Brazil's Military Dictatorship

On March 31^st, 1964, fearing that Communism was growing at an alarming rate under the rule of Brazilian President Goulhart, the military of Brazil staged a coup against their government and seized control over the country, ousting Goulhart and forcing him to flee to Uruguay. The military government placed into power five different presidents over the next twenty years and put into place the Institutional Acts to increase their power and assist in the fight against Communism. These acts included actions such as banning welfare and other social services, ending elections of governors and mayors, and outlawing virtually any form of civil rights. Unlike other Latin America Military states, one is able to see Brazil maintained a certain degree of democracy, or at least the idea of it, by still having the position of a president, but during the military's rule one can't really say that the presidents weren't anything more than dictators placed into the role by the military. Just like the military, these presidents were vehemently anti-communist and anti-socialist, and changed the Populist reforms in the country that could be seen as related to those ideologies. The military had also assumed control over the labor unions and farmer organizations in the country, helping to reduce opposition to their changes in social welfare significantly. Overall, the political instability that followed Vargas' suicide was a leading factor in the military's ability to take control as it allowed the military to begin to assert its power over government institutions in a manner that could be referred to as more gradual than other Latin American military regimes. The military's failure to actually help the country, their acute ability to make things worse, and the fact that revolutions were no longer a real threat made it to where the military finally began to transition their power to the civilians from 1979 to 1985 with the final military president Joan Figuerido.  

Brazil's Military Dictatorship

Brazil's military dictatorship happened right after Vargas's suicide which caused political instability since it had created a revolving door of leadership. In March 1964 , the military seized power and had installed five presidents for the next 20 years. The military then imposed the Institutional Acts which led to the end of presidential and state elections as well as reduces democracy, and increases the presidents power. It also led to end the of civil rights and tightened censorship. The cause of this was to stop the spreading of communism in Brazil. The military dictatorship ended when the nation was safe from revolution and when the country's povert, social justice, iliteracy, poor healthcare, and regional disparity became worse.

Military Control In Bolivia

After The Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR) of 1952 in Bolivia Victor Paz Estenssoro took over the presidency. The Nationalist Revolutionary Movement came into power shortly after the movement. The Nationalist Revolutionary Movement consisted of miners, farmers, and the middle class. Victor Paz Estenssoro was the a populist leader. As common under populist leadership, the people soon became unhappy with the way things were going after a while. They were no longer recieving the benefits and equalities that they were once promised. In 1964 Victor Paz Estenssoro was re-elected despite the Bolivian citizen's discontent. Soon after Victor Paz Estenssoro's re election tensions began the emerge and steaadilty rise. The armed forces feared a Cuban style revolution. This one, originating from the Andes mountains. The people were not controlable under Victor Paz Estenssoro's leadership. So, the Bolivian military removed him from power. Throughout the 1960s the military remained in power. The military focused heavily on retaining order within Bolivia as well as atemmpting to make other small improvements and changes. During this time and process the infamous "Che"was captured along with some of his followers  while unsuccessfully attempting to rekindle a revolution in the mountains. Through the 1970s the military leadership was able to significantly grow the economy. After a period of unrest from the people and repression from the military in response, the power was once again placed in the hands of the citizens in 1982.

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Bolivia-history.htm

Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic

A rebel group in the Dominican Republic planned to overthrow president Horacio Vasquez because he decided that he wanted to ignore the constitution and extend his term. General Rafael Trujillo chose not to fight and held his troops back, instead waiting for the right moment. After Vasquez was forced out of office, Trujillo made himself a new presidential candidate. He even threw together a secret group of police for the people who opposed of him to be tortured and killed which only resulted in him winning the elections by force; he was a brutal dictator before he was even elected president. Trujillo apparently "gave" his presidency over to his brother in 1952, 1957, and to Joaquin Balaguer in 1960, but he still kept ultimate control over the country for about 31 years. He was very harsh to Haitians, because he did not want them darkening the skin color of Dominicans. He placed a massacre on over 20,000 Haitians because they were reported to have been stealing Dominican crops. Trujillo had sent out people to assassinate President Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela when he realized that the Venezuelan president had sponsored a quiet plot to get rid of Trujillo. The attempt was a failure. It offended the people of the Organization of American States, so they decided to put economic sanctions on the Dominican Republic. Trujillo was shot down by seven assassins who were also a part of his military on May 30, 1961 which was the end of the Age of Trujillo.

Brazil's Military Government

On April 1, 1964 the army took power and instituted a institutional act to persecute anybody who posed a potential threat to the regime. That was the start of the Brazilian military regime, which lasted until 1985. The very first president of the military regime was Castelo Blanco who ruled until 1967. He put into play the second Institutional Act, he got rid of all political parties. Founded by the military regime ARENA (Alianca Renovedora Nacional) and the MDB (Movimiento Democratico Braseileiro) would be the only political parties in Brazil until 1979. The 20 year military dictatorship was marked by economic growth, fueled by large international loans, the increase of inflation, the dissatisfaction of the people, left-wing guerrilla activities, and the repression of freedom of expression. Despite the repression this was also a period of great cultural growth that saw composers and university professors flourish. unfortunately, many were forced into exile. Protests broke out throughout Brazil, in June of 1968, the 100,000 march took place in the streets of Rio De Janeiro. This was a milestone in the dictatorship but unfortunately enacted Institutional Act 5, further restricting freedom of the press by requiring prior approval of all media content and inspection by authorized agents. The last military President was Joao Figueiredo, who governed from 1979 to 1985. He oversaw the slow transition from military to civilian rule, promising to make the country a democracy. Political prisoners were freed and six new political parties were formed. Towards the end of the dictatorship, civil society's organized large political rallies to demand direct presidential elections. In 1985, the military peacefully handed over power to civilian president Tancredo Neves, Marking the end of 21 years of military presidents.  

Brazil's Military Gov.

Military Government In Brazil 

After the death of Getulio Vargas in 1954 from committing suicide, there was a revolt in leadership as Juscelino Kubitschek took office in 56-60 then replaced by Joao Goulart until the military arrive and fully took control of Brazil over the next 20 years. 

While the military had control over Brazil, they install 5 different types of president to take control of the office.  During the years of Castelo, he inducted 5 Institutional Acts and three of them were... 

• Institutional Act 1: confirmed 1948 Constitution, canceled presidential elections, and cleans Brazil's corruption. 
• Institutional Act 2: reduced the democracy, regulated candidates to run for office, and that presidents could take control of the Supreme Court. 
• Institutional Act 3: ended election of state governors and city mayors. 

 

Later on in the 1967, Brazil instituted certain types of controls to eliminate the economic issues spreading around the nation. 

 



Juan Bosch

Juan Bosch

During Trujillo's campaign, he organized a secret police force to torture and murder supporters opposing candidate.Trujillo used the disaster as an excuse to impose martial law on all citizens. He also imposed emergency taxes and even seized the bank accounts of his opposition.  Juan Bosch was an anti-Communist reformer, as was common among Social Democrats. He began a land redistribution program and encouraged strengthening the labor movement. Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba six years earlier. Bosch was elected President in February 1963, after the assassination of the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who ruled the Dominican Republic with an iron fist for more than 30 years.  He was the first politician to directly address the peasantry, a heretofore ignored group that gave him an overwhelming majority in the election. Bosch not only appealed to the poor but also cut across class lines to win the favour of the middle class and intellectuals. Bosch faced serious problems at the outset of his term. The military considered that its powers were curtailed. On September 25, 1963, the military deposed Bosch. Two years later his followers staged a rebellion in hopes of returning Bosch to power. The United States, fearful of a communist revolution, sent troops to end the revolt.  Bosch was allowed to return, and he reluctantly agreed to take part in the new elections.His term in office was too short for a judgment of his effectiveness as president, but Bosch’s contribution to his country’s political development was a very big importance. Bosch created a genuine political party, forcing the opposition to do the same and enabling his country to have legitimate representative elections.