Emílio Garrastazu Médici Emílio Garrastazu Médici , ( ; December 4 , 1905 — October 9 , 1985 ) was a Brazilian military leader and politician . His characteristically conservative rule from 1969 to 1974 marked the apex of military - led non - democratic governments in Brazil . Early life . Médici was born in Bagé , Rio Grande do Sul state . From his father ' s side , he was the grandson of Italian immigrants who went to Uruguay and then re - migrated to Brazil . From his mother ' s side he was descended from a Basque family . In the 1920s he entered in the Army where he was steadily promoted , becoming general in 1961 . Médici was a close ally of Marshal Artur da Costa e Silva , who became president of Brazil in 1967 . Also in this year Médici was appointed chief of the National Information Service ( SNI ) . Presidency . Two years later he become commandant of the Third Army and was chosen to become president of Brazil by the Military High Command , succeeding Costa e Silva , who had suffered a stroke . As the president was elected by a legislature dominated by the pro - military National Renewal Alliance Party , his election was a foregone conclusion . Médici took oath on October 30 , 1969 and served until the end of his term , March 15 , 1974 . During his tenure , Médici established a strong military dictatorship , arguably the most repressive of Brazil ' s military regimes . He ruled under a constitution which had been amended a few months earlier to be even more repressive than its predecessor already had been . His regime made liberal use of torture and strict press censorship . During his rule a guerilla movement led by Carlos Marighela and Carlos Lamarca was destroyed and Marighela and Lamarca killed . The Brazilian economy grew rapidly at a rate of 10 % per year during his term . Large construction projects were undertaken , including the Trans - Amazonian highway , the Itaipu Dam and Rio – Niterói bridge . On the other side , the economic growth benefited mainly the richer classes — by the end of 1970 , the official minimum wage went down to US $ 40 / month , and the more than one - third of the Brazilian workforce whose wages were tied to it lost about 50 % of their purchasing power in relation to 1960 levels at the end of Juscelino Kubitscheck administration . Official censorship tightened its grip over the media , and the import of the men ' s magazine s Playboy , Penthouse and Lui , as well as the West German news magazine Der Spiegel , was banned because they offended “ morality and proper behavior ” . Nixon , Allende , and Castro . In 1971 , President Richard Nixon and Médici discussed coordinating their efforts to overthrow Cuba ' s Fidel Castro and Chile ' s Salvador Allende . National security advisor Henry Kissinger ' s account of the December 9 , 1971 , White House visit by Médici was written " for the president ' s file " and classified Top Secret . It was declassified on September 4 , 2008 , and made public in July as part of a State Department publication on U . S . foreign policy . Kissinger ' s memo shows that it was Nixon who raised the subject of Allende during the meeting , asking for Médici ' s views on Chile : " Médici said Allende would be overthrown " . [ Nixon ] then asked whether Médici thought that the Chilean armed forces were capable of overthrowing Allende . Médici replied that he felt that they were , and [ he ] made clear that Brazil was " working towards this end . " The memo notes that Nixon and Médici also discussed whether Cuba should have readmission to the Organization of American States . For his part , Médici noted that Peru was trying to persuade the OAS to consider readmitting Cuba and asked Nixon how they should cooperate to oppose the move . Nixon said he would study the issue and reply to Médici " privately . " The OAS voted to lift sanctions on Cuba in 1974 .