The Military Seizes Power in 1964
The army removes President Joao Goulart and takes control of the country
Quick facts
- Date
- April 1, 1964
- Deposed
- President Joao Goulart (fled to Uruguay)
- Duration of regime
- 1964 to March 1985
- Context
- Cold War fears of communism, economic crisis
What happened
Brazil's Second Republic died in a coup. Amid economic crisis, high inflation, and elite fears of communism, President Joao Goulart, a populist and former labor minister under Vargas, lost the confidence of the military and the coffee and business classes. In late March 1964 the armed forces moved. The Library of Congress country study records that the military moved to secure the country and Goulart fled to Uruguay. The generals took power on April 1, 1964, and would hold it, the country study notes, from 1964 until March 1985, not by original design but because of political struggles within the new regime.
Why it matters
The 1964 coup began a 21-year military dictatorship, part of a wave of Cold War military governments across South America, and it set the pattern of censorship, torture, and disappearances that a later national commission would document. It also ended the democratic experiment begun in 1945 and delayed Brazil's return to civilian rule for a generation.
How we know
Goulart's flight and the military's seizure of the country are documented verbatim in the Library of Congress country study, which also dates the regime from 1964 to March 1985.
Sources
- Library of Congress, Country Studies (Federal Research Division). Brazil: The Second Republic, 1946-64 (Country Studies) · General sourcecountrystudies.us · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Library of Congress, Country Studies (Federal Research Division). Brazil: The Military Republic, 1964-85 (Country Studies) · General sourcecountrystudies.us · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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