1964 Brazilian coup d'état  The 1964 Brazilian coup d'état ( or, more colloquially, "") was a series of events in Brazil from March 31 to April 1 that led to the overthrow of President João Goulart by members of the Brazilian Armed Forces, supported by the United States government. The following day, with the military already in control of the country, the Brazilian Congress came out in support of the coup and endorsed it by declaring vacant the office of the presidency. The coup put an end to the government of Goulart (also known as 'Jango'), a member of the Brazilian Labour Party, who had been democratically elected Vice President in the same election in which conservative Jânio Quadros, from the National Labour Party and backed by the National Democratic Union, won the presidency. Quadros resigned in 1961, the same year of his inauguration, in a clumsy political maneuver to increase his popularity. Quadros anticipated those mass demonstrations would demand his return to office and strengthen his position, but he miscalculated. With the presidency vacant and according to the constitution then in force, enacted in 1946, Quadros should have automatically been replaced by Goulart. However, because Goulart was on a diplomatic trip to the People's Republic of China at the time, and because, although a moderate nationalist, Goulart was accused of being a communist by right-wing militants, he was unable to take office. After lengthy negotiations, led mainly by Tancredo Neves, Goulart's supporters and the right-wing reached an agreement under which the parliamentary system would replace the presidential system in the country. Goulart would continue as head of state, although weakened, and Neves would be named the prime minister. In 1963, however, a referendum re-established the presidential system with Goulart as president. He took office with full powers, and during his rule several problems in Brazilian politics became evident, as well as disputes in the context of the Cold War, which helped destabilize his government. The Basic Reforms Plan ("Reformas de Base") proposed by Goulart had the potential to socialize the profits of large companies to ensure a better quality of life for most Brazilians, but was labelled as a "socialist threat" by right-wing sectors of society and of the military, which organized major demonstrations against the government in the Marches of the Family with God for Freedom ("Marchas da Família com Deus pela Liberdade").