Cláudia Cavalieri

Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. In 1964, the United States destroyed Brazilian democracy. João Goulart was the democratically elected president. His crime was a reform agenda: Eradicate illiteracy. Let the poor and the illiterate vote. Force multinationals to reinvest their profits inside Brazil. And redistribute land from the hereditary landlords to the rural poor. Schools. Ballots. Land. Washington called it communism. JFK's first secretly taped Oval Office meeting — ever — was about Brazil. On that tape he asked: "What kind of liaison do we have with the military?" A year later: "We've got to do something about Brazil." Then: "Do you see a situation where we might find it desirable to intervene militarily ourselves?" He ordered American aid strangled to "put the screws" on Goulart. Robert Kennedy flew to Brasília to deliver the ultimatum in person, telling Goulart he could not criticize the United States "and at the same time get 250 million dollars from the United States. He can't have it both ways." American aid was never assistance. It was a leash. The CIA poured millions into opposition parties, newspapers, labor unions and landowner groups. Ambassador Lincoln Gordon drew up contingency plans with "a heavy emphasis on armed intervention." And here is the part that tells you this was never about security. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Goulart served as a secret back channel between Kennedy and Castro, helping prevent nuclear war. Washington overthrew him anyway. JFK was assassinated before he could act. Johnson did not hesitate. Three days before the coup, National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy said: "We should not be worrying that the military will react; we should be worrying that the military will not react." And in the same meeting: "We don't want to watch Brazil dribble down the drain while we stand around waiting for the next election." On March 31, 1964, Johnson gave the order: "I think we ought to take every step that we can, be prepared to do everything that we need to do." The Pentagon launched Operation Brother Sam. The aircraft carrier USS Forrestal, six destroyers, and fuel tankers steamed toward Santos to resupply the coup. Goulart fled to Uruguay. Washington recognized the junta within 48 hours. The aid resumed like clockwork. Over 21 years the dictatorship killed or disappeared 434 people, tortured roughly 20,000, and drove tens of thousands into exile. Brazil did not hold another presidential election for 25 years. Now look at 2026. The hereditary landlord class that Washington armed in 1964 is the same landlord class that funded the Bolsonaro dynasty. Lula wants Brazil's rare earths kept out of Pentagon supply chains. He wants Petrobras to stay public. He wants BRICS to break the dollar's chokehold. So the empire sent the same weapons, updated. Fifty percent tariffs instead of a naval task force. Meta censorship instead of CIA cash. AI disinformation instead of paid newspapers. In 1964 they won. In 2026, 64 million Brazilians voted anyway. The empire never changed its mind about who owns Latin America. Latin America simply stopped asking permission.