PaláciodaGuanabarabecomesawartimetrench

March 31, 1964

Anna Carolina Viana

No final da tarde, em 31 de março de 1964, a cena avistada em frente ao Palácio da Guanabara had elements reminiscent of a wartime situation: military police officers answered the summons of Carlos Lacerda, at the time Governor of Guanabara, who, surrounded by supporters, was preparing a defense scheme for the seat of government. Lacerda had barricades erected at the entrance to the Palace and ordered street-cleaning trucks to close off the roads leading to the site. At around 6:30 p.m., the Governor of Guanabara entrenched himself inside the palace.

The action was, in fact, more performative than effective: the Palácio was not under attack. It is true that, earlier that day, João Goulart had taken measures in response to the movement of coup-plotting troops that had begun in Juiz de Fora: he ordered military forces loyal to the government to march out and meet the garrisons led by Olympio Mourão Filho in order to stop their advance on Rio. Army police soldiers were sent to surround the Palácio das Laranjeiras, the president's official residence in Rio, where Jango was staying, and to increase its security. However, no troops were directed to the Palácio da Guanabara.

It was a matter of measuring strength against Goulart. As governor, Lacerda had the state of Guanabara's Military Police under his command, and by mobilizing the police force he wanted to assert his prominence as the leading representative of the opposition to the president. Moreover, he had his eye on the 1965 presidential election and believed that, by taking on civilian leadership of the coup movement, he would increase his chances of winning the race for the National Democratic Union (UDN). With the troops leaving Juiz de Fora, it was necessary to stay alert: the party's other option for 1965 was Magalhães Pinto, governor of Minas Gerais, who now had the chance to take the lead in the movement.

But Lacerda didn't hold back either. He managed to raise the climate of belligerence in Rio and draw media attention to himself: even without recruiting volunteers, "hundreds of people, willing to defend the seat of Rio's Executive branch," went to the Palace in support of the Governor — reported Revista Manchete. Despite his support for the coup d'État, the military did not live up to his expectations, and Lacerda did not live to see the country choose a new president of the Republic. Direct elections would only take place 25 years later.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph. In the upper part, we see a group of people in military uniforms, arranged in two rows. In front are soldiers with white helmets and light-colored uniforms, followed by civilians in more formal suits. On the left, there are more soldiers in a saluting position. In the background, we see a group of people in more casual attire, talking among themselves. The lower part of the image shows a staircase with stones and some sacks of material, possibly related to construction or storage.