Costa e Silva government

Who was Costa e Silva?? Arthur da Costa eSilva was the second president of Brazil during the military dictatorship. He commanded the country between 1967 and 1969.

During his government, demonstrations against the regime became more intense, provoking an increase in the dictatorship's repression of society. In addition, this period was marked by the beginning of the “years of lead”.

Costa e Silva government

According to the Constitution of 1967, the presidential office should be determined by the National Congress, but, in practice, the choice of the president of the country was made through the indication of a name given by the Military Board, that is, it was responsible for appointing the person who would assume the office.

During the government of Costa e Silva, several soldiers held important positions in public administration. At the same time, social movements of unionist and student origin organized demonstrations that took place throughout the country.

The measures taken by the government in the economic sector were:

• Expansion of lines of credit for private companies;
• Performance of the Interministerial Price Commission that regulated prices;
• Regulate wages in the private and public sectors.

Such actions were not well accepted by society. The considerable increase in protests against the regime triggered the establishment of the Institutional Act Number 5 (AI-5). The Costa e Silva government became the main responsible for deepening the mechanisms of repression and control.

AI-5 determined:

• Censorship of artistic manifestations;
• The impossibility of habeas corpus in crimes against National Security;
• Impeding access to public information.

Such repressive attitudes taken by the government ended up pressuring part of the left to demobilize or to assume radicalism.

A sector of the left preferred to join the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), the only party authorized by the military.

The other group on the left decided to take up arms, organizing rural and urban guerrillas, kidnapping politicians, robbing banks and promoting attacks against government institutions.

In return, the government acted to combat the revolutionaries through the Information Operations Detachment – ​​Internal Defense Operations Center (DOI-CODI) and Operation Bandeirante.

Both were responsible for the arrest, torture and death of opponents of the regime. In 1969 Costa e Silva leaves the government due to health problems and in his place comes the Emílio Garrastazu Medici.

Death of Costa e Silva

A Costa e Silva's death in December 1969 was the result of a stroke suffered by him in August of the same year.

Learn more at:

• All the presidents of Brazil and their most outstanding achievements
• Presidents of the Military Dictatorship in Brazil
• What is dictatorship?