Brazilians are justifiably proud of President Dilma Rousseff's recent and triumphant arrival in the U.S. this month. Not only did the fomer revolutionary open the U.N. General Assembly, she also was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine.
Let's hope she doesn't suffer the same fate as former Brazilian President Janio Quadros: he was on the cover of Time magazine on June 20, 1961, only to be out of office on August 25, 1961. I was a reporter for UPI in Rio back in those days. Janio expected his resignation would give him even more presidential powers, because either the Brazilian people or the Brazilian military would reject his resignation for fear that his leftist vice president João "Jango" Goulart would take over the office after he returned from a visit to Communist China.
Alas, he miscalculated and his resignation was accepted, with Goulart eventually assuming the presidency--though with restricted powers. The political crisis dragged on until August 1964, when the military stepped in, ousted Goulart and installed General Castello Branco as the new president.
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