Organizing the plots of an intricate web of interests, Juremir Machado Da Silva reconstructs the complex context of João Goulart's government and reveals the backstage of power and the elite in Brazil. Memory and the Guardian reveals the correspondence of then-president João Goulart, begun in 1961 and interrupted in 1964, when, after calling for the country to undertake fundamental reforms, he was deposed by a media-civil-military coup. For nearly forty years, the guardian of this archive was cabinet official Wamba Guimarães, who two days after the coup, at Jango's request, left with two suitcases full of correspondence—keeping them safe until his death in 2003. In this book, Juremir Machado da Silva—winner of the Açorianos and APCA Awards for "Raízes do Conservtismo Brasileiro" (The Roots of Brazilian Conservatism)—seeks new meanings in the words of kindness, advice, and flattery to the president, gathered in 927 items, including letters, telegrams, reports, announcements, Christmas, birthday, and New Year cards, among other congratulations. Organizing the threads of an intricate web of interests, the author reconstructs the complex context of João Goulart's government and reveals the inner workings of power and the elite in Brazil. Transnationally and without social class restrictions, the documents written by ordinary citizens and Brazilian and international authorities reveal a politics based on patrimonialism, cartorialism, and coronelismo. A portrait of a Brazil that, unfortunately, still resonates with us.
