How the Brazilian press covered the 1964 military coup

Many ultra-right “intellectuals” have recently stated that the 1964 military coup was a response of the Armed Forces to a popular revolt against an unpopular leader who was driving the country into chaos. That wasn’t remotely the case, though. Polls of the time, which were archived for over 40 years, show that Mr. Goulart’s moves as head of state were backed by 70 percent of Brazilians. If the 1965 election had taken place, 51 percent of voters would give him another term.

But Mr. Goulart lacked support among the business class and the press. According to Luiz Antonio Dias, a history professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) a movement in support of the coup involved all major news outlets of the time, including Folha de S.Paulo, O Estado de S.Paulo, O Globo and Jornal do Brasil.

“It was commonplace...