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This essay was featured in our Conscious Citizens Dispatch #42. Click here to read the full newsletter!
In 1964, Brazil's military seized power in a coup, overthrowing left-wing President João Goulart, establishing a military dictatorship that would last over two decades. By the late 1970s, Brazil’s economy was in crisis with inflation reaching 230% and foreign debt over $100 billion. It was in this climate that, in 1983, popular resistance to the dictatorship grew and a mass movement called Diretas Já ("Direct Elections Now") gained traction demanding the right to vote for president. Among this instability, a local football club (”soccer” for Americans reading) became a model for the type of democracy Brazilians wanted.
