Brazilian Military Junta
| Term of office: | August 31, 1969 – October 30, 1969 |
|---|---|
| Predecessor: | Artur da Costa e Silva |
| Successor: | Emílio Garrastazú Médici |
| Composition: | General Aurélio de Lira Tavares |
| Admiral Augusto Hamann Rademaker Grünewald | |
| Brigadier Márcio de Souza e Mello |
A Military Junta or Junta Militar ruled Brazil from August 31 to October 30, 1969, between the sudden illness of President Artur da Costa e Silva and the swearing-in of Emílio Garrastazu Médici as his successor.
At that time, Brazil was in the peak of a dictatorship, and the military was unwilling to allow civilians to have any real share of power. Pedro Aleixo, Costa e Silva's civilian vice-president, should have become acting president under the Constitution of 1967, but was prevented from taking office. The Junta was composed of the three armed forces ministers: Army Minister General Aurélio de Lira Tavares, Navy Minister Admiral Augusto Hamann Rademaker Grünewald and Air Force Minister Brigadier Márcio de Souza e Mello. They ruled under the provisions of the highly repressive Fifth Institutional Act (AI-5).
In August 1969, Marshal Arthur da Costa e Silva, the President of the Republic, suffered a debilitating episode of cerebral thrombosis. The president's condition was hidden from Vice-President Pedro Aleixo (who should have become acting president under the constitution), from the press and from the Brazilian people for a few days, as the ruling upper echelons of the Armed Forces decided what to do about the crisis. On August 31, 1969, the three armed forces ministers seized executive power, with the approval of the rest of the military elite, and issued the Institutional Act number 12 (AI-12), to formalize the establishment of a Military Junta.
The operative text of AI-12 was preceded by a proclamation to the Brazilian people. The three junta members announced that the President was gravely ill, and that the High Command of the Armed Forces considered that the domestic situation (especially in view of the recess of the National Congress and other measures imposed by AI-5) was incompatible with the transfer of executive authority to a civilian. Accordingly, the leadership of the Government and the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces should be discharged by the Military Ministers themselves, jointly, until the recovery of the President. Accordingly, the AI-12 declared Costa e Silva under "temporary impediment" and established that, during that impediment, the three armed forces ministers would jointly discharge all the powers and duties of the presidency.
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