Institutional Acts

[1] The first Institutional Act, written by Francisco Campos, was issued on April 9, 1964 by the military junta and gave greater power to the Brazilian executive.

These powers included the authority to amend the constitution, propose expenditure bills to Congress, suppress the political rights of citizens for ten years, and rescind the tenure of military officials and government employees.

[3] The military government's fifth institutional act was issued by President Artur da Costa e Silva and the National Security Council on December 13, 1968.

This act suspended Congress, introduced television and radio censorship, removed habeas corpus for suspects of political crimes, and gave the president control over state and local governments.

Many politicians, professors, and dissenters were arrested or exiled, including Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who would become president in 1995 after redemocratization.