1945-1964 since 1985







Brazil, 1964-1985



Administration . Following a military coup d'etat in 1964, the presidency was held by Humberto de Alencar Castello Branco 1964-1967, by Artur da Costa e Silva 1967-1969, by Emilio Garrastazu Medici 1969-1974, by Ernesto Geisel 1974-1979, by Joao Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo 1979-1985. Despite being classified as a military dictatorship between 1964 and 1985, presidential elections were held in Brazil in 1964, 1966, 1969, 1974, 1978 and 1985, parliamentary elections in 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978 and 1982. The sixth constitution was adopted in 1967; presidential powers were extended.

Political History . Castello Branco saw himself as a caretaker for ousted president Goulart. He ordered the cleansing of Brazil's military, Congress and state administrations of leftist elements, and oversaw the reorganization of Brazil's politics. In 1965, all political parties were dissolved, in 1967 a new constitution adopted. Brazil experienced leftist urban guerilla actions (Revolutionary Movement 8th October, climax in 1969), which in turn caused the government to take repressive actions, such as the limitation of civil rights in 1968. Construction of the Transamazonica began in 1970. Brazil was a camouflage democracy, the presidency handed over within the military. Political opposition to military rule intensified from 1974 onward; President de Oliveira Figueiredo saw himself as a caretaker, preparing the return to parliamentary democracy.

Foreign Policy . The Anti-Communist policy of the early military administration earned Brazil the support of the U.S. In consequence of the oil crisis of 1973, Brazil moved toward more distance from hitherto close Israel. In 1974, Brazil and the PR China established diplomatic relations.

The Economy . Brazil pursued the long-term policies of (a) industrialization in order to reduce the dependence of the country on imports (agreement with the FRG to build nuclear power plants in Brazil, 1975) and (b) to tap into the country's vast natural resources (construction of the Transamazonica, from 1970 onward).
The policy of cleansing military, congress and bureaucracy of leftist elements, and subsequent guerilla warfare, disrupted the economy; the First Oil Crisis of 1973 greatly affected the country's economy. The annual inflation rate ranged from 20 to 30 % in 1964-1979, then accelerated to reach 180 % in 1984, 200 % in 1985 (IHS pp.713-714). The situation was caused not only by increased prices for Brazil's import products, most notably oil, but also by a decrease in prices for the country's traditional export products. Rising interest rates (Reagonomics) caused the country to spend more on debt service, accelerating inflation in the mid-1980es. In 1967, the currency was reformed ; 1 New Cruzeiro was valid 1,000 (old) Cruzeiros.
Brazil produced 1.04 million metric tons of coffee in 1964, 1.91 million metric tons in 1985 (IHS pp.222-223), 4 million metric tons of sugar in 1964, 8.2 million in 1985 (IHS p.198), 643,000 metric tons of wheat in 1964, 4.3 million in 1985 (IHS p.182), 7.5 million metric tons of rice in 1964, 10.3 million in 1985 (IHS p.182), 2.0 million metric tons of meat in 1964, 3.0 million in 1985 (IHS p.273).
The number of passenger cars on Brazil's roads rose from 1.1 million in 1964 to 9.5 million in 1985 (IHS p.597).

A banknote over 1000 Cruzeiros, overprinted 1 New Cruzeiro, Brazil 1967.

Courtesy Ron Wise, whose World Paper Money, webpage offers an extensive collection of 20th century paper money.


Social History . In 1964, Brazil hat 78.4 million inhabitants, in 1985 135.5 million (Lahmeyer).

Cultural History . Brazilian athletes participated in the Summer Olympics of Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968, München 1972, Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984. In 1970 Brazil won the soccer world cup, the national team lead by Pele.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Articles History of Brazil 1964-1985, Joao Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, Ernesto Geisel, Emilio Garrastazu Medici, Brazilian Military Junta, Artur da Costa e Silva, Humberto de Alencar Castello Branco, 1964 Brazilian Coup d'Etat, Elections in Brazil, Constitution of Brazil, Revolutionary Movement 8th October, Brazil at the 1964 Summer Olympics, Brazil at the 1968 Summer Olympics, Brazil at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Brazil at the 1976 Summer Olympics, Brazil at the 1980 Summer Olympics, Brazil at the 1984 Summer Olympics, from Wikipedia
DOCUMENTS Historical Population Statistics : Brazil, from Population Statistics, by Jan Lahmeyer
REFERENCE Boris Fausto, A Concise History of Brazil, Cambridge Concise Histories, 1999
IHS : B.R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics : the Americas 1750-2000, NY : Palgrave MacMillan 2003 [G]
Article : Brazil, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1966 pp.157-159, 1967 pp.180-181, 1968 pp.177-179, 1969 pp.178-180, 1970 pp.177-179, 1971 pp.172-173, 1972 pp.157-158, 1973 pp.154-156, 1974 pp.162-164, 1975 pp.146-148, 1976 pp.174-176, 1977 pp.177-179, 1978 pp.230-232, 1979 pp.228-230, 1980 pp.225-226, 1981 pp.223-224, 1982 pp.223-224, 1983 pp.220-222, 1984 pp.216-218, 1985 pp.582-583, 643-644 [G]
Article : Brazil, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1970-1971 pp.767-776, 1973-1974 pp.778-788, 1975-1976 pp.779-788, 1976-1977 pp.786-796, 1978-1979 pp.226-235, 1979-1980 pp.225-235, 1980-1981 pp.226-235, 1981-1982 pp.230-241, 1982-1983 pp.231-242, 1983-1984 pp.228-237, 1984-1985 pp.227-236 [G]
Article : Brazil, in : The World in Figures 1st ed. 1976 pp.114-116, 2nd ed. 1978 pp.114-116, 4th ed. 1984 pp.114-116 [G]
Article : Brazil, in : Americana Annual 1967 pp.127-129, 1968 pp.118-120, 1969 pp.131-133, 1970 pp.133-135, 1971 pp.162-164, 1972 pp.164-166, 395-396, 1973 pp.158-160, 1974 pp.46-57, 146-147, 336, 1975 pp.184-185, 1976 pp.143-144, 1977 pp.135-136, 1978 pp.130-131, 1979 pp.133-135, 1980 pp.143-145, 1981 pp.161-162, 1983 pp.143-144, 1984 pp.148-149 [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on September 20th 2007

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