Okay, here we go. I made this little "guide" really quick. That's not suposed to be a hitery lesson, just the key facts that should become events. In RED the election results.
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Presidents:
1945 elections (taking office January 1946)
in 1945 Vargas was deposed by a Military coup and the following elections were as follows:
General Eurico Gaspar Dutra (55,40%) - Liberal
Eduardo Gomes (34,73%) - Right Wing
Yeddo Fiúza (9,7%) - Communist
1950 elections (taking office January 1951)
Getúlio Vargas (48,7%)
Eduardo Gomes (29,7%) - Right Wing
Cristiano Machado (21.5%) - Social Democrat
In 1953 one assassination attempt over Carlos Lacerda, Getúlios’ stronger oppositioner, was performed, supposedly, by two of Getulio’s security guards. The opposition then started ever growing pressure over Getúlio so he steps away from the presidency. After months of pressure, Getúlio killed himself with a shot in the heart in the first ours of 24th August. In the same day the Vice-President Café Filho (liberal – right wing) took office.
1954 elections (taking office January 1955)
Juscelino Kubitschek (35,7%) – Social Democrat
Juarez Távora (29,7%) - Right Wing
Ademar de Barros (21.5%) - Center
Plínio Salgado (8,28%) – Fascist (integralist)
1959 elections (taking office January 1960)
Jânio Quadros (48,27%) – Worker’s Party
Henrique Teixeira Lott (32,93%) – Social Democrat Party
Ademar de Barros (18.8%) - Center
In 1961 again Carlos Lacerda (now the governor of Rio de Janeiro) grew with his oposition against Jânio’s government. Jânio had a position to stay away from his party politics, making some of his old allies angry. After being accused of trying to stage a coup to definitely keep the office of president, Jânio stepped down as the opposition hardened. The Vice-President João Goulart suffered heavy opposition from the military, that prevented him from taking office. Instead the solution found was to establish a parliamentary government. Goulart would keep the Head of State position but would not be Head of Government; that was the measure found to avoid any deterioration of the political stability. The first Prime-Minister was Tancredo Neves (taking office September 8th, 1961)(Social Democrat Party), that later resigned the post in order to run for the Congress elections. He was replaced by Francisco Brochado da Rocha (taking office july 12th, 1962)(Social Democrat Party). The last Prime Minister was Hermes Lima (taking office September 18th, 1962)(Socialist Party). In the meantime one plebiscite was held to determine if the country should adopt the parliamentary regime or the Presidential system would be used. The Presidential System won and the Prime Minister system was abolished in January 23rd 1963, when Jango (Gourlart’s nickname) took the position of Head of Government and State.
Jango then launched the Three Year Plan, that was an radical measure in order to save the economy (that suffered with heavy inflation since the end of Kubitschek’s term). The Plan proposed several reforms in the Brazilian society: educational, tributary, electoral, agrarian and urban. The Congress rejected this measure placing Jango in a difficult position. He started a campaign to gather support for his plan, but he focused too much in the lower echelon of the society, and for that he was accused of being a communist. The opposition, then, started to add significant pressure against Jango, saying that he would install one Communist dictatorship and would give Brazil do the Kremlin. In the meantime several problems with the lower echelon of the military showing support to Jango’s politics happened. In the Sailors Revolt, one mutiny in the Navy was held showing support to Jango’s politics. When the mutiny was suppressed and the sailors jailed, Jango extended amnesty to all the sailors involved. The high command of the Nay felt humiliated. In one other occasion he addressed sergeants of the Army at the Automóvel Clube do Brasil, with a extremist speech.
In March 13th 1964, Jango and Brizola (leftist Politican), held a Demonstration at the Central do Brasil. In their speeches they announced extremist measures like the implementation of its plan, the call for a plebiscite to decide for a new Constituent Assembly and the nationalization of the Oil Refineries. Brizola was the favorite contestant to the next presidential election, so the UDN (National Democratic Union), the PSD (Social Democrat Party) and the Military started to articulate one coup to remove Jango and stop this rush to the left.
In the first hours of March 31st, the First Army began moving from Minas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro. It was the beginning of the coup. The plan was that the first military movements were to happen only after April 4th, but the commander of the First Army, General Mourão Filho, hastily started the coup. Confused, even the participants of the coup had to run and prepare their movements. The first hours of the coup were tense as most of the military leaders only waited to see what would happen. But, one after the other they supported the coup. The troops sent to stop the First Army, instead, joined forces and resumed their movement towards Rio de Janeiro.
It is important to notice that the USA had direct involvement in the coup. President Lyndon Johnson was directly involved and, through the American Embassy in Brazil offered military and logistical support to the military. The Operation Brother Sam was started in March 31st, 1964. The US Navy assembled one Task Force which mission was to aid the Brazilian military with ammo and fuel. The second mission was purely to intimidate the opposition to the Brazilian Military. The capital ship of the Task Force was the USS Forrestal (CVN-59), that along several Destroyers and Tank Ships would be stationed off the coast of the Santa Catarina State. The coup turned out to be pacific and the US military aid was not needed, but had the coup ended badly and with a Civil War (like it almost happened) the Task Force would join the battle siding with the Military trying to depose Jango.
In the capital, the President of the Congress (Senator Auro Soares de Moura Andrade) declared that the Presidency was empty, saying that the President had left the Country without authorization of the Congress. He then gave the presidency to the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Ranieri Mazzilli. Mazzilli kept the position until the military took complete control of the situation, when they held indirect elections for the presidency:
1964 elections (April 11th)
Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco (98,63%)
Juarez Távora (0,81%)
Eurico Gaspar Dutra (0,54%)
In this period the military junta that created the coup created the “Institutional Act” (The AI), one (arguably) legal supra-constitutional act. In the AI-1 (April 9th, 1964), they suspended the constitution for 6 months, decided for the indirect election for President and removed political right of several politicians.
In June the SNI was created (National Information Service), it was one mix of Secret Police with a Intelligence Agency. His most famous director was General Emílio Garrastazu Médici, that like one Brazilian Béria concentrated power and prestige thanks to it’s control over the State Information Service.
The AI-2 (October 27th, 1965), removed the multiple party system and decided for the two party system, thus creating the ARENA (National Renewal Alliance Party) and the MDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement).
The AI-3 (February 5th, 1966) decided that the Governor election should be indirect, just like the Presidential Election.
The AI-4 (December 7th, 1966) called the Congress to vote a new Constitution. The Constitution was approved by the Congress in January 24th, 1967 and concentrated much of the power in the hands of the President.
1966 elections (October 3rd, taking Office March 15th, 1967)
Artur da Costa e Silva (100%)
The AI-5 (December 13th, 1968) was the darkest moment of the military rule in Brazil. The AI-5 was created by the military “hard liners” and gave the President absolute powers and closed the Congress for almost one year.
In 1969 Brazil was governed by a provisional Military Junta for two months (August 31st to October 30th). The Junta consisted of the three military ministers, Admiral Augusto Rademaker (Minister of the Navy), General Aurélio de Lira Tavares (Minister of the Army) and Air-Marshall Márcio Melo (Minister of the Air Force). The Junta gave way to the next President elected by the Congress:
1969 elections (October 22nd, taking Office October 30th, 1969)
Emílio Garrastazu Médici (100%)
1974 elections (January 15th, taking Office March 15th, 1974)
Ernesto Geisel (84,04%)
Ulysses Guimarães (15,96%)
1978 elections (October 15th, taking Office March 15th, 1979)
João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (61,11%)
Euler Bentes Monteiro (38,89%)
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