Diretas Já


Diretas Já was a civil unrest movement which, in 1984, demanded direct presidential elections in Brazil.

Participants of the movement

The movement brought together diverse elements of Brazilian society. Participants came from a broad spectrum of political parties, trade unions, civil, student and journalistic leaderships. Politicians involved included Ulysses Guimarães, Tancredo Neves, André Franco Montoro, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Mário Covas, Teotônio Vilela, José Serra, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Eduardo Suplicy and Leonel Brizola among others. Besides politicians, the movement also included artists such as Milton Nascimento, Fernanda Montenegro, Gilberto Gil, Bruna Lombardi, Fafá de Belém, and Chico Buarque de Holanda. Journalists such as Henfil, Osmar Santos and Eliel Ramos Maurício covered the assemblies for periodicals Diário de Sorocaba and Folha de Itapetininga. Sectors of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as other religions, also supported the movement.

Location of the first public protest

The first public protest for the Diretas occurred in the emancipated town of Abreu e Lima, in Pernambuco, on March 31, 1983. Periodicals of the state of Pernambuco, at the time, organized members of the PMDB party in the city, which were followed by protests in the capital of the state of Goiás, Goiânia, on June 15, 1983, as well as the Charles Miller Plaza, in front of Pacaembu Stadium, on November 27, 1983 in São Paulo.

Economic situation

The growth of the movement coincided with the aggravation of an economic crisis. This led to the mobilization of class entities and unions. The movement linked representatives from diverse political backgrounds under the common cause of direct elections for president. Many pro-status quo politicians, sensitive to their base, had also formed a block of disagreement within "ARENA", the pro-government party, when PDS was founded.
In the following year, the movement gained critical mass and was able to mobilize itself openly. On the anniversary of the city of São Paulo, the first great assembly of the campaign for direct elections for president was made possible by André Franco Montoro, then-governor of São Paulo, on Praça da Sé, a major public square adjacent to the São Paulo Cathedral.
By this time the Military Regime had lost a great deal of prestige with the majority of the population. Low ranking members of the military, with their wages diminished due to inflation, started to voice their discontent to their superiors.
On April 16, shortly before the vote in Congress which would enable direct elections for president, a final demonstration took place in São Paulo. Afraid that the Praça da Sé would prove too small, the Anhangabaú Valley was chosen, where an estimated crowd of over 1.5 million people attended, in what was the largest political demonstration ever seen in Brazil.
During the month of April 1984, then-president Figueiredo increased the censorship on the press and promoted arrests and police violence. Nonetheless, the Diretas Já amendment was voted on April 25, 1984. Despite a vote of 298 in favor, with 65 against, 112 pro-government deputies abstained, leaving the Chamber without a quorum. As a result, the bill died.
Despite the bill's failure, the movement proved to be a catalyst for various opposition forces and a voice for popular discontent. The re-democratization process ended with the return of civil power in 1985 and the approval of a new constitution in 1988, which called for the first direct presidential elections in 1989. Brazil then elected Fernando Collor de Mello, its first democratically elected president since 1961.

Assemblies

This is a partial list in chronological order of the Diretas Já demonstrations:
DateLocationNumber of participantsNotes
March 31, 1983Abreu e Lima, Pernambuco—As the first public event of Diretas Já, the number of participants was not high.
June 15, 1983Goiânia, Goiás5,000It took place on Praça do Bandeirante.
June 26, 1983Teresina, Piauí——
August 12, 1983Pernambuco—It took place on several cities of the state.
November 27, 1983São Paulo, São Paulo15.000On this date, Senator Teotônio Vilela died.
December 9, 1983Ponta Grossa, Paraná1.000—
January 5, 1984Olinda, Pernambuco——
January 12, 1984Curitiba, Paraná40,000This event counted with the participation of Juan Carlos Quintana, an alleged spokesman of Raúl Alfonsín. It was later discovered that he was an agent of the dictatorship infiltrated in order to give the impression that the movement began under international influence.
January 20, 1984Salvador, Bahia15,000—
January 21, 1984Vitória, Espírito Santo10,000—
January 21, 1984Campinas, São Paulo12,000—
January 25, 1984São Paulo, São Paulo300,000It took place on Praça da Sé.
January 26, 1984João Pessoa, Paraíba10,000—
January 27, 1984Olinda, Pernambuco30,000—
January 29, 1984Maceió, Alagoas20.000It took place on Praia da Pajuçara.
February 16, 1984Belém, Pará60,000—
February 16, 1984Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro60,000It was the first parade of the Diretas, going from Candelária to Cinelândia.
February 17, 1984Recife, Pernambuco12,000A parade took place.
February 18, 1984Manaus, Amazonas6,000—
February 19, 1984Capão da Canoa, Rio Grande do Sul50,000A parade took place.
February 19, 1984Osasco, São Paulo25,000—
February 19, 1984Rio Branco, Acre7,000—
February 20, 1984Cuiabá, Mato Grosso15,000—
February 24, 1984Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais300,000—
February 26, 1984São Paulo—Public events in 300 cities of the state.
February 26, 1984Aracaju, Sergipe30,000—
February 29, 1984Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais30,000—
March 8, 1984Anápolis, Goiás20,000—
March 21, 1984Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro200, 000Another parade from Candelária to Cinelândia takes place.
March 22, 1984Campinas, São Paulo20,000It was only a music concert, without any political speech.
March 23, 1984Uberlândia, Minas Gerais40,000—
March 24, 1984Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul40,000—
March 29, 1984Florianópolis, Santa Catarina20,000It took place outside the same church where four years earlier the Novembrada, a confrontation between the military police and students, occurred.
April 2, 1984Londrina, Paraná50,000—
April 6, 1984Natal, Rio Grande do Norte50,000—
April 7, 1984Petrolina, Pernambuco30,000—
April 10, 1984Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro1,000,000It took place outside the Candelária Church.
April 12, 1984Goiânia, Goiás300,000It took place on Praça do Bandeirante.
April 13, 1984Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul200,000—
April 16, 1984São Paulo, São Paulo1,500,000A parade from Praça da Sé to Vale do Anhangabaú succeeded the event. Up to that date, it was the largest public demonstration in the history of Brazil.