1964 Brazilian presidential election

Indirect presidential elections were held in Brazil on 11 April 1964 shortly after the March coup carried out by the Brazilian military. Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco was elected president by the National Congress, receiving 361 of the 366 votes cast.^[1] José Maria Alkmin was elected vice-president unopposed after Auro de Moura Andrade withdrew his candidacy.

1964 Brazilian presidential election

← 1960 9 April 1964 1966 →
475 members of the electoral college 238 electoral votes needed to win
Nominee Humberto Castelo Branco Juarez Távora Eurico Gaspar Dutra Party Independent PDC PSD Electoral vote 361 3 2 Percentage 98.63% 0.82% 0.55%
President before election Ranieri Mazzilli PSD Elected President Humberto Castelo Branco Independent

Background

Further information: 1964 Brazilian coup d'état

Following the events of the coup in the same year, João Goulart, the president, was deposed by allegations of leaving the country with no permission.^[2] Since João Goulart was already the vice president, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Ranieri Mazzili, assumed the post until a new president to be elected until 1965 (the end of João Goulart term) by the National Congress of Brazil. The date of election, was scheduled by the first Institutional Act, amended by the Supreme Command of the Revolution, the de facto ruler over Brazil at that moment.

The Social Democratic Party, now as an opposition party in parliament, like the National Democratic Union, agreed to elect Castelo Branco as president. Castelo Branco promised to preserve the Brazilian Democracy and fight against corruption and the crisis in the country. A new civil vice-president was elected on the same day.^[3]

Results

President

The election was virtually a single-runner election; some parliamentarians voted for Juarez Távora as a protest vote.^[4]

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Castelo Branco	Independent	361	98.63
	Juarez Távora	Christian Democratic Party	3	0.82
	Eurico Gaspar Dutra	Social Democratic Party	2	0.55
Total			366	100.00

Vice President

None of the candidates for vice-president achieved the required absolute majority of votes in the first round. José Maria Alkmin received 203 votes; Auro de Moura Andrade received 150 votes; Ranieri Mazzilli received 2 votes; Milton Campos received 2 votes; Antonio Sanchez Galdeano received 1 vote; and there were 63 abstentions. For the second round of voting, Moura Andrade withdrew his candidacy, and Alkmin was elected with 256 of the 268 votes cast.

Candidate		Party	First round		Second round
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	José Maria Alkmin	Social Democratic Party	203	56.70	256	95.52
	Auro de Moura Andrade	Social Democratic Party	150	41.90	9	3.36
	Milton Campos [pt]	National Democratic Union	2	0.56	2	0.75
	Pascoal Ranieri Mazzilli	Social Democratic Party	2	0.56
	Antônio Sanchez Galdeano	Independent	1	0.28
	Juarez Távora	Christian Democratic Party			1	0.37
Total			358	100.00	268	100.00

References

1. Thomas E. Skidmore (1988) The Politics of Military Rule in Brazil, 1964-85, Oxford University Press, p21
2. "Ex-deputados relatam bastidores da sessão que depôs João Goulart". 31 March 2014.
3. "Partido Social Democratico (PSD-1945-1965)".
4. "Folha Online - Brasil - Mário Covas".