the shadow of the military dictatorship

In the presidential race between Bolsonaro and Lula in Brazil, the memory of the military dictatorship takes center stage. It all started in 1964, the year Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz launched their worldwide success The Girl From Ipanema. In Brazil, Marshal Castelo Branco installs his authoritarian regime, on the pretext of fighting against communist subversion. Like Bolsonaro, he is a supporter of order, and of faith. The dictatorship enjoys a moment of growth but its performance ends up being mediocre. Poverty is exploding. Concessions must be made and power returned to civilians in 1985.

Conversely, many members of the Workers’ Party, created by Lula in 1980, are opponents of the dictatorship, like Olivio Dutra, a trade unionist, imprisoned after a major strike. He later became mayor of Porto Alegre and then minister, when Lula was elected president in 2003. For them, the heart is the fight against poverty.

>> Between Lula and Bolsonaro, a debate at loggerheads to end the campaign

These two visions are radically opposed and divide Brazil. Lula is given the winner by the polls, but the latter have often been wrong. The historian must therefore note the break and point out the risk it poses to the history of Brazilian democracy.