March 31, 1964
Lucas Garanbini
"Gorillas invade the JB." That was one of the front-page headlines of
Jornal do Brasil
On April 1, 1964. The text, in the style of an editorial, reported that at 8:30 p.m. the day before – when the Military Coup was launched – there was, at the newspaper's door, machine gun in hand, a marine.
And anyone who looked through the windows of the Rádio Jornal do Brasil studios "would have the impression of watching a movie of
gangsters
". There were 4 other marines, commanded by a Lieutenant Arinos, who "moved about hampered by their machine guns" among the employees and the paraphernalia common to a radio studio.
Luiz Orlando Carneiro, head of reporting at JB, asked whose order it was to invade, and received the Lieutenant's answer: – the Minister of the Navy's! Carneiro retorted: – where was the order (in writing)? The lieutenant replied: – the order was verbal!
Then, using one of the newsroom's phones, the officer called an Admiral and, without mentioning the superior's name, said that the building was very large and that they needed reinforcements for the occupation. Immediately, the garrison left three marines on guard and went to get help. Within half an hour, instead of reinforcements, what arrived was the order to withdraw.
The news editorial continued: "who humiliates the brave Marines like this? Who turns them into
gangsters
"and then makes them evacuate, ashamed?" The last paragraph was a direct message to the president who was about to be deposed: "Mr. João Goulart has insulted many people in a very short time. Now, as everything indicates, he has no time left to insult anyone at all."
Image description: The image is a black-and-white newspaper page. On the left side, there is a large, prominent headline reading "JORNAL DO BRASIL." Below it, there is a main text with the headline "Desgovêrno e ilegalidade." On the right, there is a smaller headline reading "COISAS DA POLÍTICA" and a text about "Goulart retoma o diálogo com Almirantado e Câmara." The text is organized in columns, with headings and subheadings in bold. The lettering is clear and easily legible.Página 6 do Jornal do Brasil, edição do dia 31 de março de 1964. Hemeroteca da Biblioteca Nacional.