1964 and the “Military Question”

Abstract

In Brazilian history, the “Military Question” refers to a series of conflicts between Brazilian Army officers and the Monarchy, which was one of the factors that led to the military dictatorship that installed the Republic on 15 November 1889. No coups took place during the Monarchy, unlike what would take place in the majority of Latin American countries in the same period. At the origins of its founding, the military became the creditors and the defenders of the new regime. The became a compulsory reference point in the conflicts, adjustments and changes that took place in the country’s history, sporadically playing the role they took for themselves of safeguarding the destiny of the Brazilian nation. This article addresses the period when the Constitution of 1946 was fully in effect, analysing the political behaviour of officers and the development of a community favourable to a coup, which actually carried one out in 1964.