The importance and limits of the democracy in Brazilian political culture (1955/1964): an analysis based on the trajectory of José Maria Alkmin

Abstract

In this article I propose a reflection on the ethos and the importance of democracy within a possible Brazilian political culture. To deal with this question, I examine the political crises in 1955 and 1964; those were occasions when, respectively, the democracy was saved by a coup and destroyed by another one. I choose to analyse the interventions of the deputy José Maria Alkmin who was one of the most significant political figures on the political field at that time, and who had intense participation in these two historical moments. Having an important leadership role within the “PSD” political party, Alkmin was considered to be the civil head of the countercoup in 1955, and he was elected as Castelo Branco´s vice president during the indirect election in April 1964. This text analyses how this deputy related to, shared, reproduced or kept distance from the hegemonic values within Brazilian politics at that historical moment. As main sources for this research, I use the legislative discussions, the press, the biographies of characters involved with the political arena at that time and the bibliography concerning the theme.