I tried posting this in r/explainlikeimfive but they didn’t allow it. I’m curious on things like how and why it happened, key figures, how it was overthrown, what the quality of life was like for the common people during the time (as in, were people very afraid? was it a violent time?). Thanks!
Okay so here is a brief rundown: Key figures: Leaders Humberto Castello Branco, first leader 1964-1967 Artur da Costa e Silva: Leader 1967-1969 Emilo Medici: leader 1969-1974 Ernesto Geisel: leader 1974-1979 João Figueredo: last leader1979-1985
Other prominent people: Coronel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra: He was responsible for tbe secret police and the use of torture in the state Carlos Marighella: Leader of one of the opposition movements, ALN, killed in 1969.
Why it happened:
Much like the other Latin American military dictatorships of the time, it was due to the supposed communist threat. João Goulart, who was the president overthrown, was adopting reforms called “base reforms” but they were seen in the eyes of the military as boderline communist and so they overthrew him.
It was only supposed to last for the duration of the first leader’s time in office, or maybe a bit less I can’t remember exactly. Okay bit more context, the armed forces saw themselves as the supposed saviors of the country and felt this way since the end of the 19th C and the Paraguay War. They wanted to have a prominent role in society from then on and once Castello Branco had power, the hard-liners within the military wanted to stay so they did, for 21 years.
Quality of life:
I am quite biased here. I’m currently doing my masters on the legacy of this regime, so I’d like to think I’m quite knowledgeable on this. So, in my opinion, it was horrible. AI-5 meant that lots of people were tortured and killed. As per the Truth Commission it was around 400 I think, but the official number is unknown, with some people saying it could be in the tens of thousands.
Censorship was also in place and quite intense, but this was really limited.
How it ended:
From Geisel onwards, the “opening” process began, in which the country slowly became more and more democratic. By 1985 Tancredo Neves, the first leader not to represent the armed forces, was elected and military rule ended.
That’s as basic a rundown as I can provide.
If you want to read more I can suggest some literature, but I’ll warn you now that most of it is in Portuguese.
Hope this helps!
If you have anymore questions I’m more than willing to help. I know more about collaboration within the regime and again, I’m currently looking at the legacy of it