ABSTRACT
In 1964, Brazil anticipated a wave of military interventions in South America, and its own was to become the most durable—twenty-one years. To provide a secure base from which to further accelerate the liberalization in 1979, the government adjourned congress in 1977 and manipulated the electoral system in an effort to stem the opposition tide in the 1978 elections. January 1984 marked the start of a three-month popular campaign to pressure congress, especially Partido Democrático Social (PDS) deputies, to favor the Dante Oliveira amendment calling for "Direct Elections Now." Public rallies under this slogan mobilized millions of people in hundreds of cities to pressure Congress. President Jose Sarney's amendment was rapidly incorporated and passed by congress; this action greatly enhanced Sarney's legitimacy and political initiative because as PDS national president a year earlier he had led opposition to the direct elections amendment.
