To be read as a continuation of Part 7; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2025/04/lets-all-go-to-movies-pt7.html
I'm Still Here (2024): Within the discussions surrounding The Oscars 2025 this is, primarily, another movie about the challenges women face in the Entertainment Industry as they age. The title being a response to the way that women used to disappear from the Entertainment Industry the moment they hit 50.
It tells the story of Eunice Paiva at three stages in her life; Aged around 40 in 1970, aged around 67 in 1996 and aged around 85 in 2014. In 1970 the 40 year old Eunice Paiva is played by Fernanda Torres, an actress nearly 20 years older than the character at the time. The 59 year old Fernanda Torres also plays Eunice Paiva in 1996 when the actress is nearly 20 years younger than the character. Aged 86 Eunice Paiva is played by Fernanda Montenegro who was born in the same year as the character but now a decade later is playing a character 10 years younger than her. Fernanda Montenegro is Fernanda Torres' Mother. Unlike in The Brutalist (2024) I'm Still Here drew the line at having an actress playing a role old enough to be her own Mother. Instead using her actual Mother.
The movie looks at Eunice Paiva's life at key points following the disappearance of her husband, Rubens Paiva at the hands of the Military Dictatorship which ruled Brazil during the time of The Fifth Brazilian Republic (1964-1985). I've found that in order to understand the Military Dictatorship of The Fifth Brazilian Republic you have to understand Brazil's political history from the time that it was a Portuguese Colony.
Brazil has always had a very rich and diverse population of Aboriginal or Indigenous tribes whose roots have been traced back over 11,000 years. Within Brazil's interior there are still hidden tribes who are only now making contact with the outside world for the first time. However the first Portuguese to discover Brazil was Pedro Álvares Cabral in April 1500. It was the Portuguese who gave Brazil its modern name after finding to be abundant with a species of tree that could be used to make a reddish dye; "Pau-brasilia (Brazilwood)." From the Latin; "Pau" meaning; "Wood" and; "Brasil" meaning "Ember-like glow." A detail that is probably worth remembering at an Awards Season overshadowed by the Wildfires which devastated parts of Los Angeles, such as the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, at the start of January 2025.
Initially The Portuguese Empire (1415-1999) had little interest in Colonising Brazil. While it had an abundance of interesting trees you could make dye from The Portuguese Empire saw Brazil's main importance as nothing more than a trade route from Asia. However they realised that they needed to establish some sort of presence there in order to keep the trade route open.
The Portuguese Empire set about establishing that presence by turning to what using modern terminology would be considered the Private Sector. In 1534 it established 15 land parcels, The Captaincies of Brazil, essentially by drawing horizontal lines across Brazil. Private individuals were then able to bid for these land parcels. The winning bidders became the; "Donatário" (Endowed One) or; "Captain" of that parcel of land and were allowed to run it, more or less, as they wished. It was actually The Portuguese Empire which pioneered the use of Slave Labour on Sugar Plantations. Its influence in The Americas diminished as other European Colonial Powers, particularly Britain and The Netherlands, started bringing large numbers of African Slaves to Sugar Plantations in the Caribbean via The Atlantic Slave Trade, rather than using Slaves captured locally.
So you could certainly describe The Captaincies of Brazil as extreme, idealised versions of; "Totalitarian Capitalism" even if they were established slightly before Capitalism as we know it came into being. They could also be likened to the Feudal System in place in Europe in The Middle Ages (5th Century A.D to 15th Century A.D) where the land was owned by the Nobility and the Peasants worked it for the benefit of the landowners. Although in the European Feudal system the land was owned by the Monarch and control of it was divided up between their relatives while The Captaincies of Brazil were donated to private bidders, supposedly on the basis of merit.
Alongside The Oscars the other big event of America's Awards Season is The Super Bowl and its Half-Time Show. This year the Half-Time Show was performed by Kendrick Lamar and SZA. It took a detailed look at the Urban Geography of Los Angeles. How when the US took control of Los Angeles from Mexico at the end of The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) it did so as much with Engineers, Map-Makers and Urban Planners than it did with Infantry and Cavalry. It mapped the area for the first time, dividing it up into land parcels. Many of these land parcels were given away by California Governor and later Senator Leland Stanford. Either to himself or his friends Collis Potter Huntington, Mark Hopkins Jr and Charles Crocker. This was a common practice across America at the time with California's; "Big Four" being just some of the; "Robber Barons" who dominated during America's; "Gilded Age." The era of America's Robber Barons came to an end with The Teapot Dome Scandal (1923-1929). The way that The Captaincies of Brazil were established and run is very similar to the way the Robber Barons of America's Gilded Age operated.
For a variety of reasons the Captaincies of Brazil were not particularly successful. In 1548 the Captaincy of Bahia (Baía de Todos os Santos) was overrun by an indigenous tribe of cannibals who ate the Captain, Francisco Pereira Coutinho, and his settlers. This forced the Portuguese Empire to deploy its troops to Bahia, placing it under the control of a Royal Governor. Bringing the Captaincy of Bahia into what we would now consider the Public Sector and turning it into an example of State-run Totalitarian Capitalism. Eventually this model was extended to all of the Captaincies of Brazil turning them into what would now be considered Federal States. However the culture continued with each State being considered the private fiefdom of its Strongman Captain or; “Gaucho.” Even the Portuguese term; Donatário or; “Endowed One” is dripping with the Machismo toxic masculinity that women still face in the Entertainment Industry.
Brazil’s journey from European Colony to independent nation was also an unusual one. I think that we all know by now that the European Settlers in North America fought a war against their Colonial masters to become an independent nation; The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). European Settlers in Mexico also fought a war against their Colonial masters to become an independent nation; The Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821). While the majority of European Colonies were granted independence after their Colonial masters had bankrupted themselves during The First World War (1914-1918) and The Second World War (1939-1945) and were no longer able to afford Colonies.
In 1808 the Napoleonic Empire of France invaded Portugal, The Peninsular War (1808-1814). This saw the Portuguese King and Royal Court travel to Brazil and establish Brazil as part of the Kingdom of Portugal, rather than a mere Colony of The Portuguese Empire. By all accounts the King, John VI, would have been happy to remain in Brazil and rule his entire kingdom from there for the rest of his life. However by 1821, 12 years after the end of the Peninsula War, the people of Portugal were restless at their King’s absence and demanded his return. King John VI left his son, Pedro, as Prince Regent of Brazil.
The following year Pedro announced Brazil’s succession from the Kingdom of Portugal. Establishing himself as Emperor Pedro I and Brazil as a Constitutional Monarchy. A system of government similar to modern day Britain’s. Where there is a Monarch as Head of State but the running of the country is left to the government. In 1826 King John VI died and Emperor Pedro I’s brother, Miguel I, claimed the Portuguese throne. Intent on maintaining Portugal as an Absolute Monarchy, where the Monarch runs absolutely everything. In 1831 Emperor Pedro I abdicated the Brazilian throne in order to return to Portugal and support his daughter, Maria II, to take back the Portuguese throne and establish Portugal as a Constitutional Monarchy.
Emperor Pedro I abdicated in favour of his son, Emperor Pedro II, who was only 5 years old at the time. When Emperor Pedro II came of age in 1840, at 14 years old, he set about turning Brazil into a Parliamentary Monarchy. In which he was Head of State but the running of the country was left to a government made up of a Parliament, as opposed to a confederacy of Captains or Donatário.
In 1850 Emperor Pedro II’s only son died leaving only his daughters as potential heirs. There was a widespread feeling throughout the country that Brazil’s very macho, misogynistic gaucho cultural would not tolerate a female Monarch. Rather like how some would say that the American Entertainment Industry still won’t tolerate women in positions of power. Like his father Emperor Pedro II never seemed that keen on being Monarch or the idea of a Monarchy, both working throughout their lives to reduce the power of the Monarchy. With the death of his son Emperor Pedro II seemed to give up on the idea of Brazil continuing as any form of Monarchy. The next 40 years were really spent waiting for the current Monarch to die so Brazil could become a Republic. Including by the Monarch himself.
It was really The Portuguese Empire which pioneered the business model of using Slave Labour on Sugar Plantations which came to dominate the Americas during the European Colonial Era. Part of the price that Emperor Pedro I had to pay for British support for Brazil’s succession from the Kingdom of Portugal, alongside trade concessions, was an end to its participation in The Atlantic Slave Trade in 1825. In 1888 Emperor Pedro II went one step further, ending slavery in Brazil entirely. That outraged the Captains or Donatário who were not compensated for what they saw as their property being seized by the Monarch. That added to the outrage that they felt over Emperor Pedro II reducing their power by introducing a Parliamentary system of government. Conversely reformists were outraged that Emperor Pedro II had taken too long to abolish slavery and wasn’t going far enough in reducing the power of the Captains or Donatário.
By 1889 almost all sections of Brazilian society had got fed up with waiting for Emperor Pedro II to die, so Brazil could become a Republic. On November 15th a group of Brazilian military officers led by Deodoro da Fonseca took matters into their own hands. Staging a Coup d'état; The Coup of 1889 or The Coup of the Republic. Enjoying widespread support, even from the Emperor himself The Coup of 1889 was short and bloodless. Deodoro da Fonseca paraded troops through the then capital Rio de Janeiro, deposed the Monarch and its government and proclaimed Brazil to be a Republic. Emperor Pedro II died two years later in exile in France.
The Coup of 1889 established The First Brazilian Republic (1889-1930). It also established the Brazilian Military, particularly the Army, not as servants of the government and people of Brazil but as an integral part of the government of Brazil. What people familiar with nations such as modern Egypt would recognise as a; “Deep State.”
At around 15:30 on 18/7/25 (UK date) there's still a long list of facts and dates to come.
Edited at around 16:55 on 21/7/25 (UK date) to copy & paste;
The initial plan for The Coup of 1889 is that there would be a five year transition period. During which Deodoro da Fonseca would rule with absolute power by Executive Order or Diktat while a new system of government was devised. Due to both domestic and international pressure this; "Republic of the Sword" came to an end after just two years with a new Constitution being adopted in 1891.
In establishing the First Republic Brazil very much tried to emulate the United States. Adopting a system of government where States were given autonomy over their own affairs united under a Federal government. That Federal government was a Constitutional Republic with three branches; Executive, Legislative and Judicial. Essentially a President, a Congress and Courts. The First Brazilian Republic even adopted the Stars & Stripes as its flag. Only with a Green, Gold and Blue colour scheme rather than Red, White and Blue.
Due to the rush Brazil didn't do a particularly good job of establishing itself as a Federation of States within a Constitutional Republic. Unless it was specifically mentioned in the Constitution then all powers remained with the States rather than the weak Federal government. At the time it was common for Europeans to refer to; "The Brazils" rather than; "Brazil." Viewing the States as separate countries all doing their own thing at their own pace rather than parts of a single country. As a result the Captaincy or Donatário system continued, only now known as; "Coronelismo."
The First Brazilian Republic was only ever nominal in its Democracy with voting being limited to only the literate at a time when only 5% of the population was literate. Although there was no law saying that women couldn't vote there was also no law saying that women could vote. So, in practice, women didn't vote. Voting was also not secret meaning that the people who could vote voted for the candidate their local Captain, Donatário or Colonel told them to vote for. If people voted against the way they were told to vote then the results of the vote were simply changed by either the Donatário or the Federal government.
During this time the two wealthiest States or Captaincies in Brazil were São Paolo, which was a centre for Coffee production, and Minas Gerias, which was a centre for Cattle and Dairy farming. So throughout the First Brazilian Republic it was the Donatário of São Paolo and Minas Gerias who chose the government of Brazil, alternating the Presidency between them. An arrangement which was known as; "Café com Leite" or; "Coffee with Milk."
During The First Brazilian Republic the economy remained almost exclusively agricultural, based around Cash Cropping. The Donatário would use their fiefdoms to grow crops like Coffee, Sugar and Rubber which were then sold to the Industrialised World - the European Colonial Powers along with America. Some of the proceeds were used to import small amounts of things like machinery from the Industrialised World.
This changed with the outbreak of The First World War (1914-1918). Initially Brazil tried to remain neutral, continuing to export its Cash Crops to both the Entente Powers; France, Britain, America, Russia etc and the Central Powers; Germany, the Ottoman Empire etc. However with both sides trying to blockade each other Brazil was forced to trade much more with the near-by America. When America joined the Entente Powers Brazil also joined the Entente Powers, earning itself a place at the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920) which resulted in the Treaty of Versailles (1919). Brazil was also forced to shift its economy away from Cash Crop based exports and towards domestic production and consumption. As a result the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century finally arrived in Brazil in the 1920's. Bringing with it the population shift from the country to the city and the conflict between Capital and Labour.
Through the Super Bowl Half-Time Show and The Brutalist (2024) success at The Oscars this year's Awards Season has looked extensively at "Metropolis" (1927). Arguably the most influential movie ever made. Metropolis was made during The Weimar Republic (1918-1933), the Germany which existed between the Paris Peace Conference and Treaty of Versailles and the rise of Nazi Germany, leading to The Second World War (1939-1945). It is all about Urbanisation and the conflict between Capital and Labour which emerged during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century. It was intended as a Communist warning about Fascism fuelled by rising public anger.
During The First World War and the subsequent Interwar period a lot of people decided to get the hell out of Europe. Fleeing to America and The Americas, including Brazil. So this global polarisation between the radical politics of Communism and Fascism most certainly affected Brazil, particularly the Brazilian Military. The Coup of 1889 established the Brazilian Military as a sort of Deep State, an integral part of the Brazilian government rather than servants of the Brazilian government and the Brazilian people. The polarisation between Fascism and Communism lead to a split within the Brazilian military. The officer class supported Fascism while the enlisted ranks, sergeants and below supported Communism.
Industrialisation weakened the Donatário significantly. Ahead of the 1930 Election the Coffee with Milk coalition broke down. The incumbent President Washington Luís from São Paolo announced that his successor would be Júlio Prestes, also from São Paolo. Seeing itself as being robbed of its turn Minas Gerias threw its support behind the Liberal Alliance coalition led by Getúlio Vargas.
Júlio Prestes was declared the winner of the 1930 Election while the Liberal Alliance refused to accept the result. In July 1930 Vargas' running mate, João Pessoa was killed. The Liberal Alliance used the killing as justification to launch a revolution; The Revolution of 1930, to depose Prestes' government and replace it with Vargas. With battles breaking out across Brazil the Brazilian Military intervened to prevent a Civil War. Mounting a Coup d'état to depose Prestes' government and placing Brazil under the rule of a Military Junta; The Pacification Junta. Bringing an end to The First Brazilian Republic. After 10 days The Pacification Junta installed Getúlio Vargas as Head of the Provisional Government and establishing The Second Brazilian Republic (1930-1937).
As Head of the Provisional Government Getúlio Vargas followed Deodoro da Fonseca in ruling by Executive Order of Diktat. One of the first Executive Orders he issued was Decree No. 19.398. This dissolved Brazil's Congress and all of its State Legislatures and Municipal Councils, giving Vargas the power to appoint officials at all levels by Executive Order. It suspended the 1891 Constitution, expect for Habeas Corpus for common crimes and placed Vargas and all members of the Provisional Government above the law and review by the Courts. Essentially suspending the Judicial Branch of the government alongside the Legislative Branch.
By giving himself all power Getúlio Vargas stripped the Donatário of any power. In 1932 the Donatário of Minas Gerias and Rio Grande do Sul, which has backed the Liberal Alliance, along with Paraíba joined forces with São Paolo to launch The Constitutionalist Revolution (1932). First to force Vargas and the Provisional Government to adopt a new Constitution and return to civilian rule or, failing that, overthrow Vargas and the Provisional Government. The Constitutionalist Revolution was defeated in a little under three months.
A new Constitution was adopted in 1934 and Brazil returned to civilian rule with Getúlio Vargas being elected President with a single term ending in 1938. However one of the first acts of Vargas' civilian government was to introduce the so-called; "National Security Law" (Law No.38) which allowed it to suppress opposition under the guise of protecting political and social order. In 1935 the launched the government news/propaganda radio program; "Horo do Brasil (Hour of Brazil)" which later became; "Voz do Brasil (Voice of Brazil)" which continues to be broadcast to this day.
Throughout The Second Brazilian Republic the polarisation between Fascism and Communism which gripped much of the World also affected Brazil. In 1932 Plínio Salgado formed Brazilian Integralist Action (Ação Integralista Brasileira/AIB). Sometimes known as; "Greenshirts" the AIB was Fascist paramilitary organisation in the mould of Benito Mussolini's "Blackshirts" in Italy and Adolf Hitler's "Brownshirts" in Germany. They're said to be particularly similar to Eoin O'Duffy's "Blueshirts" in Ireland. While the Brazilian Communist Party (Partido Comunista Brasileiro/PCB), founded in 1922, grew in strength. In 1935 sergeants of the Brazilian Military who were members of the Brazilian Communist Party, backed by the Soviet Union, staged a short, four day, uprising in Brazil's North-East (Natal, Recife) with some limited support in the capital, Rio de Janeiro. The 1935 Communist Uprising.
At around 17:25 I'll try and finish this list of facts & dates then start analysing it tomorrow.
Edited at around 18:30 on 22/7/25 (UK date) to tidy all of the above and copy & paste;
In response to the 1935 Communist Uprising the Communist Party of Brazil was banned. Getúlio Vargas introduced the National Commission for the Repression of Communism and the National Security Tribunal to suppress opposition under the guise of fighting Communism outside of the normal police and Courts system. In March 1936 Congress was raided and five members of the National Liberation Alliance were arrested.
In December 1935 a 90 day State of Emergency was introduced and renewed five times, suspending the 1934 Constitution. Under Justice Minister Francisco Campos the government of Getúlio Vargas set about drafting a new Constitution. "A Real Pain" (2024) looked at the history of Poland, both as part of Nazi Germany during The Second World War and The Second Polish Republic (1918-1939) that preceded it. The Second Polish Republic being the first Fascist Dictatorship in Europe, before Italy and German. Getúlio Vargas was particularly inspired by Poland's Fascist Dictatorship, to the point that the Constitution it eventually introduced in 1937 often referred to as; "Polaca" or; "The Polish One."
Prior to the 1935 Communist Uprising the Officer class of the Brazilian Military had increasingly embraced Fascism. In the wake of the 1935 Communist Uprising they saw their role within Brazilian politics as defending the nation against Communism and Fascism as the best defence against Communism. Amid a wave of anti-Communist sentiment Getúlio Vargas saw a way to stay in power beyond 1938 and Brazilian Integralist Action saw a way to seize power for the first time.
In 1938 the head of Brazilian Integralist Action, Plínio Salgado, instructed his Chief-of-Staff, Olímpio Mourão Filho to devise what became known as; "The Cohen Plan." Borrowing heavily from; "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" (1903) and steeped in the Anti-Semitism of European Fascism this portrayed Communism as a Jewish conspiracy to enslave non-Jews. It then detailed an elaborate plan for this Jewish-Communist conspiracy to seize power in Brazil, rather like the 1935 Communist Uprising. Taking the form of a letter being written by a foreign Jew to Brazilian Communists Mourão signed the plan as; "Béla Kun," a Hungarian Jewish Communist who led the 1919 revolution which established The Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919-1919). This was then changed to the fictional; "Béla Cohen" as; "Cohen" was seen as a more obviously Jewish name.
Olímpio Mourão Filho believed he was being tasked with writing a discussion document. A sort of war-game imagining a scenario so people could discuss and imagine how to respond to the scenario. This is something he detailed in the first chapter of the plan. However the second chapter and only the second chapter was then fraudulently presented as a genuine piece of intelligence, a communication between a foreign Jew and his Brazilian Communist co-conspirators. Being presented as evidence of a real plot this 'letter from Béla Cohen' was widely circulated amongst the Brazilian Military, the Brazilian political class and the general public. In re-printing it the typesetter made a mistake and changed; "Béla Cohen" to simply; "Cohen."
Getúlio Vargas used the Cohen Plan to convince Brazil's Congress to go beyond a State of Emergency and declare a State of War on October 1st 1937 (1/10/1937). This cancelled the scheduled 1938 Election and gave Vargas absolute power over all of Brazil's Military and Police Forces. Due to the Donátario culture Brazil's State Police Forces have always been heavily militarized. It was only an agreement from The First Brazilian Republic which prevented them from having heavy artillery. On November 10th (10/11/1937) Getúlio Vargas used that absolute power over the police and military to overthrow the Brazilian Congress in a coup d'état. The 1937 Brazilian Coup d'état.
The 1937 Brazilian Coup d'état brought an end to The Second Brazilian Republic and ushered in the start of The Third Brazilian Republic (1937-1945). A Fascist Dictatorship Getúlio Vargas named The Third Brazilian Republic the; "Estado Novo (New State)." Copying the Fascist Dictatorship which had been established in Portugal in 1926. People talk about the end of The Second World War bringing about the defeat of Fascism in Europe. Yet rather like how they find it convenient to forget that Poland was the first Fascist Dictatorship in Europe they also seem to find it convenient to forget that Spain remained as a Fascist Dictatorship until 1975. While Portugal was a Fascist Dictatorship until 1974, when Marcelo Caetano was deposed with a little bit of help from ABBA and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Inspired by and modelled on European Fascist Dictatorships Brazil's Estado Novo would have been a natural ally from the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy during The Second World War. However Getúlio Vargas was driven only by his desire for power rather than any wider ideology. His alignment with Brazilian Integralist Action was merely a marriage of convenience. Following a failed Brazilian Integralist Action coup attempt against him in 1938 Vargas probably felt that a closer alliance with European Fascists would bring an end to his regime. The Second Polish Republic certainly wasn't opposed to accepting German Nazism, merely having to accept a German leader. Also Estado Novo came into being due to Vargas' fear that he lacked popular support ahead of the cancelled 1938 Election. There were certainly plenty of Brazilians who were more sympathetic to Europe's non-Fascists and Soviet Russia than they were to Vargas and Brazilian Integralist Action.
On December 7th 1941 (7/12/1941) Japan attacked America at the Pearl Harbour naval base. This saw Japan join The Second World War on the side of the Axis Powers and forced America to join The Second World War on the side of the Allied Powers. Japan's rapidly expanding control of South-East Asia saw the Allied Powers cut off from their vital supplies of Rubber. Making them almost wholly dependent on Brazilian Rubber. If Brazil had also joined the Axis Powers then America would have invaded Brazil under; "Plan Rubber." This threat of American invasion along with a huge bribe to build a massive Steel plant saw Brazil's Estado Novo join the Allied Powers in January 1943. The Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF) went on to serve in Italy from 1944 until 1945.
With Brazil having fought Fascism during The Second World War Fascism very much fell out of favour within Brazil following the end of The Second World War on August 15th 1945 (15/8/1945). Many of those who had served as part of the BEF had been conscripted as punishment for political opposition to the Vargas regime. The wider Brazilian Military certainly didn't see heroically serving in the Brazilian Military as a punishment for being anti-Brazilian. So the Brazilian Military deposed Getúlio Vargas in a popular Coup d'état on October 29th 1945 (29/10/1945) bringing an end to The Third Brazilian Republic. At the earliest opportunity an election was held on December 2nd 1945 (2/12/1945) which saw Eurico Gaspar Dutra elected President and the establishment of The Fourth Brazilian Republic (1945-1964).
At around 19:10 on 22/7/25 (UK date) I'm not quite sure when I'll be able to extend this long list of facts and dates.
Edited at around 16:50 on 28/7/25 (UK date) to copy & paste;
As President Dutra brought Brazil much closer to the US. Breaking off diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union and helping the US bring 20+ nations of The Americas together under the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (1948). On paper this so-called; "Rio Pact" is similar to NATO, seeing members guarantee each other's security by viewing an attack on one as an attack on all. In practice though it is just a formalisation of The Monroe Doctrine (1823) - The US views Latin America as its property. The US will view any interference in Latin America as an act of war against the US. In support of the Rio Pact President Dutra established the Superior School of War (ESG) within the Brazilian Military which would come to be very important in subsequent years.
At the time the US was obsessed with Infrastructure Development as a driver for Economic Growth. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" was seen to have lifted the US out of The Great Depression (1929-1945) and into The Second World War. The Second World War gave way to the Marshall Plan or; "Foreign Assistance Act of 1948" to rebuild Europe's war ravaged infrastructure. President Dutra was particularly taken with the US' obsession with the car as king which led the Federal Highways Act of 1956 and saw Los Angeles develop as a patchwork of neighbourhoods linked by Freeways. So Dutra opened Brazil's markets to the US' Big Three Auto companies and built over 500km (300 miles) of Freeways during his five years in office. Including the BR-116 Freeway which he named after himself, Rodovia Presidente Dutra.
At the 1950 Election Getúlio Vargas, the dictator deposed in the 1945 Coup d'état, returned to power as elected President. Vargas' second term was really dominated by trying to convince everyone that he was no longer a dictator and would give up power when his term ended. However he inherited a lot of economic problems from Eurico Gaspar Dutra who had funded much of Infrastructure Development through foreign debt. In response President Vargas undertook a large program of Nationalisation. Taking businesses which had previously been in the Private Sector into the Public Sector. For example he created the Brazilian State Oil Corporation Petrobras in 1953 and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).
On August 5th 1954 (5/8/1954) two members of Getúlio Vargas's personal security team shot and killed Brazilian Air Force Major Rubens Florentino Vaz and wounded anti-Vargas journalist Carlos Lacerda. It is not clear if Vargas authorised the assassination attempt, it's reported that upon hearing about it he said; "Carlos Lacerda was shot in the foot. I was shot twice in the back." However it certainly didn't help convince people that Vargas wasn't a dictator who would give up power when his term ended in 1956. Amid calls for his resignation Vargas declared that he would only leave the Presidential Palace dead. Fearing that the Brazilian Military would again overthrow him on August 24th 1954 (24/8/1954) Vargas committed suicide in the Presidential Palace.
Following Vargas' death Vice President Café Filho took over as President until he suffered a Stroke and had to resign on November 8th 1955 (8/11/1955). Filho was replaced by Speaker of the Lower House of Congress Carlos Luz. Brazil's 1955 Election had been held in October and at the time of Carlos Luz taking over the Presidency the results were hotly contested. Amid fears that he would overturn the Election results and establish another dictatorship the Brazilian Military removed Carlos Luz as President on November 11th 1955 (11/11/1955). The Preventative Coup of November 11th. Vice President of the Upper House of Congress Nereu Ramos became interim President until the new President was inaugurated in January 1956.
The new President Juscelino Kubitschek had been elected on a mandate of; "Fifty Years of Progress in Five!" Upon taking office he laid out his; "Plano de Metas" establishing 30 development goals across 6 areas such as Energy and Transportation. As with President Dutra President Kubitschek saw the US model of Infrastructure Development as key to Economic Development with the car as king. It was President Kubitschek who ordered the building of Brasília, Brazil's new and current capital. Built in the Modernist style of Oscar Niemeyer Brasília was planned in the Brutalist style by Lúcio Costa. Its key feature is two Freeways intersecting in the shape of a cross.
The US model of Infrastructure Development as key for Economic Development is built around the Public Sector. Both the New Deal and the Marshall Plan were paid for using public money and largely carried out as public works, using State Owned Enterprises (SOE's) similar to Petrobras. Again as with President Dutra President Kubitschek instead made the Private Sector central to his program of Infrastructure Development. Ironically one of the main reasons Carlos Luz gave for trying to stop Kubitschek from becoming President was that he was secretly a Communist. An economic system which excludes the Private Sector entirely.
Alongside foreign loans President Kubitschek massively loosened the rules of foreign investment, offering land grants, tax breaks and profit remittances for foreign companies willing to invest. However these incentives were dependent on the foreign investors finding Brazilian partners (associated capital). As the predominately American foreign Multinationals were much larger than their Brazilian counterparts they simply absorbed the Brazilian companies. Reversing the industrialisation Brazil underwent in the 1920's.
So while Brazil's industrial sector grew by some 80% and its GDP by 7% during this period very little of that money stayed in Brazil. Instead being taken out as profits of the predominately American foreign Multinationals (profit remittances). With the Multinationals treating Brazil as a workshop to make things for them to sell in other countries, a sort of industrial cash-cropping, Brazil's domestic market was forced to rely heavily on imports the cost of which massively drove inflation, while wages were stagnating. The result of all this US investment in Brazil was Brazil being forced to accept an absolutely massive US$300m from the US.
President Kubitschek reached his term limit in 1961 and peacefully transferred power to his elected replacement, Jânio Quadros. The first time in Brazil's history that a President peacefully transferred power to an opponent.
Jânio Quadros had been elected by a landslide to undo the economic damage done by Juscelino Kubitschek. In part he set about doing this by distancing Brazil from the US. He re-established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in order to achieve a Neutralist position. Making Brazil an ally of neither the US nor the Soviet Union but, at the same time, an ally to both. However while President Quadros had been elected in a landslide he did not have control of either Houses of Congress meaning that his Presidency stalled amid political deadlock. At the peak of this deadlock, on August 25th 1961 (25/8/1961) Jânio Quadros sensationally resigned. To this day no-one is exactly sure why Jânio Quadros resigned. However there is a large body of opinion that it was a strategic move, part of a cunning plan which failed.
Going all the way back to the Captaincies and Donatário of the Colonial Era Brazilian politics has been dominated by its own form of Popularism, Brazilian Popularism. Policy and Ideology don't matter, all that matters is the personality of the leader and the relationship they have with the masses, typically the poor and disenfranchised. The leader convinces the masses that they're in a sort of conspiratorial relationship with each other, battling the people who are trying to oppress them. That can be the Capitalists, the Communists, the Colonialists, the Deep State, the Military, the Establishment. The slogan and the shared enemy can easily be changed as suits the dear leader. Having been elected in a landslide Quadros was probably thinking that the masses wouldn't stand for their dear leader being forced to resign by the oppressors in Congress.
The Second World War gave way to The Cold War (1945-1990). This saw the Capitalist First World pitted against the Communist Second World. The battle ground was the Third World. Nations which weren't economically developed enough to have any real political system and nations that were only arriving at the Industrialisation that was taking place in Europe around the time of the 1917 Russian Revolution.
When the Cold War began the Capitalist First World was dominant. The Communist Second World was really only made up of Soviet Russia. Then the Capitalist First World took two big, early, losses. First in 1949 when China became part of the Communist Second World. Alongside Soviet Russia this gave the Communist Second World control over all of North-East Asia. The second came in 1959 when Cuba joined the Communist Second World following the revolution led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. This brought the Communist Second World into The Americas, which the US, as leaders of the Capitalist First World, saw as its property. In 1961, under Democrat President John F. Kennedy the US unsuccessfully invaded Cuba in an attempt to return it to the Capitalist First World. The Bay of Pigs Invasion.
So weak was President Quadros' position that even his Vice-President, João Goulart, was from an opposition party. Only July 28th (28/7/1961), around a month before his resignation, Quadros dispatched João Goulart on a trade mission to newly Communist China. Probably the most terrifying place that supporters of the Capitalist First World could imagine at the time. To give you an idea of how long international travel took back then João Goulart didn't actually arrive in China until August 18th (18/8/1961), a week before Quadros resigned.
Knowing how long it would take for Goulart to return from China to replace him Quadros seems to have been thinking that Congress would hesitate in accepting his resignation. Even if they only hesitated for a couple of days over a weekend that would bring his supporters, the masses, out in protest against the dear leader being forced to resign by the Establishment. At the same time the Brazilian Military would be so worried about João Goulart's links to Communism that they would not stand for him becoming President. So Quadros' resignation would not be accepted and he would be able to stay on as President enjoying greater power amid the weakened power of Congress, breaking the political deadlock.
Like Getúlio Vargas before him Jânio Quadros quickly discovered that either Brazilian Popularism wasn't as strong as it used to be or he didn't enjoy as close a relationship with the masses as he thought. They largely did not come out in protest against his resignation. Any attempts at a popular mobilisation certainly weren't helped by Congress not hesitating to accept Quadros' resignation, accepting it in two hours. Seeming to give Jânio Quadros the dubious honour of being a President who resigned by accident.
At around 17:10 on 28/7/25 (UK date) I'll try to continue the long journey to Brazil's 1964 Coup on Wednesday.
