1964 Brazilian coup d'état

Part of the Cold War

Tanks in front of the National Congress patrol the Monumental Axis after the coup d'état.

Date	March 31 – April 1, 1964
Location	Brazil
Result	João Goulart government overthrown; Military Junta assumed power.

Belligerents

Brazilian Government

Brazilian Armed Forces:

Supported by:

United States

Commanders and leaders

João Goulart

Humberto Castelo Branco

Artur da Costa e Silva

Brazilian Armed Forces:

Supported by:

The 1964 Brazilian coup d'état (Portuguese: Golpe de estado no Brasil em 1964 or, more colloquially, Golpe de 64) was a series of events in Brazil, from March 31 to April 1, that led to the overthrow of President João Goulart by part of the Armed Forces, supported by the United States government. The following day, with the military already in control of the country, Congress came in support of the coup and endorsed it by declaring vacant the office of the presidency. The coup put an end to the government of Goulart, also known as Jango, a member of the Brazilian Labour Party, who had been democratically elected Vice President in the same election that led conservative Jânio Quadros, from the National Labour Party and backed by the National Democratic Union to the presidency.

Quadros resigned in 1961, the same year of his inauguration, in a clumsy political maneuver to increase his popularity. According to the constitution then in force, enacted in 1946, Goulart should have automatically replaced Quadros as president, but he was on a diplomatic trip to the People's Republic of China. A moderate nationalist, Goulart was accused of being a communist by right-wing militants, and was unable to take office. After a long negotiation, led mainly by Tancredo Neves, Goulart's supporters and the right-wing reached an agreement under which the parliamentary system would replace the presidential system in the country, where Goulart would be named head of state, and Neves would be named Prime Minister.

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