Legality Campaign
The Legality Campaign was a civil and military mobilization in 1961 to ensure the inauguration of João Goulart as President of Brazil, overturning the veto of the Armed Forces' ministers to the legal succession of president Jânio Quadros, who had resigned, to then vice president Goulart. It was led by the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Leonel Brizola, allied with the commander of the 3rd Army, general. The crisis resulted in the adoption of parliamentarism as Brazil's new system of government.
On 25 August 1961, while Goulart was leading a Brazilian trade mission to the People's Republic of China, president Jânio Quadros resigned. Quadros' decision is still not understood, but it was probably a political maneuver to return to the presidency with increased powers, overcoming the political impasse he had with Congress. Quadros expected that, with the rejection to his vice president – elected from a different ticket, due to a peculiarity of the political system at the time – the anti-communist military, which had already rejected Goulart, together with popular pressure, would reverse the resignation. However, the maneuver failed and Quadros left the country. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Ranieri Mazzilli, took his place temporarily, but the real power remained in the hands of the military ministers, marshal, minister of war, vice admiral, minister of the Navy, and air brigadier, minister of the Air Force. Constituting in practice a junta, the three ministers broke the legal order and vetoed the vice president's inauguration, demanding that new elections be held. This veto is characterized as an attempted coup d'état by several historians.
Carlos Lacerda, governor of Guanabara, agreed with the veto, but the ministers did not have enough support in society and the Armed Forces, encountering opposition in demonstrations, strikes and the positions of political figures and organizations. The governors of Goiás,, and Rio Grande do Sul, Leonel Brizola, joined the cause of presidential succession according to the Brazilian Constitution of 1946. Brizola mobilized the population, the Military Brigade of Rio Grande do Sul and radio stations, creating the "Legality Chain" to dominate Brazil's public opinion.
The 3rd Army, headquartered in Porto Alegre, came to the brink of confrontation with the state government, but on 28 August, general Machado Lopes broke with his superiors and turned the powerful land force in the south of the country over to the legalist side. Southern legalists and forces loyal to the military ministers prepared military operations against each other. On one side, troops moved to the southern coast and the northern border of Paraná, and on the other, a land invasion force was formed against the south, the "Cruzeiro Division", and a naval task force headed by the aircraft carrier Minas Gerais. The military was divided, and morale for an invasion against the south was limited. The crisis thus brought the country to the brink of civil war.
Before any confrontations took place, a conciliatory solution was devised: the adoption of parliamentarianism, which would allow Goulart to take office, but with limited powers. Arriving in Brazil via Porto Alegre on 1 September, Goulart's last obstacle was the plan by dissatisfied officers to shoot down his plane as he flew to Brasília,, but he managed to take office on 7 September, completing the campaign's goal. Parliamentarianism was reversed in 1963.
The crisis caused by Jânio Quadros' resignation and the veto to legal succession of João Goulart are among the crises of the Fourth Brazilian Republic that preceded the 1964 coup d'état, along with 1954 and 1955. The 1961 crisis precedes the 1964 coup and is even called its "dress rehearsal".
Background
1960 presidential elections
The last year of Juscelino Kubitschek's government was marked by economic issues, especially rising inflation and unbalanced public spending. These problems were related to the increase in government spending for the implementation of the Target Plan and the construction of Brasília. In 1959, inflation reached 39.5% per year. In the same year, the candidacies for the upcoming 1960 elections emerged. For the Social Democratic Party, and supported by the Brazilian Labor Party, the candidate was general Henrique Lott, who was responsible for the so-called "preventative coup" that ensured Juscelino's inauguration in 1955. For the Social Progressive Party, the candidate was the populist Ademar de Barros, from São Paulo. Jânio Quadros, then governor of São Paulo, ran for the National Labor Party, with the initial support of three small parties: the Liberator Party, the Christian Democratic Party, and the Republican Party.Carlos Lacerda perceived the attractiveness, especially to the middle class, of Jânio's campaign promises, based on the fight against corruption, inflation control, reduction of the cost of living, expenditure restraint and public austerity. Under his influence, the National Democratic Union supported Quadros in order to win the elections – dominated until then by the PSD and PTB. Jânio's anti-politics message, which expressed a deep disdain for traditional politicians, attracted the middle class, tormented by the effects of inflation, who saw in the candidate the incarnation of a energetic manager capable of efficiently commanding the Brazilian economy.
His opponent Lott, although respected, did not generate enthusiasm and alienated the PSD, by proposing the vote for illiterates; and the PTB, by criticizing Cuba and communism. Realizing the candidate's weakness, PSD and PTB bet on the "Jan–Jan" slate: Jânio Quadros for president and João Goulart, of the PTB, for vice-president; the two positions were elected separately. The result was the election of Jânio Quadros, with 5,636,623 votes, and of Goulart, with 4,547,010 votes.
Jânio Quadros' government
Sworn into office in 1961, Jânio Quadros had no majority in Congress and sought no parliamentary support, running the country without a solid political base. He snubbed Congress, which he called a "club of idlers", and provoked politicians, especially from the PSD and PTB, with investigations into scandals involving public money. In response, a congressional commission began investigating the presidential inquiries. The vice president himself appeared in a leaked report of one of the investigations. He retaliated by accusing the government of publishing it for political purposes, and distanced himself from Quadros.The new economic policy sought a painful adjustment program to lay the foundations for future development. Measures such as exchange rate devaluation, spending cuts, credit restriction and withdrawal of import subsidies, the latter leading to a 100% increase in the price of bread and fuel, were bound to be unpopular, but seemed possible with the euphoria of the election. The program pleased the International Monetary Fund, allowing the renegotiation of debts, which had not been possible during Juscelino Kubitschek's government, the foreign creditors, and the Kennedy administration in the United States, which, knowing the fragility of Brazilian finances, wanted to favor Quadros' government to avoid instability and the advance of communism. By August, the influence of developmentalist advisors in the government had begun to weaken the program, but its result was to sharpen the opposition from the left.
At the international level, the so-called was implemented. The PEI was marked by a reformulation of alignment with the U.S., the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with several Eastern European countries, including the Soviet Union, a more favorable attitude towards Cuba, and approchement with Third World countries. Jânio's government also distanced itself from an old ally, Portugal, and began to support the independence of Angola and Mozambique, while criticizing South African apartheid.
If internally the economic policy displeased the left, the independent foreign policy bothered conservative and center sectors. UDN was also irritated, because the government acted without consulting its parliamentary leadership, and to the PEI's aggravation was added Jânio's sympathy to agrarian reform. Carlos Lacerda, now governor of Guanabara, went from being a supporter to a staunch opponent of the government. Congress remained under the control of the PSD and PTB. Attempts to reconcile conflicting interests failed and the president was left politically isolated.
Last days in power
In July, Jânio invited his vice president Goulart to lead a Brazilian mission to the People's Republic of China. The offer, transmitted by Foreign Minister Afonso Arinos, had initially been sent to José Ermírio de Moraes, who declined. Goulart accepted the invitation with suspicion, since he had broken with the president. The entourage left at the end of the month, making stops in Paris and Moscow. Their objectives were commercial, seeking to expand Brazilian markets abroad. In Chinese territory Goulart defended solidarity among Third World countries and praised the Chinese national development, expressing a Third Worldist view. Although previously calculated, the statements were seen in the West as supporting communism.On 18 August, while Goulart was away, Carlos Lacerda sought out the president in Brasília for an urgent meeting: he conveyed his intention to resign from the government of Guanabara in order to deal with the bankruptcy of his newspaper Tribuna da Imprensa. He also conferred with Justice Minister, returning the next morning. On the same day Jânio decorated Che Guevara with the Order of the Southern Cross, Brazil's highest decoration for foreign personalities. The negative reactions, including from Lacerda and the UDN, were many, and officers decorated with the order threatened to return it.
On 22 August, in the TV Excelsior auditorium, in São Paulo, Lacerda declared that he would not resign and accused Jânio of articulating a coup and having invited him to participate., Jânio's secretary, wanted to travel to Rio de Janeiro and accuse Lacerda himself of a coup, so that the next day he would be fired, but neutralizing the governor of Guanabara. As reporters heard the authorization to travel to Rio, the plan became unfeasible. On the night of the 24th, the anniversary of Getúlio Vargas' suicide, Lacerda made a big impact in the media: he accused Jânio of, through the Minister of Justice, having requested his support for a "cabinet coup" to strengthen the Executive branch, possibly involving the military ministers. Lacerda also claimed Horta had requested copies of his articles written after Vargas' suicide, in which he argued for an exceptional regime. The next day Pedroso Horta denied the accusations, also arguing that "if I were conspiring, I would never call to participate in this conspiracy a man who is known as the country's greatest blabbermouth".
On the morning of Friday, 25 August, the president communicated his intention to resign to a few aides, adding that it would be irrevocable, and then to the ministers. Those of War, Navy, and the Air Force asked, without success, that he give up the decision. Odílio Denys, of the Ministry of War, noted the president's prestige within the Brazilian Army, but heard that there would be no turning back. Jânio asked them: "maintain order throughout the country", or, "with this Congress I cannot govern. Organize a junta and run the country". At eleven o'clock Quadros traveled to São Paulo, where some governors also asked him to remain in power, but he stated that the resignation was irrevocable. The resignation letter was read at 15:00 to the astonished congressmen. Deemed a unilateral act, it was accepted within two hours. On 28 August, the now former president left the country for Europe.
Still late in the afternoon of 25 August, in Rio de Janeiro, a small crowd gathered at the bust of Getúlio Vargas in Cinelândia. Calling for the return of Jânio Quadros, they broke the glass windows of the American Embassy and were dispersed by Carlos Lacerda's Military Police. At night, the Tribuna da Imprensa, O Globo and Diário de Notícias were depredated, with shouts against Lacerda and in favor of Jânio Quadros. The Leopoldina Railroad workers started a strike for Jânio's return, which was soon interrupted. However, Janism's capacity for popular mobilization went out of the window, following the reasoning of Castilho Cabral, president of the Jânio Quadros Popular Movement: "we are neither rioters nor the auxiliary line of the communists".