Bras. Political Sci. Rev.2019;13(2):e0011.
The Coup within the Coup: An Analysis of Competing Discourses in 1961-1964
Bianca de Freitas Linhares
, Letícia Baron
DOI: 10.1590/1981-3821201900020010
Written by one of Brazil’s leading proponents of Ernesto Laclau’s theory of discourse, ‘1961-1964: The Brazilian Dictatorship in Two Coups’ presents an innovative conception of the events that led up to a dictatorship that lasted 21 years. A Laclauean perspective permeates the entire work. One can appreciate the discourse of the main actors involved – political groups, unions, social and military movements – through solid documentary analysis in which special attention is paid to antagonistic debates that reveal the construction of opponents. In this polished and incisive book, second place-winner of the Brazilian Association of Political Science’s 2018 Victor Nunes Leal Prize, Daniel de Mendonça revisits his doctoral thesis on the interpretation of the discursive battle that took place between political groups in the pre-coup period.
His central argument is that the ‘64-’85 dictatorship was not, contrary to popular belief, the result of ‘only’ one coup. He also argues that the military regime was not the result merely of events in March and April 1964, and that military personnel were not the only actors in them. Mendonça (2017) argues that the Brazilian military dictatorship was the product of two coups orchestrated at different times (the period prior to 1964 being of fundamental importance) that involved not only military personnel but also civilian politicians. He also shows us that these coups were not carried out by unanimous actors.
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