A constitutional referendum was held in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

on 6 January 1963. Voters were asked whether they approved of a constitutional amendment made in 1961 that transferred many of the President's powers to the National Congress. The changes were rejected by over 80% of voters.Brazil, 6 January 1963: Parliamentary system
Direct Democracy

Background

Following the resignation of

Jânio Quadros Jânio da Silva Quadros (; January 25, 1917 – February 16, 1992) was a Brazilian lawyer and Politics of Brazil, politician who served as the 22nd president of Brazil from January 31 to August 25, 1961, when he resigned from office. He als ...

on 25 August 1961 and the resistance of the Armed Forces and the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

es to allowing

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Vice-President

João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart (1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on 1 April 1964. He was considered the ...

to take office, a serious crisis developed, which almost resulted in a civil war. Goulart, who had been on an official visit to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, was nearly prevented to return to the country. Due to Goulart's massive popular support, rather than removing Goulart from office, the National Congress proposed an amendment to the 1946 Constitution, changing the form of government from

presidentialism A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

parliamentarianism Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over al ...

, reducing the powers of the President and creating a new post of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. The amendment was enacted in September 2, and the military suspended their veto over Goulart, who took office on Independence Day in 1961. However, the system of government, which had been based on the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

model, did not work well, due to the hurry in which the amendment was approved. The ambitions of Goulart and his rivals

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...

and Carlos Lacerda, both of whom were seeking the Presidency in the forthcoming 1965 elections, also contributed to the failure of parliamentarianism. In less than two years, there were three Prime Ministers;

Tancredo Neves Tancredo de Almeida Neves () (4 March 1910 – 21 April 1985) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and entrepreneur. He served as Minister of Justice and Interior Affairs from 1953 to 1954, Prime Minister from 1961 to 1962, Minister of Financ ...

(1961–1962), Brochado da Rocha (July–September 1962) and

Hermes Lima Hermes Lima (), (22 December 1902 – 10 October 1978) was Brazilian politician who was the Prime Minister of Brazil, jurist, and winner of the 1975 Prêmio Machado de Assis. Political career He originally became an elected federal deputy of ...

(1962–1963).

Result

Voters were asked "Do you approve the Additional Act that institutes the parliamentary system?" ("''Aprova o Ato Adicional que institui o parlamentarismo?''").

Aftermath

Goulart, having achieved full presidential powers, started his Basic Reforms plan (Reformas de Base), which led to a military coup d'état in April 1964.

References

* ''A ditadura militar no Brasil'', ''Volume 3 - Jango: Ascenção e queda'', p. 72,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Caros Amigos Editora, 2007. {{Government of João Goulart Referendums in Brazil 1963 in Brazil

Constitutional referendums