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103-490: As the National Reconstruction Party, it had the first president chosen through direct elections after the end of Brazil's military dictatorship , Fernando Collor de Mello , who suffered an impeachment process in 1992 . In 2023, after renaming to Agir , the party ideologically restructured itself to focus on promoting the rights and well-being of autistic people. The party was founded in 1985 as

206-619: A coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces , with support from the United States government, against president João Goulart . The Brazilian dictatorship lasted for 21 years, until 15 March 1985. The coup was planned and executed by the most senior commanders of the Brazilian Army and received the support of almost all high-ranking members of the military, along with conservative sectors in society, like

309-427: A consequence of this, it incorporated a number of improvements to Brazilian political, social and economical life: On the night of November 10, 1937, Vargas announced in a nationwide radio address that he was seizing emergency powers under the pretext of suppressing a Communist -backed coup (the so-called Cohen Plan ). On the same night, he promulgated a new constitution that effectively transformed his presidency into

412-514: A dictatorship and ending up in power for two decades? Why did they not hand over power to civilians after the "threat" had been defeated? Instead, Motta argued that the assertion of a "Communist threat" was fabricated to unify the Brazilian armed forces and increase their support among the general population. ...the big press and other institutions made a strong discursive dam in favor of the fall of Goulart, in which they mobilized to exhaustion

515-534: A federal state to promote individual liberties above all, following the basic principles of the Constitution of the United States , albeit with the adoption of a slightly different (and somewhat more centralized) form of federalism . The main traits of the constitution were: In 1930, after severe political problems, President Washington Luís was overthrown by a coup d'état . The 1891 Constitution

618-490: A formula based on a strategy of reconciling the conflicting interests of the middle class, foreign capital, the working class, and the landed oligarchy. Essentially, this was the epic of the rise and fall of Brazilian populism from 1930 to 1964: Brazil witnessed over the course of this time period the change from export-orientation of the First Brazilian Republic (1889–1930) to the import substitution of

721-493: A fraction of the atrocities committed by the government. The military government murdered hundreds of others, although this was done mostly in secret and the cause of death often falsely reported as accidental. The government occasionally dismembered and hid the bodies. French general Paul Aussaresses , a veteran of the Algerian War , came to Brazil in 1973. Aussaresses used " counter-revolutionary warfare " methods during

824-686: A gradual relaxation of authoritarian rule. It would be, in his words, "the maximum of development possible with the minimum of indispensable security". History of the Constitution of Brazil#Sixth Constitution (1967) Recent elections During its independent political history, Brazil has had seven constitutions. The most recent was ratified on October 5, 1988. Prior to its independence on September 7, 1822, Brazil had no formal Constitution, since Portugal only adopted its first Constitution on September 23, 1822, 16 days after Brazil proclaimed independence. In 1823, Emperor Pedro I started

927-719: A guerrilla leader, two months after Elbrick's kidnapping. This marked the beginning of the decline of armed opposition. In 1970, Nobuo Okuchi, the Japanese consul general in Sāo Paulo , was kidnapped, while Curtis C. Cutter, the U.S. consul in Porto Alegre , was wounded in the shoulder but escaped being kidnapped. Also in 1970, Ehrenfried von Holleben, the West German ambassador, was kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro and one of his bodyguards

1030-557: A legal dictatorship (the short interval suggesting that the self-coup had been planned well in advance). It was written by the minister of Justice, Francisco Campos, and proofread by Vargas and his minister of War (joint-commander of the Army and Air Force), Eurico Gaspar Dutra . The new document was called the " Polaca ", or Polish , Constitution because it was inspired by the Polish April Constitution of 1935. It

1133-477: A legalist bastion. São Paulo's and Rio de Janeiro's generals were convinced to join the coup. In order to prevent a civil war and knowing that the United States would openly support the rebels, Goulart fled to Rio Grande do Sul , and then went to exile in Uruguay , where his family owned large estates. The U.S. ambassador Lincoln Gordon later admitted that the embassy had given money to anti-Goulart candidates in

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1236-487: A model for other military regimes and dictatorships throughout Latin America , being systematized by the so-called "National Security Doctrine", which was used to justify the military's actions as operating in the interest of national security in a time of crisis, creating an intellectual basis upon which other military regimes relied. In 2014, nearly 30 years after the regime collapsed, the Brazilian military recognized for

1339-567: A net yearly income of less than a hundred milréis was allowed to vote in the primary elections that chose actual electors, empowered with the right to vote for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. As a result, Brazilian legislatures had a decided conservative slant. Combined with widespread electoral frauds, no Prime Minister chosen by the Emperor – who had the power to order the dissolution of

1442-519: A peculiar and unique regime: a "presidential" monarchy. That did not mean, by any means, that the Brazilian monarch had prerogatives resembling those of a tyrant or dictator . The individual guarantees of human liberty and dignity were inserted into the articles of the Charter and were respected. The Emperor would not act in areas reserved to the legislative branch and the judiciary, such as to create laws or to judge and sentence. Even though it vested

1545-438: A period of liberal reform, authorized the provinces to create their own legislative chambers, which were empowered to legislate on financial matters, create taxes and their own corps of civil servants under a chief executive nominated by the central power; it was however revised by an "interpretive" act of May 1840, enacted in a period of conservative reaction, which allowed the central power to appoint judges and police officers in

1648-442: A reserved percentage of jobs in the public service (and soon in all large companies), and black people to seek reparation for prejudice in the courts. Breaking with the authoritarian logic of the Constitution of 1967, it made unbailable crimes those of torture and of actions directed against the democratic state and the constitutional order, thus creating constitutional devices to block coups d'état of any kind. Willing to create

1751-483: A successor. The Brazilian Army could not find an acceptable civilian politician to all of the factions that supported the ouster of João Goulart. On 9 April 1964, coup leaders published the First Institutional Act, which greatly limited the civil liberties of the 1946 constitution. The act granted the president the authority to remove elected officials, dismiss civil servants, and revoke for 10 years

1854-466: A truly democratic state , the Constitution has established many forms of direct popular participation besides regular voting, such as plebiscite , referendum and the possibility of ordinary citizens proposing new laws. Examples of these democratic mechanisms were the 1993 plebiscite concerning the form of government, where the Presidential system was confirmed, and the 2005 referendum concerning

1957-481: Is estimated that 434 people were either confirmed killed or went missing and 20,000 people were tortured during the military dictatorship in Brazil. While some human rights activists and others assert that the true figure could be much higher, and should include thousands of indigenous people who died because of the regime's negligence, the armed forces have always disputed this. Brazil's political crisis stemmed from

2060-523: Is no military dictatorship. If it were, Carlos Lacerda would never be allowed to say the things he says. Everything in Brazil is free — but controlled. Through the Institutional Acts, Castelo Branco gave the executive the unchecked ability to change the constitution and remove anyone from office as well as to have the president elected by Congress. A two-party system was created: the ruling government-backed National Renewal Alliance (ARENA) and

2163-401: Is the one of Acre . The Supreme Federal Court has ruled that this omission of the protection of God was not unconstitutional since the preamble of the constitution is simply an indication of principles that serves as an introduction to the constitutional text and reflects the ideological conceptions of the legislator, falling within the scope of political ideology and not of the law. Therefore,

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2266-404: The 1994 presidential election , the party launched the candidacy of Carlos Antônio Gomes, who came second to last with 0.61% of the total votes. In 1998, while still affiliated with the party, Collor tried to run in that year's presidential election . The Superior Electoral Court prevented him from doing so, as he had been ineligible for eight years since his impeachment in 1992. In 2000, the party

2369-464: The Battle of Algiers , including the systemic use of torture, executions and death flights . He later trained U.S. officers and taught military courses for Brazil's military intelligence. He later acknowledged maintaining close links with the military. Despite the dictatorship's fall, no individual has been punished for the human rights violations, due to the 1979 Amnesty Law written by the members of

2472-678: The Brazilian Army to dissolve the Constitutional Assembly, in what became known as the Night of Agony . On his own authority, he then issued a constitution that concentrated the executive power on the Emperor himself (eventually crowned "Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil"). Based on the French Constitution of 1791 and the Spanish Constitution of 1812 , the Constitution endowed

2575-538: The Catholic Church and anti-communist civilian movements among the Brazilian middle and upper classes. The military regime, particularly after the Institutional Act No. 5 in 1968, practiced extensive censorship and committed human rights abuses . Those abuses included institutionalized torture , extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances . Despite initial pledges to the contrary,

2678-546: The Civil Code of 1917. On the other side, however, it heavily concentrated executive power: When Vargas was forced to resign in 1945, a new constitution was written, once again by a directly elected Constitutional Congress. This was the first Brazilian constitution to provide full political freedom (even the Brazilian Communist Party was made legal, though briefly) and the last to officially name

2781-479: The Fifth Institutional Act that gave the president dictatorial powers, dissolved Congress and state legislatures, suspended the constitution, and imposed censorship. On 31 August 1969 Costa e Silva suffered a stroke. Instead of his vice president, all state power was assumed by military junta , which then chose general Emílio Garrastazu Médici as the new president. A hardliner, Médici sponsored

2884-822: The Legality Campaign in support of Goulart. The crisis was solved by the " parliamentary solution ", a political compromise in which Goulart would take office, but with reduced powers by turning Brazil into a parliamentary republic with a prime minister , which was filled by Tancredo Neves . Brazil returned to presidential government in 1963 after a referendum , and, as Goulart's powers grew, it became evident that he would seek to implement his "base reforms" such as land reform and nationalization of enterprises in various economic sectors. The reforms were considered Communist and Goulart sought to implement them regardless of assent from established institutions such as Congress. Goulart had low parliamentarian support, due to

2987-611: The National Liberation Action and the 8th October Revolutionary Movement were suppressed, and military operations undertaken to finish the Araguaia Guerrilla War . The "ideological frontiers" of Brazilian foreign policy were reinforced. By the end of 1970, the official minimum wage went down to US$ 40 a month, and the more than one-third of Brazilian workforce which had their wages tied to it lost about 50% of its purchasing power in relation to

3090-483: The coup d'état had overthrown the Old Republic. Vargas accepted this constitution in order to legitimise his power. This constitution was the shortest-lived Constitution of Brazil, lasting only three years (until 1937). Despite its short life, this constitution was important because it was the first time a Brazilian constitution was written from scratch by directly elected deputies in multi-party elections. As

3193-627: The 1960 levels of the Juscelino Kubitschek administration. Nevertheless, Médici was popular, as his term was met with the largest economic growth of any Brazilian president as the Brazilian Miracle unfolded and the country won the 1970 World Cup . In 1971 Médici presented the First National Development Plan aimed at increasing the rate of economic growth, especially in remote Northeast and

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3296-470: The 1962 municipal elections, and had encouraged the plotters; many extra U.S. military and intelligence personnel were operating in four U.S. Navy oil tankers and the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal , in an operation code-named Brother Sam . These ships had positioned off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in case rebel Brazilian troops required military assistance during the 1964 coup. A document from Gordon in 1963 to U.S. president John F. Kennedy also describes

3399-460: The Amazon. The results of his economic policy consolidated the option for the national-development model. Because of these results, the country's foreign economic connections were transformed, allowing its international presence to be broadened. In November 1970 federal, state, and municipal elections were held. Most of the seats were won by ARENA candidates. In 1973, an electoral college system

3502-1219: The Armed Forces was evidenced by the Proclamation of the Republic , which overthrew the Brazilian Empire , or within tenentism (lieutenants' movement) and the Revolution of 1930 . Tensions escalated again in the 1950s, as important military circles (the "hard-liners", old positivists whose origins could be traced back to the Brazilian Integralist Action and the Estado Novo ) joined the elite and middle classes, and right-wing activists in attempts to prevent presidents Juscelino Kubitschek and João Goulart from taking office due to their supposed support for Communism. While Kubitschek proved to be friendly to capitalist institutions, Goulart promised far-reaching reforms, expropriated business interests, and promoted economical-political neutrality with

3605-545: The Assembly with both status and authority. It created executive, legislative, judicial, and moderating branches as "delegations of the nation" with the separation of those powers envisaged as providing balances in support of the Constitution and the rights it enshrined. The Constitution of 1824 was rather less parliamentary than the draft prepared by the Constituent Assembly. In fact, it was for all purposes

3708-505: The Brazilian Army, 97 military and civilians were killed by terrorist and guerrilla actions made by leftist groups during the same period. In a 2014 report by Brazil's National Truth Commission, which documented the human rights abuses of the military government, it was noted that the United States "had spent years teaching the torture techniques to the Brazilian military during that period". Retired general Ernesto Geisel (1974–79)

3811-621: The Chamber of Deputies and new elections to it – ever failed to win a parliamentary majority in subsequent elections. The Constitution of 1824, enacted in the name of the Holy Trinity , also instituted Catholicism as the state religion , allowing other religions to be practiced only in private: non-Catholic places of worship could not be fashioned to appear as religious buildings from the outside. It also excluded slaves from Brazilian citizenship, by extending it to all people born in Brazil who were freeborn or freed. On November 15, 1889,

3914-537: The Church, landowners, businessmen, and the middle class called for a coup d'état by the Armed Forces to remove the government. The old "hard-line" army officers, seeing a chance to impose their economic program, convinced the loyalists that Goulart was a Communist menace. After the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek, the right wing opposition elected Jânio Quadros , who based his electoral campaign on criticizing Kubitschek and government corruption. Quadros' campaign symbol

4017-495: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The National Truth Commission was created in 2011 attempting to help the nation face its past and honor those who fought for democracy, and to compensate the family members of those killed or disappeared. Its work was concluded in 2014. It reported that under military regime at least 191 people were killed and 243 "disappeared". The total number of deaths probably measures in

4120-692: The Legislative by being allowed to propose motions and having the power to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies (senators sat for life, however, being individually chosen by the emperor among the top three candidates in a given province) and also influenced the Judiciary, by appointing (for life) the members of the Highest Court. This constitution established the Brazilian Empire as a Unitary state (the provinces had little autonomy, if any). The Amendment ( Ato Adicional ) of August 12, 1834, enacted in

4223-488: The Portuguese deputies refused to take part in it. On the other hand, the liberal Brazilian deputies had been persecuted: some were exiled while others were imprisoned. Thus the Constitutional Assembly did not hear an appreciable number of opinions and would reflect the objectives of the "Brazilian Party", to the detriment of the "Portuguese Party" and the liberals. As the draft constitution progressed it became clear that

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4326-517: The Second Institutional act which purged Congress, removed objectionable state governors and expanded president's arbitrary powers at the expense of the legislative and judiciary branches. This gave him the latitude to repress the populist left but also provided the subsequent governments of Artur da Costa e Silva (1967–69) and Emílio Garrastazu Médici (1969–74) with a "legal" basis for their hard-line authoritarian rule. But this

4429-657: The United States. After Goulart suddenly assumed power in 1961, society became deeply polarized, with the elites fearing that Brazil would, like Cuba , join the Communist Bloc , while many thought that the reforms would greatly boost Brazil's growth and end its economical subservience with the U.S., or even that Goulart could be used to increase the popularity of the Communist agenda. Influential politicians, such as Carlos Lacerda and even Kubitschek, media moguls ( Roberto Marinho , Octávio Frias , Júlio de Mesquita Filho),

4532-531: The United States. The United States as bastion of anticommunism during the Cold War provided the ideology that the authoritarians used to justify their hold on power. Washington also preached liberal democracy, which forced the authoritarians to assume the contradictory position of defending democracy, while destroying it. Their concern for appearances caused them to abstain from personal dictatorship by requiring each successive general-president to hand over power to

4635-602: The Youth Party by lawyer Daniel Sampaio Tourinho, a former member of the Democratic Labor Party . In 1989, it was renamed the National Reconstruction Party. In the same year, it succeeded in having its candidate, Fernando Collor de Mello , elected to the presidency of Brazil with 53.03% of the total votes. The party carried out a platform of encouraging free trade, opening Brazil's market to imports, privatizing state-run companies, and attempting to reduce

4738-436: The armed forces were nothing more than fantasy, and that the 1964 coup occurred without resistance, since "there was no resistance." Moreover, the Communist armed struggles only appeared after the implementation of the dictatorship, and not before it, and in fact never put Brazilian democracy at risk. The armed forces' officer corps was divided between those who believed that they should confine themselves to their barracks, and

4841-455: The country Estados Unidos do Brazil (and the spelling of the country's name would change later that year). It was also the first with an additional "Act of Transitory Measures" (a set of laws that came into effect before the constitution itself and could not be changed). The key points of this constitution were: The last two would become the major problems of this constitution, as they were prone to produce and fuel both legitimacy crises (as

4944-461: The country's rampant hyperinflation by way of the Plano Collor , which significantly reduced inflation rates in 1991, but was followed by a renewed and persistent, though smaller uptick in 1992. Following the impeachment of Fernando Collor for corruption and influence peddling charges in 1992, the party suffered a deep confidence crisis, losing most of its parliamentary representation. In

5047-409: The country, in self-proclaimed exile. In 1969 the 8th October Revolutionary Movement kidnapped Charles Burke Elbrick , the U.S. ambassador to Brazil. The resistance fighters demanded the release of imprisoned dissidents who were being tortured in exchange for Elbrick. The government responded by adopting more brutal measures of counter-insurgency , leading to the assassination of Carlos Marighella ,

5150-542: The coup itself. The so-called Institutional Acts sequentially issued by the military presidents were, in practice, placed higher than the Constitution and could amend it. Even under these circumstances, the first military president, Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco , was committed to restoring civilian rule in 1966. However, a large number of military and civilian extremists felt the military had to stay in power for some years. They also wanted to pass more "proper" laws to fight subversive individuals (anyone that opposed

5253-518: The coup, thousands of people were detained, while thousands of others were removed from their civil service or university positions. In 1968 there was a brief relaxation of the nation's repressive policies. Experimental artists and musicians formed the Tropicália movement during this time. However, some of the major popular musicians such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso , for instance, were arrested, imprisoned, and exiled. Chico Buarque left

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5356-535: The deputies were trying to establish a constitution that would: The emperor did not want to serve as a mere decorative figurehead , but rather to protect the interests of the Portuguese businessmen (who were the main economic base of Brazil) and prevent any further cession of his power to the Parliament . In light of the wave of conservatism led by the Holy Alliance , the Emperor used his influence over

5459-557: The dissolution of political parties and salary controls at the beginning of Castelo Branco's term. According to Vincent Bevins , the military dictatorship established in Brazil, the fifth most populous nation in the world, "played a crucial role in pushing the rest of South America into the pro-Washington, anticommunist group of nations." Brazil actively participated in the CIA -backed state terror campaign against left-wing dissidents known as Operation Condor . The argument used to justify

5562-427: The emperor Pedro II was deposed, Brazilian monarchy abolished and the 1824 Constitution was put out of effect. No provisional constitution was used while a definitive successor document was being written. The writing process began in 1889, by a group of jurists and politicians , and the text was later amended by a Constitutional Congress on February 24, 1891. In its final form, the new Constitution meant to create

5665-592: The emperor with more power than its would-be predecessor, the Imperial constitution was considered very progressive for its time. It was considered more progressive than several constitutions used by European liberal powers. The new constitution, published on March 25, 1824 outlined the existence of four powers: The Emperor controlled the Executive by nominating the members of the State Council, influenced

5768-412: The establishment of a military dictatorship in Brazil was the imminence of a "Communist threat" in 1964. The historian Rodrigo Patto Sá Motta  [ pt ] disputes the assertion that communism was of sufficient strength in Brazil to threaten the democratic system in 1964. In an interview, Motta stated that: If the political regime established in 1964 was popular and had the majority support of

5871-571: The existence of a Consumers' Defence Code (which was brought out in 1990), of Children's and Youth Code (1990) and of a new Civil Code (2002). It was the first constitution to demand severe punishment for breaches of civil liberties and rights. Consequently, Brazil later approved a law making the propagation of prejudice against any minority or ethnic group an unbailable crime. This law provided legal redress against those who spread hate speech (like Neo-Nazis ) or those who do not treat all citizens equally. This second aspect helped disabled people to have

5974-457: The fact that his centrist attempts to win support from both sides of the spectrum gradually came to alienate both. Over time, the president was forced to shift to the left of his mentor Getúlio Vargas and was forced to mobilize the working class and even the peasantry amid falling urban bourgeois support. On 1 April 1964, after a night of conspiracy, rebel troops led by general Olímpio Mourão Filho made their way to Rio de Janeiro , considered

6077-417: The first time the excesses committed by its agents during the dictatorship, including the torture and murder of political dissidents. In May 2018, the United States government released a memorandum, written by Henry Kissinger , dating back to April 1974 (when he was serving as Secretary of State ), confirming that the leadership of the Brazilian military regime was fully aware of the killing of dissidents. It

6180-537: The government while famous newspapers would fill in empty spaces left blank due to censored articles with random cake recipes, a way to indicate to the population that the content had been censored by the government. As early as 1964, the military government was already using the various forms of torture it devised systematically not only to gain information it used to crush opposition groups, but also to intimidate and silence any further potential opponents. This radically increased after 1968. While other dictatorships in

6283-478: The government who stayed in place during the transition to democracy. The law granted amnesty and impunity to any government official or citizen accused of political crimes during the dictatorship. Because of a certain "cultural amnesia" in Brazil, the victims have never garnered much sympathy, respect, or acknowledgement of their suffering. Work is underway to alter the Amnesty Law, which has been condemned by

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6386-421: The greatest human rights abuses of the regime. During his government, persecution and torture of dissidents, harassment against journalists and press censorship became ubiquitous. The succession of kidnappings of foreign ambassadors in Brazil embarrassed the military government. The anti-government demonstrations and the action of guerrilla movements generated an increase in repressive measures. Urban guerrillas from

6489-560: The hard-liners who regarded politicians as willing to turn Brazil to Communism. The victory of the hard-liners dragged Brazil into what political scientist Juan J. Linz called "an authoritarian situation". However, because the hard-liners could not ignore the counterweight opinions of their colleagues or resistance IN society, they were unable to institutionalize their agenda politically. In addition, they did not attempt to eliminate liberal constitutionalism because they feared disapproval of international opinion and damage to their alignment with

6592-557: The hundreds, not reaching but could be nearing one thousand, while more than 50,000 people were detained and 10,000 forced to go into exile. According to the Comissão de Direitos Humanos e Assistência Jurídica da Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil , the "Brazilian death toll from government torture, assassination and 'disappearances' for 1964–81 was [...] 333, which included 67 killed in the Araguaia guerrilla front in 1972–74". According to

6695-435: The main cities of the country, the first free elections in 20 years were held for the national legislature in 1982. In 1985, another election was held, this time to indirectly elect a new president, being contested between civilian candidates for the first time since the 1960s and won by the opposition. In 1988, a new Constitution was passed and Brazil officially returned to democracy. Brazil's military government provided

6798-399: The mild not-leftist opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) party. In the new Constitution of 1967 the name of the country was changed from United States of Brazil to the current Federative Republic of Brazil. Castelo Branco was succeeded to the presidency by general Artur da Costa e Silva who was a representative of the hard-line elements of the regime. On 13 December 1968 he signed

6901-615: The military intervention on the eve of the coup, later opposed the government and thus fell under heavy censorship. The management of all sectors of the country's communication was overseen by the Special Counsel of Public Relations ( Assessoria Especial de Relações Públicas ) created in the beginning of 1968, while censorship was institutionalized through the Higher Counsel of Censorship ( Conselho Superior de Censura ) later on that same year. The Higher Counsel of Censorship

7004-436: The military regime enacted a new, restrictive Constitution in 1967, and stifled freedom of speech and political opposition . The regime adopted nationalism , economic development , and anti-communism as its guidelines. The military coup was fomented by José de Magalhães Pinto , Adhemar de Barros , and Carlos Lacerda (who had already participated in the conspiracy to depose Getúlio Vargas in 1945), then governors of

7107-481: The opinions of the reinóis (name then given to recent immigrants from Portugal) should be considered. As each side had very distinct and different objectives none could prevail and a compromise was needed. There were also additional problems: the Constitutional Assembly had been elected to decide the applicability of Portuguese laws in Brazil, not to draft a new constitution. As a result, some of

7210-461: The party underwent a total ideological reform, shifting to focus on promoting the rights and well-being of autistic people. This article about a Brazilian political party or entity is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Military dictatorship in Brazil The military dictatorship in Brazil ( Portuguese : ditadura militar ) was established on 1 April 1964, after

7313-498: The political process of writing a Constitution. The elaboration of the first Constitution of Brazil was quite difficult and the power struggle involved resulted in a long-lasting unrest that plagued the country for nearly two decades. Two major facts increased the troubles: The first circumstance meant that despite strong support of the Crown Prince Pedro I by the Brazilian landowners (the so-called "Brazilian Party"),

7416-478: The political rights of those found guilty of subversion or misuse of public funds. On 11 April 1964, Congress elected the Army Chief of Staff, marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco as president for the remainder of Goulart's term. Castelo Branco had intentions of overseeing a radical reform of the political-economic system and then returning power to elected officials. He refused to remain in power beyond

7519-406: The population, why the hell did it need authoritarian mechanisms to stay in power?". And he adds: "Let us consider for a moment, just to construct hypothetical reasoning, that there was a serious communist threat and the military intervention aimed at defending democracy against totalitarianism (I reiterate that I consider such arguments unfounded). If so, what justification, then, for having installed

7622-493: The populist era (1930–1964) and then to a moderate structuralism of 1964–80. Each of these structural changes forced a realignment in society and caused a period of political crisis. A period of right-wing military dictatorship marked the transition between the populist era and the current period of democratization. The Brazilian Armed Forces acquired great political clout after the Paraguayan War . The politicization of

7725-612: The preamble which is not actually a part of the supreme law, has no judicial validity whatsoever and cannot impose obligations or create rights. Despite its advances concerning individual rights and freedoms and also in government control, the Constitutional text brought dispositions that resulted in severe difficulties concerning governmental efficiency. In the following years, especially from 1995 onwards, this meant it had to be amended many times to get rid of impractical, contradictory or unclear provisions (but also to accommodate

7828-456: The presidents were usually elected by less than a majority of votes) and conspiracies (as the vice-president was usually from another party). After the military coup d'état of April 1, 1964 the controllers of the new regime kept the 1946 constitution and promised to restore democracy as soon as possible. However, they did not and were faced with a dilemma, as every major measure they took was strictly against that current constitution, including

7931-526: The prohibition of the sale of firearms and ammunition. The mention of God in the preamble of the Constitution (and later on the Brazilian currency ) was opposed by most leftists as incompatible with freedom of religion because it does not recognize the rights of polytheists (like the Amerindians ) or atheists, but it has not been removed so far. The only State Constitution that does not refer to God

8034-618: The provinces. On July 20, 1847, a Decree (number 523) established the post of Prime Minister , formally titled "president of the Council of Ministers" (not to be confused with the State Council, whose ten members sat for life and which in the late Empire functioned solely as an advising body to the Emperor). Appointed by the emperor, the Prime Minister then chose a cabinet of state secretaries, or ministers. The cabinet had to maintain

8137-431: The regime's efforts to censor any and all pieces of media that could hurt the government, the population found ways to get around it as much as possible. Even though artists and journalists needed permission from the counsel to publish any piece of communication, they sometimes were able to surpass censorship barriers through unconventional ways. Musicians would rely on word play to publish songs with veiled criticisms towards

8240-408: The regime). By 1965, however, the situation reached an unbearable point when opposition candidates won the governorship of Minas Gerais and Guanabara . Castelo Branco refused to annul the results. A coup was only averted when Castelo Branco agreed to support the military's reform program. By this time, the military had decided to drop all pretense of democracy. It also felt the 1946 constitution

8343-634: The region at the time killed more people, Brazil saw the widespread use of torture, as it also had during the Estado Novo of Getúlio Vargas. Vargas's enforcer Filinto Müller has been named the "patron of torturers" in Brazil. Advisors from the United States and United Kingdom trained Brazilian forces in interrogation and torture. To extinguish its left-wing opponents, the dictatorship used arbitrary arrests, imprisonment without trials, kidnapping, and most of all, torture, which included rape and castration. The book Torture in Brazil provides accounts of only

8446-481: The remainder of Goulart's term or to institutionalize the military in power. However, competing demands radicalized the situation. Military hard-liners wanted a complete purge of left-wing and populist influences while civilian politicians obstructed Castelo Branco's reforms. The latter accused him of hard-line actions to achieve his objectives, and the former accused him of leniency. On 27 October 1965, after victory of opposition candidates in two state elections, he signed

8549-417: The return of civilian rule in 1985, culminating in the adoption of a new constitution in 1988. The seventh and current Brazilian Constitution was promulgated on October 5, 1988 after a two-year process in which it was written from scratch by a Constitutional Congress elected in 1986. It appears as a reaction to the period of military dictatorship , seeking to guarantee all manner of rights and restricting

8652-522: The same year he passed the Amnesty Law for political crimes committed for and against the regime. While combating the "hardliners" inside the government and supporting a redemocratization policy , Figueiredo could not control the crumbling economy , chronic inflation and concurrent fall of other military dictatorships in South America. Amid massive popular demonstrations on the streets of

8755-459: The state's ability to limit freedom, to punish offenses and to regulate individual life. On the other hand, it did not provide clear rules for state reform and kept the economic regulation of the country intact. Among the new constitutional guarantees are the errand of injunction and the habeas data (one's right to have access to any data about him kept by the Government). It also anticipated

8858-586: The states of Minas Gerais , São Paulo , and Guanabara , respectively. The U.S. State Department supported the coup through Operation Brother Sam and thereafter supported the regime through its embassy in Brasília . The dictatorship reached the height of its popularity in the early 1970s with the so-called " Brazilian Miracle ", even as the regime censored all media, and tortured, killed and exiled dissidents. João Figueiredo became president in March 1979; in

8961-545: The support of a majority in the General Assembly. The emperor's acts were not valid without the countersignature of the minister responsible for the issue concerned. The 1847 decree thus turned the Brazilian Empire into a standard constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system . The franchise was very limited, being censitary and indirect: no male citizen who was not head of a household and/or had

9064-517: The theme of red danger (communists) to increase the climate of panic. What is certain is that on leaving the HQs the Armed Forces unbalanced the situation and promoted the overthrow of Goulart, so their role was essential in the coup. The Intercept reported that the asserted threat of Jango's "guerrillas", the weapons in possession of the Peasant Leagues , and the communist infiltrations into

9167-537: The way in which the political tensions had been controlled in the 1930s and 1940s during the Vargas Era . Vargas' dictatorship and the presidencies of his democratic successors marked different stages of Brazilian populism (1930–1964), an era of economic nationalism, state-guided modernization , and import substitution trade policies. Vargas' policies were intended to foster an autonomous capitalist development in Brazil, by linking industrialization to nationalism ,

9270-467: The ways João Goulart should be put down, and his fears of a communist intervention supported by the Soviets or by Cuba . Washington immediately recognized the new government in 1964, and hailed the coup as one of the "democratic forces" that had allegedly staved off the hand of international communism. American mass media outlets such as Henry Luce 's Time magazine also gave positive remarks about

9373-507: Was elected to the presidency with Médici's approval in 1974, a year after the oil crisis . Geisel was a well-connected army general and former president of Petrobras . There had been intense behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the hard-liners against him, but also by the more moderate supporters of Castelo Branco in his support. Geisel's older brother, Orlando Geisel, was the Minister of Army, and his close ally, general João Batista Figueiredo,

9476-547: Was "obsolete" as the "new institutions" were not foreseen in it. A new constitution was written by a team of lawyers commissioned by Castelo Branco and amended (under the instructions of Castelo Branco himself) by the Minister of Justice, Carlos Medeiros Silva and voted as whole by the Brazilian Parliament (already purged of most opponents of the status quo ). The main features of the new Constitution were: In 1969, this already severely authoritarian document

9579-488: Was a broom, with which he would "sweep away the corruption". In his brief tenure as president, Quadros made moves to resume relations with Socialist countries and approved controversial laws, but without legislative support, he could not follow his agenda. In the last days of August 1961, Quadros tried to break his impasse with Congress by resigning from the presidency, apparently with the intention of being reinstated by popular demand. Quadros' vice president, João Goulart,

9682-543: Was a member of the Brazilian Labour Party and had been active in politics since the Vargas Era. At that time, Brazil's president and vice president were elected from different party tickets. With Quadros' resignation, the high ranking military ministers tried to prevent Goulart, who was on a trip to China, from assuming the presidency, accusing him of being a Communist. The military's actions triggered

9785-690: Was annulled and the Provisional President Getúlio Vargas ruled as a de facto personal dictator , but the state landed elites (who had controlled the Brazilian state ever since independence) struggled to prevent this from continuing. In 1932, in São Paulo , the Constitutionalist Revolution demanded a Constitution. As a result, a Constitutional Assembly was elected and the constitution was promulgated on July 16, 1934, less than four years after

9888-442: Was chief of Médici's military staff. Once in power, Geisel adopted a more moderate stance with regard to political opposition than his predecessor Médici. Although not immediately understood by civilians, Ernesto Geisel's accession signaled a move toward a less oppressive rule. He replaced several regional commanders with trusted officers and labeled his political programs " abertura " (opening) and distensão (decompression), meaning

9991-442: Was dependent on and alternated between the so-called "moderates" (" moderados" ) and "hard-liners" (" linha dura" ) in power. The most aggressive set of repressive measures took place during the period between 1968 and 1978, called the "Years of Lead" ( Anos de Chumbo ). The repressive characteristic of the regime, however, was present in Brazilian society throughout the military rule. The mainstream media, initially cooperating with

10094-465: Was established and in January 1974 general Ernesto Geisel was elected to be the next president. João Goulart's fall worried many citizens. Many students, Marxists, and workers formed groups that opposed military rule. A minority of these adopted direct armed struggle, while most supported political solutions to reverse the mass suspension of human rights in the country. In the first few months after

10197-423: Was intended to consolidate the powers of the president, while substantially limiting the powers and autonomy of Congress and the judiciary. While clearly dictatorial, it was not intended to be completely totalitarian and repressive. It kept most social improvements of the previous constitution, and added more: The right to education , the right to culture preservation and guidelines for family rights , building on

10300-411: Was killed. After the military coup, the new government put forward a series of measures to strengthen its rule and weaken the opposition. The complex structure of the state's repression reached several areas of Brazilian society, and involved the implementation of measures of censorship, persecutions, and violations of human rights. The systematic repression during this period in the Brazilian history

10403-620: Was overseen by the Ministry of Justice, which was in charge of analyzing and revising decisions put forward by the director of the Federal Police department. The ministry was also responsible for establishing guidelines and norms to implement censorship at local levels. Institutionalized censorship affected all areas of communication in Brazilian society: newspaper, television, music, theater, and all industries related to mass communication activities, including marketing companies. Despite

10506-667: Was renamed the Christian Labor Party. In 2016, the party won the affiliation of senator of Alagoas and former president Fernando Collor, who stayed until 2019, when he joined the Republican Party of the Social Order . On 5 October 2021, during an event in Brasilia , it was announced that the party would be renamed Agir . The Superior Electoral Court ratified this decision the next year. In 2023,

10609-418: Was widely amended by a provisional military junta and made even more repressive. The 1969 Amendment is sometimes regarded as a seventh Constitution, because it almost completely rewrote the text of the 1967 document. The new constitutional text brought some extra tools for the regime: From 1979 onward, however, the constitution was gradually purged of its authoritarian character. This process accelerated with

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