THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ELITES BEFORE, DURING AND AT THE END OF THE MILITARY COUP OF 1964.

Abstract

The civil-military coup, which took place in Brazil on April 1, 1964 and lasted 24 years, was characterized by the participation and initial support of strata of society that can be classified, under the perspective of the author Gaetano Mosca, as "ruling class"; and the author Vilfredo Pareto, as "elite". In the specific Brazilian case, these strata are: the army, which longed for the coming to power; the Catholic Church, with strong political and social influence in the period; and the so-called middle class, reckless with the implantation of Communism in Brazil. The participation of these three social actors will initially be supportive, but as the regime increases, these actors will start to strongly oppose, even taking up arms to try to overthrow the regime and, finally, supporting by institutional means the campaign known as direct elections.