Artur da Costa e Silva (Portuguese: [aʁˈtuʁ dɐ ˈkɔstɐ i ˈsiwvɐ]; October 3, 1899 – December 17, 1969) was a Brazilian Army Marshal and the second president of the Brazilian military government that came to power after the 1964 coup d'état. He reached the rank of Marshal of the Brazilian Army, and held the post of Minister of War in the military government of President Castelo Branco.
During his term in office Institutional Act 5 was promulgated. This law gave the President powers to dismiss the National Congress, strip politicians of their offices of power, and institutionalize repressive methods of rule against left-wing parties and individuals. Costa e Silva's government started the most oppressive stage of the military regime against opposition, left-wing activists and suspected communists, which would be continued and expanded under his successor Emílio Garrastazu Médici.
1968Dec, 13
Brazilian President Artur da Costa e Silva issues AI-5 (Institutional Act No. 5), enabling government by decree and suspending habeas corpus.
Choose Another Date
Events on 1968
- 30Jan
Tet Offensive
Vietnam War: Tet Offensive launch by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. - 31Jan
Tet Offensive
Vietnam War: Viet Cong guerrillas attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive. - 29Apr
Counterculture of the 1960s
The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opens at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with some of its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement. - 14Oct
U.S. Marine Corps
Vietnam War: The United States Department of Defense announces that the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps will send about 24,000 soldiers and Marines back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours of duty in the combat zone there. - 20Oct
Jacqueline Kennedy
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.