Ernesto Geisel

Ernesto Geisel (born Aug. 3, 1908, Bento Gonçalves, Braz.—died Sept. 12, 1996, Rio de Janeiro) was an army general who was president of Brazil from 1974 to 1979.

A career army officer from an immigrant family of German Lutherans, Geisel joined the military coup led by Getúlio Vargas that overthrew the elected government and installed a dictatorship in 1930. Geisel supported Vargas for 15 years, serving in a variety of military and civil administrative posts, but in 1945 he played an important part in overthrowing Vargas’s government. Over the course of the next 15 years he held several important offices, including deputy chief of the military staff of the presidency and military representative to the National Petroleum Council, gaining a reputation for incisive leadership. He participated in the military coup of 1964 and became chief of Pres. Humberto Castelo Branco’s military staff. In 1969 Geisel took charge of Petrobrás, the national oil corporation, expanding its scope and increasing production dramatically.

Placed in the presidency by the military oligarchy (March 15, 1974), Geisel risked their opposition by beginning a gradual liberalization and demilitarization of the government, permitting open legislative elections in 1974, meeting with opposition leaders, and relaxing censorship. He outlined a new economic policy, “pragmatic nationalism,” which called for shifting emphasis from exports to the development of domestic industry, such as mining, agriculture, and transportation networks. Although there had been some initial indications that he might be succeeded by an elected civilian president, Geisel and his supporters saw that they would encounter fierce resistance from more conservative military elements. Accordingly, Geisel opted to consolidate the “decompression” of the regime and keep the liberalization process from getting out of control. To this end he outmaneuvered opponents of democratization and secured the election of a loyal associate, Gen. João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, as his successor in 1979. After Geisel left office, he continued to play a major role in Brazil’s petrochemical industry.