Everything about Diretas J totally explained
Diretas Já was a civil movement which, in
1984, demanded direct presidential elections in
Brazil.
Participants of the movement
It 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,
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 city 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 (with an annual inflation of 239%,in
1983). 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 (
January 25), the first great assembly of the campaign for direct elections for president was made possible by
Franco Montoro, then-governor of São Paulo, on
Praça da Sé, a major square in downtown São Paulo.
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,
Anhagabaú 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 of
1984, then-president Figueiredo promoted the so-called
Pacote de Abril (
April Package), increasing the
censorship on the
press and promoting arrests and police violence. Nonetheless, the
Diretas Já amendment (known as
Dante de Oliveira law, after its author) was voted on
April 25 1984. Despite a vote of 298 in favor, with 65 against, the abstention of 112 pro-government deputies forced the rejection of the bill due to a lack of
quorum.
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. Brasil elected its first democratic president, the
right-wing candidate
Fernando Collor de Mello.
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