The Politics of Military Rule in Brazil, 1964-1985

by Skidmore, Thomas E.

• ISBN13: 9780195063165
• ISBN10: 0195063163
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1990-03-08
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The largest and most important country in Latin America, Brazil was the first to succumb to the military coups that struck that region in the 1960s and the early 1970s. In this authoritative study, Thomas E. Skidmore, one of America's leading experts on Latin America and, in particular, on Brazil, offers the first analysis of more than two decades of military rule, from the overthrow of João Goulart in 1964, to the return of democratic civilian government in 1985 with the presidency of José Sarney. A sequel to Skidmore's highly acclaimed Politics in Brazil, 1930-1964 , this volume explores the military rule in depth. Why did the military depose Goulart? What kind of "economic miracle" did their technocrats fashion? Why did General Costa e Silva's attempts to "humanize the Revolution" fail, only to be followed by the most repressive regime of the period? What led Generals Geisel and Golbery to launch the liberalization that led to abertura ? What role did the Brazilian Catholic Church, the most innovative in the Americas, play? How did the military government respond in the early 1980s to galloping inflation and an unpayable foreign debt? Skidmore concludes by examining the early Sarney presidency and the clues it may offer for the future. Will democratic governments be able to meet the demands of urban workers and landless peasants while maintaining economic growth and international competitiveness? Can Brazil at the same time control inflation and service the largest debt in the developing world? Will its political institutions be able to represent effectively an electorate now three times larger than in 1964? What role will the military play in the future? In recent years, many Third World nations--Argentina, the Philippines, and Uruguay, among others--have moved from repressive military regimes to democratic civilian governments. Skidmore's study provides insight into the nature of this transition in Brazil and what it may tell about the fate of democracy in the Third World.

Author Biography

Thomas E. Skidmore is Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Professor of Modern Latin American History and Professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, Emeritus, Brown University. Past president of the Latin American Studies Association, he is the author of many books, including Brazil, The Politics of Military Rule in Brazil, and the co-author of Modern Latin America.
James N. Green is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Brown University.

Table of Contents

The Origins of the 1964 Revolution	p. 3
Castelo Branco: Cleaning House--April 1964-March 1965	p. 18
The Military Take Control	p. 18
The New Government: A UDN-Military Alliance	p. 21
The Purges and the Torture	p. 23
Supporters and Critics	p. 27
Economic Stabilization: A Quasi-Orthodox Approach	p. 29
Wage Policy	p. 33
Convincing the Foreign Lenders and Investors	p. 35
The UDN: A Viable Political Base?	p. 39
Defeat at the Polls and the Hard-Line Reaction	p. 42
Castelo Branco: The Attempt to Institutionalize	p. 46
The Second Institutional Act and Its Political Aftermath	p. 46
Sources of Opposition	p. 49
Dealing with the Succession	p. 51
The UDN and Lacerda Again	p. 53
The Economic Scene in 1966	p. 55
National Security and a New Legal Structure	p. 56
The Economic Record of the Castelo Branco Years	p. 58
Strengthening the Market Economy	p. 60
Castelo Branco's Political Legacy	p. 63
Costa e Silva: The Military Tighten Their Grip	p. 66
A New Cast	p. 66
The New Economic Strategy	p. 68
Politics: Back to "Normal"?	p. 71
From the Broad Front to a Challenge by Students and Workers	p. 73
Arousing the Hardliners	p. 79
The Authoritarian Crackdown	p. 81
The Guerrilla Emerges	p. 84
The Economy: Pragmatism Pays Off	p. 89
A Paralyzed President and a Succession Crisis	p. 93
The U.S.: A Missing Ambassador and Some Second Thoughts	p. 101
Medici: The Authoritarian Face	p. 105
The Personality, Cabinet, and Governing Style of Medici	p. 105
PR in a New Vein	p. 110
Medici and Electoral Politics, 1969-72	p. 112
The Liquidation of the Guerrilla Threat	p. 117
The Uses of Repression	p. 125
The Church: An Opposition Force	p. 135
The Economic Boom and Its Critics	p. 138
Opening the Amazon: Solution for the Northeast?	p. 144
Continued Electoral Manipulation and the Choice of Geisel	p. 149
Human Rights and Brazil-U.S. Relations	p. 154
Taking Stock: What Kind of Regime?	p. 156
Geisel: Toward Abertura	p. 160
The Return of the Castelistas	p. 160
Liberalization from Within?	p. 164
November 1974: An MDB Victory	p. 171
"Decompression" Under Fire	p. 173
New Economic Problems	p. 178
Voices from Civil Society	p. 180
Planalto Problem: How to Win Elections	p. 188
Government Response: The "April Package"	p. 190
A U.S.-Brazil Rift: Nuclear Technology and Human Rights	p. 192
Geisel Subdues the Hard Line	p. 197
The "New Unionism" in Action	p. 204
The Economic Record Since 1974 and Geisel's Legacy	p. 206
Figueiredo: The Twilight of Military Government	p. 210
Complexion of the New Government	p. 211
The 1979 Strikes	p. 212
Delfim Neto Again	p. 215
The Amnesty Issue	p. 217
Reformulating the Parties	p. 219
Another Challenge from Labor	p. 222
Explosion on the Right	p. 227
The Balance of Payments: A New Vulnerability	p. 230
The 1982 Elections	p. 233
The Economy in Deep Recession	p. 236
The Campaign for Direct Presidential Elections	p. 240
PDS Presidential Aspirants	p. 244
The Victory of the Democratic Alliance	p. 250
Economic Turnaround	p. 254
The New Republic: Prospects for Democracy	p. 256
How Much Did Democratization Depend on the Person of Tancredo?	p. 257
How Did the Military React to Democratization?	p. 267
How Did the Democratic Government Deal with the Hard Economic Choices?	p. 273
The Foreign Debt: Temporary Breathing Room	p. 274
Plano Cruzado: A New Response to Inflation	p. 276
Conclusion	p. 283
Did Democratization Include Efforts to Create a More Equal Society?	p. 283
Trends in Social and Economic Indicators Under the Authoritarian Regime	p. 284
Record of the New Regime	p. 288
Urban Labor	p. 289
Agrarian Reform	p. 298
Treatment of Prisoners	p. 302
Postscript: Economic Realities and Political Fallout	p. 303
Notes	p. 311
Index	p. 411
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