Birth and Rise of the New Republic: a Brazilian TL

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Dan1988

Dan1988

Looking good so far. :) Will definitely keep an eye on this one. (And at least I finally got an OTL explanation for why Chico Buarque showed up in Lula publicity as shown on Beyond Citizen Kane.) I also am digging that first POD. :) Which just leaves the PSD as the next of the two parties founded by Vargas waiting to be resurrected - if at all.
 
Part 5: The Scowl
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    If you thought the story was getting hot before, be careful, because now it'll start to boil!

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    Part 5: The Scowl
    May 18, 1981
    Senate Chamber, National Congress Building, Brasília, Federative Republic of Brazil

    Senator Pedro Simon was getting impatient. He intended to make a speech to the rest of the Senate, denouncing the slow pace of construction of some infrastructure works in his home state of Rio Grande do Sul. He was sure that senator José Sarney (PDS-MA) (1) was overstaying his time in the Senate pulpit, droning on about some trivial affair most of his colleagues were nowhere near caring about. Still, he had time to wait, and think about all that was happening in the country.

    He was, privately, actually a little happy about the whole Riocentro Incident: no innocents were killed, and the humiliation the government went through would certainly help him. After all, he intended to run for the governorship of Rio Grande do Sul as the PMDB candidate (despite Brizola's repeated offers for him to rejoin PTB, the party he belonged to before the birth of the dictatorship in 1964) in next year's elections. He hoped his speech in the chamber would make a few headlines back home, and solidify his image as a defender of democracy.

    Still, as impatient and thoughtful he was, he couldn't help but feel a little shocked seeing the unmistakable anger in the face of his fellow peemedebista, Minas Gerais senator Tancredo Neves. His face was curled into a deep scowl, making him look like he was about to scream to make his anger heard by everyone. It also made him look like he was in pain, maybe sick. That was certainly a possibility, after all, he was seventy-one years old... Nah. He was just outraged about all that was happening in the country, and the fact that a potential murderer was honored in his burial, while his partner in crime wasn't even investigated. Yeah, that must be it. He was thinking too much.

    Finally, after five minutes that felt like an eternity, Sarney left the tribune. Simon climbed the stairs to the pulpit, and prepared himself to speak, adjusting the podium's microphone. He began his speech, first with a low, calm voice, but gradually becoming louder and more empassionate, making gestures as time went by. His words would become famous, just as he wanted, but, unfortunately, not in way he hoped for.

    Pedro_Simon_15_1.jpg

    2-Pedro-Simon-OrlandoBrito-2.jpg
    Pedro Simon in that fateful day, alongside senator José Sarney (PDS-MA).

    Finally, three minutes into his speech, something terrible happened: Tancredo collapsed on the floor of the Senate, screaming in agony and clutching his stomach (2). Simon's following words were immortalized: " Huh, what? Oh God! Quick, someone help him! For god's sake, get a medic here!" as he pointed to Tancredo. He quickly climbed down the pulpit to carry him to an adequate place, together with four other senators, lest the medic take too long to arrive. He was immedialy rushed to the Federal District Base Hospital, after his colleagues handed him over to a group of medics waiting for him, not far away from the center of the chamber.

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    Note:

    (1) The first civilian to become president of Brazil since João Goulart, and ruled from 1985 (The president-elect died before his inauguration) to 1990.

    (2) IOTL, Tancredo had that disease when he was the president-elect of Brazil, in 1985. Here, he still suffers from that sickness... right after the Riocentro Affair.

    So, yeah, that's it. Shit just got real.

    EDIT: Added a new note about Tancredo's health issues.
     
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    • markus meecham

    markus meecham

    Banned
    Vinization said:
    Whether he'll die or not I can't tell you. But such a dramatic event, right after the debacle that was the Riocentro Case, will have some very nasty consequences for PDS.
    Click to expand...
    The possibility of not getting sarney elected will probably be something most people can agree as being a good thing.
     
    Part 6: Growing Scandal
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    Part 6: Growing Scandal

    In a normal time, Tancredo's collapse in the middle of the Senate chamber, and the subsequent rush to the hospital, would be seen with shock and horror. Still, as dramatic as it was, it would probably be forgotten by most people, except perhaps those from Minas Gerais, the state which he represented in the Senate, within a week. Here's where the problem began: these were not normal times. The country was still reeling from the aftermath of the Riocentro Case, and, as such, any new drama could reignite the fires of popular anger.

    It was initially believed that the senator suffered from appendicitis, something that could be treated by removing the inflamed appendix. However, in the middle of said removal, the doctors discovered a seemingly benign, but infected, tumor in his intestine. The existence of said tumor was hidden for as long as possible (the word cancer was scary back then) but it was impossible to keep it hidden forever, and the Tancredo's condition was soon leaked to the press. The peemedebista was in a much worse state than initially believed. It was inevitable that some rumours would begin to spread about how the government was trying to hide the senator's condition from the public(1).

    The whole affair became a lot scandalous after Tancredo was flown by helicopter to the Heart Institute, in the city of São Paulo. According to the government, this transfer was made because the the SP hospital was better equipped to deal with the senator's diseased and fragile state. Others believed that he was transfered not because of that, but because the treatment he was submitted to in Brasília was actually very ineffective, and actually worsened his condition. No one was completely sure of what was happening.

    440

    A cartoon mocking the doctors' incompetence.

    The whole thing got so bad that many people began to believe that someone wanted Tancredo killed. Speculation ran wild and out of control, as the senator fought for his life in a hospital bed, kept alive by machines. Maybe it was someone in the army, who probably had something to do with the Riocentro Affair and its coverup. Hell, maybe it was the president himself! That must be why nobody has no idea of what is happening, after all!

    Finally, a protest almost spontaneously erupted in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Tancredo's home state of Minas Gerais, in May 29. More than twenty-five thousand people gathered in the city's center, demanding not just answers, but clear answers about what was going on. These answers were not given. President Figueiredo's rude, buffoonish attitude certainly didn't help(2).

    Finally, after 42 days and seven surgeries, Tancredo's health began to improve. Still in intense care and closely watched, he gave an interview to the many journalists who represented several newspapers, TV channels and radio stations that were there, eager to hear his words. He formally resigned his Senate seat, which would be occupied by his substitute Alfredo Campos, and announced his retirement from elected politics, due to obvious health reasons.

    A few days after that, he allowed to leave the hospital to recover in his home town of São João Del Rei. He was given a hero's welcome, with thousands of people following him in the streets, chanting his name over and over.

    For the government, and particularly president Figueiredo, the affair ruined whatever little credibility he still had. No one, not even his own ministers, took him seriously anymore.

    figueiredo-foto-da-menina-que-recusou-cumprimentar.jpg

    Poor guy. Actually, no. Screw him.

    It was obvious to everyone that the 1982 elections wouldn't just be a clear defeat for PDS. It would be a slaughter.

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    Notes:

    (1) IOTL, even though he was the president-elect, Tancredo's treatment was still a mess. The only difference here was that he survived.

    (2) If you want, please google "Figueiredo frases". Seriously, this was a guy who said that the solution to Brazil's favela (slum) issue was an atomic bomb. I'm not making this up.
     
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    • Part 7: I Literally Have no Idea What to Put Here
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    Part 7: I Literally Have no Idea What to Put Here

    Some day in August, 1982
    A bar in Cacuia, Rio de Janeiro, Federative Republic of Brazil

    It was an usual , boring day at the     Bar do Tatu ("Tatu's Bar", with "tatu"-amardillo- being its owner's nickname). Inácio, who is a bartender and the owner's brother, was actually thankful of all the boredom. Less than a month before, the FIFA World Cup was on, and the place was often filled to the brim, especially when the brazilian national football team played, of course. Players such as Zico, Falcão and Sócrates (who never lost a chance to take a swipe at the government in every interview (1)), impressed the whole world with their skills on the field. After a tense 2-2 match with Italy and their golden boy ("Bambino d'Oro") Paolo Rossi, Brazil eventually got to the finals, defeating West Germany 3-1, and claimed their fourth World Cup title (2).

    copa-do-mundo-de-1982-12-original.jpeg

    Football star Sócrates in a game against the Soviet Union. Brazil won that match 2-1, with him scoring the first goal.

    Of course, thanks to that, poor Inácio had to work double time serving beer and other alcoholic drinks, food, cleaning, hearing drunks ramble about something, and a whole lot of other stuff. Come to think of it, his whole life sounded like something only a really creative storywriter could think of. Born in 1961, in the little sertão city of Pocinhos, Paraíba, he moved to São Paulo in the mid seventies, barely on his early teens, only to return to his home state some time later. Back in Paraíba, he worked in the construction of more than a few highways and miraculously escaped from becoming a debt slave to some oligarch. Then, in 1980, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, and almost starved to death after he arrived. So, yeah, boredom wasn't so bad. At least he was alive and had a stable job.

    Now, there was a new topic that slowly gripped gripped the minds of everyone in Rio, after the euphoria of the championship: The governor election. A client signaled to Inácio that he wanted a beer. Meanwhile, a political ad ran on the television.

    --"So, man"-- the client asked. "Any idea who to vote for?"
    --"Nah dude, not yet"-- the bartender answered.

    The decision wasn't easy. There were four candidates in the race: Sandra Cavalcanti (PDS), Miro Teixeira (PMDB), Lysâneas Maciel (PT) and Leonel Brizola (PTB). There was no way in hell that he would vote for Sandra, everyone knew she was the Planalto's candidate. Miro seemed nice, but he had the stink of Taxas Freitas (3). Maciel? Who's that guy? At last, Brizola felt a lot like a carpetbagger, who really wanted to use the state as a stepping stone to reach the presidency.

    If he was such a great governor of Rio Grande do Sul as the ads said, why didn't he run there, where his victory was guarenteed, instead of throwing himself into a race that was dominated by Miro and Sandra in the polls, and he was in a distant third (4)? The fact that the candidates couldn't speak for themselves, but had their stories and proposals spoken by a boring voice didn't help (5). And neither did the fact that he was forced to vote for the entire party he chose, from city councillor to gevernor, at the penalty of having his vote nullified if his didn't help either (6).

    The atmosphere in the bar changed when a bunch of rather unusual people showed up. As soon as the entered, they began distributing pamplhets and buttons to everyone who was there. Inácio got some of them for himself, to take a closer look at them. They had the words "Brizola Governador-82-Saturnino Braga Senador" and the name of some other congressional candidate written on them. Just random canvassers, he thought. They would talk a lot about how great their candidate was, ramble some word salads for a time, then leave. He was so very wrong.

    More and more people came in as the time went by. Some of the carried large black-white-red tricolor flags with the letters PTB written on them. This wasn't just some random event staged by a bunch of sychophants, it was an actual rally! As the bar was filled to the brim with people, Inácio could see a balding, gray-haired man walking towards the table. He was surronded by people, and and wore a blue shirt with long sleeves, and had a little paper with the letters PTB stuck to the left side of his chest. He had absolutely no doubt that man was none other than Leonel de Moura Brizola himself.

    depois-de-fraude-descoberta-brizola-tomou-posse-como-governador-do-estad.jpg


    brizolaaaaa.jpg

    After a couple of hours, the crowd dispersed, as all the food and drink available in the bar was depleted, and their leader moved elsewhere. Inácio was left surprised that they didn't eat the building's walls, actually. And he was now sure of who he was going to vote for.

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    Notes:

    This might seem crazy, but the events in this chapter, minus the butterflies, of course, all happened. And I know that because this Inácio guy isn't some fictional character I just made up, but my father. I owe a lot to him and my mother, both warriors who almost literally crawled their way from poverty.

    (1) Sócrates was famous not only as a football player, but as a political activist. IOTL, he supported the Diretas Já! campaign, speaking in rallies.

    (2) Brazil's 1982 World Cup team is often seen as one of the best ever put to the field, so it was quite a shock when they lost that one game to Italy. Here, they're a little luckier, thanks to butterflies. No, it has nothing to do with the fact that this TL's writer is Brazilian. Why would you think that? :D

    (3) A "kind" nickname my father had for Rio governor Chagas Freitas. "Taxas" means "taxes".

    (4) IOTL, the Rio governor race was initially dominated by Miro and Sandra (who was in Ivete's right-wing PTB). Later on, Moreira Franco (PDS) began to climb in the polls at Sandra's expense. Brizola (PDT, the party he made from scratch), who for a long time was in fourth place, unexpectedly gained the lead and won the election.

    (5) The Falcão Law.

    (6) This was the "bound vote". If you didn't vote for all the the candidates your party of choice had, your vote was basically useless. A good way to diminish the power of the opposition.
     
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