The story in brief
A million and a half people take to the streets for the right to vote for president, and the amendment loses by 22 votes. The man chosen by the electoral college dies without taking office, an Assembly writes the “Citizen Constitution”, the first president elected in 29 years is impeached, and a currency that did not exist ends inflation.
The chapters
-
Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free
Diretas Já
A million and a half people ask for one thing. They are 22 votes short.
Sources: Dante de Oliveira amendment (1983); Federal Senate
-
Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free
Tancredo
He won the election. The inauguration was twelve hours away.
Sources: Law 7,465 (1986); Federal Senate, Arquivo S
-
Chapter 3 · 5 min
The Citizen Constitution
A man spends 9,000 hours in a chair. At the end, he raises a book.
Sources: Constitution of 1988; Ulysses Guimarães’s speech
-
Chapter 4 · 5 min
The Painted Faces
For the first time in 29 years, Brazil chooses its president. Three years later, it takes to the streets to remove him.
Sources: Provisional Measure 168 (1990); Chamber of Deputies
-
Chapter 5 · 5 min
The Real
A currency nobody can hold becomes the real money.
Sources: Law 8,880 of 27 May 1994; IBGE, consumer prices of 1994
Who’s who
The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.
- Dante de OliveiraEngineer from Cuiabá · Deputy at 31 · Author of the amendment
- Tancredo NevesGetúlio’s minister · Prime minister · President-elect
- Mário CovasPurged by AI-5 · Leader in the Constituent Assembly · Parliamentarist
- Cara-pintadaStudent · First vote in 1989 · In the streets in 1992
- Itamar FrancoEngineer from Juiz de Fora · The vice who took over · President of the real
- Ulysses GuimarãesMr. Direct Elections · President of the Constituent Assembly · Citizen Constitution
What you’ll be able to tell
This story belongs to the journey “The Twentieth Century”. By the end of it, you can tell why Vargas left the presidency “to enter history”, and how the Real ended a decade of runaway prices.
Stories in this journey
- Getúlio Vargas: Into History
- JK: Brasília
- 1964: The Years of Lead
- Diretas Já: From the Streets to the Real
Sources
- Dante de Oliveira amendment (PEC 5/1983)
- Law 7,465 (1986)
- Constitution of 1988
- Ulysses Guimarães, speech of 5 October 1988
- Provisional Measure 168 (1990)
- Law 8,880 (1994)
- IBGE, IPCA
