The Brazilian military dictatorship that came to power after a coup in 1964 directly challenged students' rights to political activity.
The government increasingly arrested and tortured students and professors suspected of being leftist or associated with communist groups.
[2] After a military coup in 1930, Getúlio Vargas assumed the presidency, his policies had an effect on student political mobilization.
They feared that leftist organizations, including the Brazilian Student Movement, were being infiltrated by communist revolutionaries.
Student movements in Brazil became more radical as they pushed for policies modeled after the Cuban example such as agrarian reform and literacy campaigns.
[7] On March 13, 1964, Goulart passed a law that nationalized Brazilian oil companies and established an agrarian reform initiative.
[5] With discontent growing in response to these liberal reforms, the military staged a coup and overthrew Goulart on March 30 with U.S.
[8] The military claimed the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état was meant to protect Brazil from destabilization due to perceived communist threats.
[5] These repressive measures were a significant blow for student organizations, but clandestinely in 1996, the UNE reestablished with an overtly anti-government agenda.
These protesters demanded the release of student prisoners, a repeal of Lei Suplicy, and the suspension of university professors suspected of being communist.
At one protest of this national movement at a medical school in Rio de Janeiro, students were met with police violence.
Students would arm themselves with rocks, Molotov cocktails, and other makeshift weapons and barricade university buildings from police.
This demonstration was significant because it included many participants of different political alignments that joined together in protests of the military dictatorship.