Constitutional Amendment of 1969

A Constitutional Amendment of 1969, also known informally as Constitution of 1969, renewed the text of the Constitution of 1967, through Constitutional Amendment No. 1.

The document was enacted on October 17, 1969, during the government of the military man Artur da Costa e Silva.

It was characterized by the institutionalization of Institutional Acts (AI) that caused a hardening of the military regime. This Amendment brought with it the entire constitutional text of the 1967 Constitution.

Historical context

After the enactment of Institutional Act No. 5 (AI-5), considered the most oppressive act of the Military dictatorship, Congress was closed, the mandate of hundreds of politicians was annulled and thousands of people opposing the regime were arrested.

In the midst of a climate of great tension, Costa e Silva suffered a stroke and resigned from the Presidency of the Republic.

According to the law, who should assume the presidency, would be the vice president, the civilian Pedro Aleixo. However, a Military Junta disrespected the Constitution and held the leadership of the country for almost two months.

In the period between August and October 1969, the Constitutional Amendment of 1969 was approved.

It expanded the powers of the President of the Republic and included in the Constitution the following:

• Death penalty;
• banishment penalty;
• Life imprisonment in case of “revolutionary or subversive war”.

See more at:

• Brazil Republic
• Presidents of the Military Dictatorship in Brazil
• Redemocratization of Brazil
• Democracy in Brazil