Brazil Before the 1964 Coup: Crisis, Jango and Military Rise

The Presidents Juscelino Kubitschek, the developmentalist; Jânio Quadros, the broom man; and João Goulart, the football star.

A Divided Brazil, Conservative the borders, Basic Reforms, and Tanks in the Streets

Before the ball even rolled in 1964, the field was already tilted and full of potholes. Brazil in the 1960s was like a nervous team, divided, without a coach, and with a management constantly fighting in the locker room. The crowd shouted, but no one really knew who.

Juscelino Kubitschek, with his developmental optimism that dream of highways, automobiles, and a shining future on the horizon, ended in a historic traffic jam: high inflation, public debt, and too many promises for an increasingly empty treasury. The country had accelerated so much that now it was spitting smoke from the exhaust.

It was in this scenario that Jânio Quadros took the field, the president of the little broom. He promised to sweep away corruption but ended up sweeping himself away. He resigned after seven months, leaving the country without a goalkeeper, without strategy, and with the fans in despair.

His vice president, João Goulart (Jango), was seen by the military, the elite, and the guardians of the Cold War as a red shirt infiltrated in the lineup. And since it was the Cold War era, all someone had to do was shout “Moscow!” from the stands and many would call for intervention.

Jango tried to organize the team. The speech of agrarian reform, income redistribution, workers’ participation, and urban reforms everything that shakes deep structures. But the National Congress called a foul on every initiative.

The press chose to cheer from the VIP box. Outside, unions and students filled the streets, while business leaders, sectors of the Catholic Church, and conservative figures applauded the marches “with God for Freedom,” urging the military intervention to “save the game.”

Then came March 13, 1964. Jango’s speech to the crowd at Central do Brazil is one of those episodes that insist on returning. He defended the basic reforms, trying to pull the country out of paralysis.

Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro’s South Zone, candles in windows sent silent messages: “we don’t trust you.” Six days later, São Paulo became the stage for the massive March of the Family with God for Freedom, around 500,000 people marching against what they called “atheist communism.”There, two Brazil faced each other: the Brazil that wanted change and the Brazil that feared any change.

In this duel, Jango lost, and we lost with him. Then on March 31, 1964, the game ended before halftime: tanks in the streets, applause from windows, and democracy expelled from the field. Brazil entered a bitter 21-year dictatorship.

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#PoliticalCrisis #DemocracyLost #MarchOfTheFamily

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