Military dictatorship in Brazil

The military dictatorship in Brazil  was created on 1 April 1964, after 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 military coup was led by José de Magalhães Pinto, Adhemar de Barros, and Carlos Lacerda. They were  then governors of the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Guanabara.

The coup was planned and started by commanders of the Brazilian Army. It had the support of almost all high-ranking members of the military, along with the Catholic Church and anti-communists. It was supported by the State Department of the United States through its embassy in Brasilia.

The dictatorship censored all media, and tortured and exiled dissidents (person who challenges doctrines actively). João Figueiredo became president in March 1979; in the same year he passed the Amnesty Law for political crimes committed for and against the regime. 

Brazil's military government was a model for other military governments in South America and Latin America. In 2014, nearly 30 years after the regime fell, the Brazilian military recognized for the first time the torture and murder of political dissidents. In May 2018, the United States government released a memorandum, written by Henry Kissinger.  It confirmed that the leadership of the Brazilian military regime was fully aware of the killing of dissidents. It is said that 434 people were either confirmed killed or went missing and 20,000 people were tortured during the military dictatorship in Brazil. 

President João Figueiredo eventually pushed the country back to democracy and supported the transfer of power to civilian rule. In 1981 the Congress enacted a law on restoration of direct elections of state governors. Tancredo Neves was elected by an electoral college to replace Figueiredo in 1984.

 Related pages 
 Vargas Era

References

Category:20th century in Brazil
Category:Former dictatorships