60 years of Brazil's 1964 coup d'état

Mar 31, 2024 11:28 4 min read (Updated: Apr 09, 2024 7:28)

In March 1964, the world was in the throes of the Cold War, polarized by the United States and the Soviet Union. On the American continent, Cuba had resisted U.S. invasion a few years earlier and subsequently set up a communist regime.

Fear of communism spread throughout the Americas — in some places, for genuine reasons, but in many others, the Red Scare was merely used as a motive for political propaganda. It is nothing new that fear is an effective tool for bringing together different interests and mobilizing the masses.

That’s the story we’re going to tell here. 60 years ago to the day, on March 31, 1964, the Brazilian military, with the support of a significant part of civil society, began mobilizing its troops to carry out a coup.

The democratically elected president, João “Jango” Goulart had been pressured politically and cornered by the military. He didn’t even try to resist his ousting.

And if he had tried, U.S. ships were on their way to the Brazilian coast to offer the global superpower’s symbolic and logistical support to the military coup.

From the next 21 years, five generals succeeded each other in charge of Brazil, in a regime that treated opponents and critics as enemies of the nation. Their motto? Brazil: love it or leave it.

In the first episode of the special series about the Brazilian military dictatorship, to set the ground for the next episodes, we’ll dive into an overview of the Brazilian dictatorship — in its social, economic, and institutional aspects.

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This episode used music from Envato. License codes: Fifty Chevy by SCOREWIZARDS (YZ24TPX), Jazz Bossa Nova by kornevmusic (FE5V5VK), Dystopian Investigative Pulsing Drone by Orchestralis (UNG9LSP), Mysterious Suspenseful Investigative Documentary by lucafrancini (7LB2QQX), A Documentary Background by bdProductions (SN6PXBE), Ambient Productivity by SCOREWIZARDS (NRLF26PT3V), Suspense Documentary Pulsating Drama by music2noise (CS5T58P), Cinematic Ambient Documentary by bdProductions (9VNJTUD), Dark Documentary Soundtrack by Orchestralis (U3FC6WQ), Drama Documentary by cleanmindsounds (K2USYKN), Documentary Background by cleanmindsounds (Y5JM2WD), and International movement by Orchestralis (5D788QQ). Another audios used in this episode: Speech by President João Goulart at the Central do Brasil Rally (13/03/1964)(YouTube), Farewell Remarks to President of Brazil (JFK Library), Audio of the AI5 Meeting (Carlos Fico), Let’s Jangar – João Goulart’s Jingle in 1960 (YouTube), O Guarany – Carlos Gomes (Arquivo Nacional), National Flag Anthem (Palácio do Planalto), Jango’s Interview on TV Tupi in 1961 (YouTube), TV Brasil

In this episode:

Isabela Cruz holds a law degree from the State University of Rio de Janeiro and a master’s degree in social sciences from the Fundação Getulio Vargas. Prior to The Brazilian Report, she covered politics and the judicial system for Nexo.
Carlos Fico is a titular professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He is a Brazilian historian specializing in the History of the Brazilian Republic and History Theory. His studies have been focusing on topics such as civil-military dictatorship in Brazil and Argentina, the 1964 coup, memory, and violence.
Rodrigo Patto Sá Motta is a titular professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He has been a visiting professor at several universities, most notably at l’Institut des Hautes Etudes de l’Amérique Latine (IHEAL Universite Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle) where he held the Simon Bolivar Chair.