Anna Carolina Viana
On April 8th, a select group of businessmen and military officers met on the 27th floor of the Edifício Avenida Central, on Avenida Rio Branco. It was the headquarters of IPES – the Institute for Research and Social Studies. The meeting had a few central objectives. The first was to confirm the support of IPES's leadership for General Humberto Castello Branco, who was in line to take over the presidency of the Republic. Such alignment was no surprise, since several of the Institute's leading members had conspired alongside the general: Golbery do Couto e Silva, Ernesto Geisel, and Adhemar de Queiroz. Beyond this matter, the meeting also debated economic and political guidelines for the federal administration and possible names for key positions in the new government.
The IPES's involvement in the plotting of the coup was not, however, new: since its founding in 1961, the Institute had held an agenda for reorganizing the State based on the needs of large industrial, financial, and business groups – all of this aligned with international interests. In the political environment of radicalization and uncertainty that had taken hold of Brazil since the early 1960s, the IPES's actions were strategic and paved the way for Jango's fall with effective, appealing propaganda marked by strong anticommunist rhetoric. Thus, the Institute encouraged opposition to the government of the time and championed the need for its overthrow.
The coup's victory confirmed the IPES agenda, which continued to operate: it intervened in the new government's planning structure, economic policy, main agencies, and control of information gathering. In this latter area, the interest was such that it led to the creation, in June 1964, of the National Intelligence Service (SNI), commanded by General Golbery do Couto e Silva.
Image description: The image is a blue poster with white text and illustrations in yellow and black tones. On the left side, it reads "O que é o IPES" (What is IPES) in larger letters. Below, there is an asterisk and the text "Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Sociais" (Institute for Research and Social Studies). In the center, there is an illustration of a silhouette of a map of Brazil, with urban and industrial elements highlighted, such as buildings and bridges.Panfleto institucional “O que é o IPES”
. 1962. Autor desconhecido. Acervo: Fundo IPES/Arquivo Nacional.