The film traces the life of João Goulart, 24th President of Brazil, who was deposed by a military-led coup on March 31, 1964 after he proposed a broad program of reforms in areas such as land, education and elections. Goulart was popularly known as "Jango", therefore the title of the film, released exactly 20 years after the coup. Goulart's life is reproduced through archive footage and interviews with important political icons such as Afonso Arinos, Leonel Brizola, Celso Furtado, Frei Betto and Magalhães Pinto, among others. The film was promoted under the suggestive tagline "Como, quando e por que se derruba um presidente" ("How, when and why a President is overthrown").