Government Ernesto Geisel (1974-1979)

Who was Ernesto Geisel? Ernesto Geisel was a general who held the position of president of Brazil from 1974 to 1979, during the military dictatorship. He was one of the organizers of the 1964 military coup.

The Ernesto Geisel government marked the beginning of the process of political opening in the country.

Main characteristics of the Geisel government

To the main characteristics of the Geisel government they were:

Economy

He created the II National Development Plan (PND), which had the following main objectives:

• Stimulate the production of capital goods;
• Increase the production of inputs considered essential to the industry;
• Maintain high rates of economic growth.

In addition, he invested in the partial substitution of gasoline for alcohol and in the construction of hydroelectric plants.

Geisel took power at a time when rich countries were feeling the shocks of the oil crisis (1973), considerably increasing interest rates on the money they lent.

Even so, he continued to take loans in dollars from foreign banks and in return offered advantages to international investors.

Such action made the Brazilian economy grow stimulated by foreign capital. On the other hand, inflation rose again, as well as the external debt, which increased more than three times.

Politics in the Geisel government

Ernesto Geisel took measures to delay the democratic opening. Repression and torture continued in the State security bodies.

In October 1975, Vladimir Herzog, head of journalism at TV Cultura, is found dead in the Operations and Information Detachment of the Internal Defense Operations Center (DOI-CODI).

The officially published news said that Herzog would have hanged himself. However, it is known that he died in a torture session. Around 10,000 people attended his wake, an episode that became a symbol of resistance to the regime.

Torture continued to occur during Geisel's government, however, the then president showed the beginning of change in the country by allowing the circulation of the news of Herzog's death, showing a loosening in the mechanisms of censorship.

The political opening process for Geisel should be “slow, gradual and safe”. Aiming to delay this process, in 1976 he enacted the Falcão Law, which prohibited political propaganda in the media.

The candidate's election campaign should be with just one photo and a small resume. In 1977, he determined a package of measures known as the April Package which established that:

• The government would choose a third of the senators;
• State governors would continue to be chosen through indirect elections;
• The mandate of President of the Republic would increase from 5 to 6 years.

Such strategies allowed the government to achieve a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate in the 1978 elections. That same year, Geisel extinguished the institutional acts.

Quotes by Ernesto Geisel

See some of quotes by Ernesto Geisel:

It is very pretentious for man to invent that God created him in his image and likeness. Is it possible that God is that bad?

Throughout my life, I've been unhappy.

Our problem was that it lasted so long.

Learn more at:

• All the presidents of Brazil and their most outstanding achievements
• Presidents of the Military Dictatorship in Brazil
• Medici Government