Jango Page #3

The visit acknowledged the Chinese people's

right to self-determination.

My Chinese friends,

during these last few days

with the Chinese people

and its officials,

I was able to see that this is not the

old China, full of legends and superstitions,

which westerners regard

with a mixture of vague fright

and reverential admiration

for the unknown.

Your country exhibits

a renewed youthfuIness

in and on itself.

In the first contact with your people,

in light of the warm welcome

extended to us,

I feIt like I was being hosted

by an old friend.

Let friendship grow ever closer,

between the People's Republic of China

and the United States of Brazil.

Let the friendship among Asian, African

and Latin-American people grow.

On August 25th, 1961 ,

news of the president's

resignation were everywhere.

Jnio left Braslia and took refuge

at the Cumbica Airbase in So Paulo,

where he awaited the

outcome of the events.

In doubt, one of

his assistants

brought the presidential ribbon.

With the Vice-President abroad,

Congress chairman Ranieri Mazzilli

became interim head of state.

The military ministers tried to avoid

Jango's return and inauguration.

And those that were involved

with the problem of the ongoing

battle in Brazil,

were against Jango's ascension,

even though we were not

against Jango himself,

but against the men that surrounded him

and that were leading him

into adopting a leftist standing

that was not what we wanted.

And it is important to note:

at that point, a revolutionary war

was underway in Brazil

urging a peaceful

take over of power.

And that was what we wanted

to avoid in Brazil.

We did not want BraziI to follow

in the steps of the Czech-Slovak republic.

My first gesture was to offer

guarantees to president Jnio Quadros,

because we believed, at first,

that he had been the victim of a coup.

Finally, we were able to get in contact,

via the journalist Castello Branco,

with the Cumbica airbase, in So Paulo.

And president Quadros told me

that he had actually resigned.

From then on, we protested

incessantly.

for the inauguration of the Vice-President.

I took all actions that

were incumbent on the state

in terms of mobilization

so as to ensure public order.

I got in touch with the

3rd Army Commander

and said that, in view of the situation,

which I was also aware of,

the State had to take all actions

to ensure pubic order.

And that, according to the Constitution,

only if we were unable to

ensure public order,

would we request help and protection

from the federal forces.

He agreed and I took all actions.

We mobilized all available

weapons

and got ready for resistance.

And we feIt that the entire country was closed.

All other states

accepted the military counciI rule,

except for governor Mauro Borges.

Here in Rio de Janeiro, governor

Lacerda gave repression a free rein.

In So Paulo, governor

Carvalho Pinto was also absent

and repression ensued.

The same happened in Minas.

And I sought to contact all

Generals and military chiefs

that I could, directly or indirectly.

It was, in fact, at that time that I had a

very harsh conversation

with General Costa e Silva,

the commander of the 4th Army in Recife.

I'll tell you, in summary, that it

was a very spontaneous movement,

a very natural movement, that got stronger;

we attempted to use

all available means,

especially the media,

which was our salvation.

We were able to bring information

not only to the public opinion

of the state and country,

I mean, we essentially

won that fight

via a public-opinion battle,

but also we managed

to inform the military themselves,

to a point when the military council

that took over the government

sent an order to a

military unit to go against the south

and it was the officers themselves

who met and refused to follow the order.

When I was its president, the National Union

of Students (UNE) called a national strike

and students were widely mobilized.

The Union's board decided

to relocate its headquarters

to Rio Grande do Sul, where,

together with the people

of Rio Grande do SuI and of Brazil,

they could take part

in the campaign for legality.

I had the opportunity to

talk to Brazilian university students

throught the chain of legality

and to take part in the entire

mobilization process of the population

to oppose the military coup

against president Joo Goulart.

The people in the streets,

the resistance in the South,

the split in the armed forces,

gave back to the national congress

the controI over the political process.

this time politicians were

not discussing Jango's unseating,

but rather his inauguration.

Legality was reestablished

with a compromise.

The congress approved the

parliamentary amendment.

In the course of the voting

process, some were still undecided.

In his journey back, Joo

Goulart exhibited aptitude and patience.

Upon hearing of the resignation,

he returned immediately to Brazil

through the longest route:

Paris, New York,

Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

The Pacific Route.

From the balcony of Piratini palace

he saluted the crowd calling his name.

Upon arriving in Braslia, politicians

and military officers celebrated

the peacefuI solution to the crisis.

Even those who had

sided with a military veto

welcomed the new president.

The Colonels of '54 were split.

ColoneI Antnio Carlos Muricy

was forced to leave his position

in Rio Grande do Sul

due to his opposition to Brizola.

General Golbery, frustrated

with Jnio's resignation,

left the army to set up lPES.

General Ernesto Geisel,

the military commander of Planalto,

aborted the " Mosquito Operation" , that

had been devised by the FAB officers,

to bring down the plane that

was flying Jango back to Braslia.

On September 7th, 1961 ,

Jango was inaugurated as president

and announced that his administration

intended to be the marker

of a new independence of Brazil.

Political parties, congressmen,

everybody knows that,

due to my very nature,

I tend to bring together

and not to set apart,

I'm a peacemaker, not an instigator,

I prefer to harmonize

rather than stimulate resentment.

We shall promote internal peace,

peace with dignity,

peace leading to the safety

of our institutions,

ensuring our democratic rights,

the permanent observance of the

will of the people

and the inviolability

of the national sovereignty.

Congressman Ranieri Mazzilli of PSB

returned the presidential ribbon

to Joo Goulart.

However, the president would still

be under the rule of PSB

during the new regime.

The first parliamentary cabinet

was moderate and followed the style

of Prime Minister Tancredo Neves.

UDN and the Christian Democratic Party

made up the conciliation cabinet.

President Goulart's PTB

was in the minority.

Pressure from the population

would be used

to change the cadence

of ministerial decision-making.

The government met old

nationalist claims.

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