April 2, 1964
Lucas Garanbini
On March 31, 1964, General Olympio Mourão Filho, commander of the 4th Military Region, headquartered in Juiz de Fora, decided to jump the gun on the coup and marched with his troops toward Rio de Janeiro. The plan was a surprise attack to storm the Ministry of War, dodging President João Goulart's military apparatus and speeding up his overthrow. Besides the troops loyal to the president, whose numbers and mobilization strength were unknown to the plotters, Mourão also defied the other conspirators – among them the governors of Minas Gerais and Paulo, who had other plans and another date for taking armed action.
As soon as the news reached the presidency, commanders still loyal to Jango ordered the deployment of troops to confront the general from Minas Gerais. It was all just for show, since what followed was a series of desertions. Those who had orders to stop Mourão's troops ended up joining them. As the general advanced without resistance, gaining followers along the way, the military high command was maneuvering to put what remained of the plan into action, since the coup, premature or not, was already underway.
On April 2nd, Mourão and his soldiers arrived in the city of Rio de Janeiro, marched along Avenida Brasil, and were received by the governor of Guanabara, Carlos Lacerda, who granted them the Maracanã stadium as a settlement base. There they remained for five days, as an occupying force, until the Military Coup was consummated.
Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph showing a military scene. On the left side, two men are standing, one holding a helmet. They are near a military truck. In the center, there is a war tank stopped on railway tracks. On the right, a man is climbing onto an armored vehicle. In the background, there is a hill covered in vegetation.Tanque e caminhão da 4ª Região Militar a caminho do Rio
. 31 de março de 1964. Fundo Correio da Manhã/Arquivo Nacional.