MilitarymovementsaroundthePaláciodasLaranjeirasdefendJango

March 31, 1964

Anna Carolina Viana

The afternoon was falling over Rio de Janeiro when dozens of Army Police soldiers arrived at the Palácio das Laranjeiras, the official residence of the President of the Republic in the city. A little earlier that same day, Jango had learned of the movement taking hold of Minas. Suspicious of the barracks revolt, the then-president was weighing what to do together with his ministers. The action of the rebel military led by general Olympio Mourão Filho was, at first, dismissed. However, upon being alerted to the support of the United States for the rebellion, the president grew alarmed. His former Minister of Foreign Affairs, San Tiago Dantas, stated that the U.S. State Department might back the movement in Minas and recognize the existence of another government on Brazil's free territory. With this news, tension took hold of the Palace, which became the stage for the crisis that was setting in. From there, João Goulart needed to be quick and think clearly about his next steps.

Worried but cautious, Jango sent supposedly loyal troops to stop Mourão from advancing on Guanabara. At noon, two columns of military trucks took the Avenida Brasil and headed toward Juiz de Fora. The Howitzer Group's column had 25 vehicles packed with soldiers and cannons. The other, from the Sampaio Regiment, with 22 vehicles, carried the best infantry unit from the Vila Militar.

As the columns marched, the military contingent around the Palácio das Laranjeiras grew larger. There were tanks in the streets, but Jango hesitated: despite the suggestions to bomb Mourão's troops, he did not want to start a civil war. He wanted the insurgents to surrender, but not a conflict of that magnitude. To one such suggestion, Goulart is said to have replied: "Are you going to burn people? No way!". Opening fire on people was, for him, very difficult, perhaps impossible – even if the price was his own removal from office. And that price was not long in coming: when, in the early hours of April 1st, Jango learned that the Sampaio Regiment had joined the rebels, it became clear that defeat was already near.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph showing military movement around the Palácio das Laranjeiras. On the left side, we see a group of soldiers walking to the left. In the center, there is a bus with the number "300" on the rear. On the right, several trucks are parked, some covered with tarps. In the background, there are buildings and trees.