turned against some of them. Then the military instituted the Institutional Act No. 1: it was the beginning of the Military Dictatorship.
Accessalso: AI-5, one of the worst decrees instituted during the Military Dictatorship
Grades
|1| FERREIRA, Jorge. João Goulart: a biography. Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian Civilization, 2014. P. 236.
|2| SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and STARLING, Heloísa Murgel. Brazil: a biography. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2015. P. 435.
|3| FERREIRA, Jorge. João Goulart: a biography. Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian Civilization, 2014. P. 429.
Image credits
[1] FGV/CPDOC
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
