Diretas ("Direct Elections")
January 25, 1984.
Angelo Perosa
Praça da Sé, downtown. Brazil has been looking forward to democratization and to the direct vote. Protests take place throughout the country, but the election campaign reaches the streets only after the historic political rally on January 25. Scheduled to be held on the same day as that of São Paulo's 'birthday', the first major political rally for the presidential elections was organized by Franco Montoro, São Paulo's governor. Several left parties also take part, aside from trade unions, civilians and students. The environment is tense. The military government attempts to minimize the impact of the event. It is a rainy day. Gradually, Praça da Sé becomes crowded with over 300,000 people screaming "Diretas Já!" ("Direct Elections Now!").
Lots of famous people also took part in the crowd. The journalist Osmar Santos announced the presence of governor Franco Montoro. Together with Montoro, the one who conceived "Diretas Já", were the governors Iris Resende, José Richa, Nabor Junior and Leonel Brizola, apart from the presidents of PMDB, Ulisses Guimarães, and of PT, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the senator Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and São Paulo's mayor, Mário Covas. Covas delivered a wholehearted speech in honor of Teotônio Vilela, who had died in the previous year, on the very same day of the first public demonstration for the direct elections, at which time only 15,000 people took part in the protest in front of Estádio do Pacaembú. Yet the manifestation at Praça da Sé was completely different.
"I was asked if there are 300,000 or 400,000 people here. My answer was: here is the hope of 130 million Brazilians." (Franco Montoro Filho)
After the speech delivered by Montoro, people started singing Hino Nacional (Brazil's anthem). Thanks to the successful political rally in São Paulo, governors from the opposition decided to organize their own rallies. São Paulo's event made the desire of Brazilian people clear. From February on, lots of political rallies took place throughout the country's main capitals. On April 16, shortly before the voting process for the direct elections, a final rally was held in São Paulo. Not at Praça da Sé, however, because it was too small for that. The place chosen was Vale do Anhangabaú: 1,5 million people participated in it. It was the largest political rally ever seen in the country's history.