Emílio Garrastazu Médici

Infobox_President
name=Emílio Garrastazu Médici
nationality=Brazilian


term_start=October 30, 1969
term_end=March 15, 1974
predecessor=Military Junta
successor=Ernesto Geisel
birth_date=birth date|1905|12|4|mf=y
birth_place=Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul
death_date=death date and age|1985|10|9|1905|12|4|mf=y
death_place=Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
spouse=
party=National Renewal Alliance Party - ARENA
order=31st President of Brazil
vicepresident=Augusto Rademaker

Emílio Garrastazu Médici, pron. IPA2|e'milju gaʁasta'zu 'mɛdisi, (December 4, 1905 —October 9, 1985) was a Brazilian military leader and politician. His rule marked the apex of military governments in Brazil.

Early life

Médici was born in Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul state, he was the son of a family of Basque and Italian descent, who were originally from Paysandú, Uruguay. In the 1920s he entered in the Army where he was steadily promoted, becoming general in 1961.

Médici was a close ally of Marshal Artur da Costa e Silva, who became president of Brazil in 1967. Also in this year Médici was appointed chief of the National Information Service (SNI).

Presidency

Two years later he become commandant of the Third Army when he was elected president of Brazil by the Congress, to succeed Costa e Silva, who was ill. Médici took oath on October 30, 1969 and served until the end of his term, March 15, 1974.

During his tenure, Médici established a strong military government, the more repressive of Brazil's military regimes, accompanied by tortures and strict censorship of the press. During his rule an existing guerilla activity was defeated , led by Carlos Marighela and Carlos Lamarca. The movement was destroyed and Marighela and Lamarca killed. [cite book |last= di Tella |first= Torcuato |title= History of Political Parties in Twentieth-Century Latin America |place= New Brunswick, US |publisher= Transaction |date = 2004 |page = 107]

The Brazilian economy grew rapidly at a rate of 10% per year during his term. Large construction projects were undertaken, including the Transamazônica road, the Itaipu dam and Rio-Niterói bridge.

ee also

* List of Presidents of Brazil
* History of Brazil (1964-present)
* 1964 Brazilian coup d'état

References