[a] Carlos Lacerda, governor of Guanabara, agreed with the veto, but the ministers did not have enough support in society and the Armed Forces, encountering opposition in demonstrations, strikes and the positions of political figures and organizations.

The 3rd Army, headquartered in Porto Alegre, came to the brink of confrontation with the state government, but on 28 August, general Machado Lopes broke with his superiors and turned the powerful land force in the south of the country over to the legalist side.

[3] Carlos Lacerda perceived the attractiveness, especially to the middle class, of Jânio's campaign promises, based on the fight against corruption, inflation control, reduction of the cost of living, expenditure restraint and public austerity.

[4][5] Jânio's anti-politics message, which expressed a deep disdain for traditional politicians, attracted the middle class, tormented by the effects of inflation, who saw in the candidate the incarnation of a energetic manager capable of efficiently commanding the Brazilian economy.

Measures such as exchange rate devaluation, spending cuts, credit restriction and withdrawal of import subsidies, the latter leading to a 100% increase in the price of bread and fuel, were bound to be unpopular, but seemed possible with the euphoria of the election.

[13][e] On 18 August, while Goulart was away, Carlos Lacerda sought out the president in Brasília for an urgent meeting: he conveyed his intention to resign from the government of Guanabara in order to deal with the bankruptcy of his newspaper Tribuna da Imprensa [pt].

Sending the vice president to China "certainly was part of his plans", by creating the aggravating factor of being in a communist country, impose a gap of several days before he could arrive in Brazil[13] and, while away, prevent him from articulating his return.

[33] However, the de facto power was in the hands of a junta consisting of marshal Denys, admiral Heck and brigadier Moss,[34] whose goal was that new elections would be held within 60 days, with Mazzilli occupying the presidency on an interim basis.

[45] For the military who attempted the veto, Goulart would not only cause chaos and disorder but was also linked to international communism,[46] having ideological alignment with regimes like China, and could even lead to the implantation of this system in Brazil.

[33] A manifesto published on 30 August reiterated the military ministers' position, citing Goulart's encouragement of "successive and frequent agitations in union circles", accusing him of declaring support for communist regimes, and noting the "proven intervention of international communism in the life of democratic nations, and above all in the weakest ones.

It postulated that "In the Presidency of the Republic, in a regime that attributes ample authority and personal power to the head of the government, Mr. João Goulart will constitute, without any doubt, the most evident incentive to all those who wish to see the country plunged into chaos, anarchy, and civil strife.

The now senator Juscelino Kubitschek warned Denys: "do not insist in opposing the law and the will of the people", while UDN deputy Adauto Lúcio Cardoso called for the impeachment of Ranieri Mazzilli and the military ministers for high crime.

A radio message picked up by the 3rd Army justified the measure in the following terms: "Congress communist elements are disturbing the finding [of a] legal solution [to the] crisis arising [from the] resignation [of the] president.

Carlos Lacerda's government participated in the censorship – telephonic, telegraphic and radiotelegraphic – which had begun by censoring a statement by minister Horta, and the distribution of his Military Police personnel throughout Rio de Janeiro accompanied that of the Army.

[62] However, on the morning of 26 August he was informed through the labor deputy from Rio Grande do Sul, Rui Ramos, that the Minister of War would not allow Goulart to enter the country and take office.

At 01:20 he reported that the situation was "tense but calm": Brizola would resist against any impediment to João Goulart's inauguration, he had mobilized the Military Brigade and had part of the officialdom on his side, including the commanders of the 1st DC and 3rd DI.

The captain argued against the operation, as it would incur casualties, and suggested cutting off the city's electricity, water, and telephone as an alternative in order to take over the radio in the morning, but Machado Lopes insisted.

Still on Sunday, the commander of the 5th Air Zone, brigadier João Aureliano Passos, informed Machado Lopes of the order received from the Minister of Aeronautics: to fly low over the Piratini Palace to intimidate Brizola and silence the Legality Chain.

[100] Furthermore, to fulfill the order from the Minister of War, Machado Lopes would need to confront, in addition to the Military Brigade and civilian volunteers, the 3rd DI and the 1st DC, which already had legalist commanders, demanding operations against Santa Maria and Santiago.

[103] The decision was difficult for Machado Lopes, attached to the hierarchy, but made easier by the influence of his subordinates who were already legalists, the recognition that they would become enemies if Denys was obeyed, the insurrection that would be unleashed, the absurdity of the order to attack the Gaucho government, and the popular support that would be faced.

[61] There was tension and an effort to maintain a distance, which is visible in his memoirs, in which he insisted that "I never adhered to Governor Leonel Brizola" and that Legality had the support of the political parties, all social classes, and the clergy.

[114][115] The Legality Campaign was embraced by broad sectors of the gaucho society: the state government, Military Brigade, III Army, political figures, unionists, workers and students.

[117][121] According to sources, governor Ney Braga [pt] or participated in the movement, issuing a manifesto together with Mauro Borges,[122][123] or had an ambiguous position, unofficially being against Goulart's inauguration and preferring Jânio's return, which generated criticism.

According to aviator Oswaldo França Júnior [pt], who served at the base, on the 27th, the squadron commander, Major Cassiano Pereira, discussed among the officers the bombing of the Piratini Palace and the radio towers, to be carried out at dawn the next day, later changed to 2:30 pm.

[151] He censored the news, got the adhesion of Lieutenant Colonel Silvio Pinto da Luz, commander of the 700 men of the 14th Hunters Battalion, and took control of the capital of Santa Catarina, having more authority than the governor himself.

[132] Furthermore, the Southerners' "Operation Turtle" simulated the obstruction of the bar at Rio Grande with a false sinking of loaded flat-bottomed boat, giving the Navy to understand that it would be impossible to enter the Lagoa dos Patos.

The Minister of Aeronautics had informed interim president Mazzilli that nonconformist elements in the FAB intended to shoot down the presidential plane on the route between Porto Alegre and Brasilia, in "Operation Mosquito" (pt).

On the other, the State Department and John F. Kennedy's White House were against it, and the military ministers received a report threatening to cut off financial aid to Brazil if the succession was not respected, which influenced their acceptance of Goulart's investiture.

[184] The "party elements linked to the conservative-oligarchic bloc and favorable to foreign capital participation," many of whom supported the inauguration, had better political articulation through the Institute of Social Research and Studies (Ipes), allowing them to mount opposition to Goulart.

[56] Meanwhile, in 1961, conspiratorial articulations against the new president were emerging, with meetings of the military under Admiral Heck in November, in Rio de Janeiro, and of civilians with Generals Dalísio Menna Barreto and Agostinho Cortes in São Paulo.