Armed Forces in the sights of the Secret Service DOPS-SP: stroke and backlash (1955-1956)

Abstract

This article aims to reflect the tense electoral cycle 1955, inside the armed forces through the documents of the Secret Service of the Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social de São Paulo (DOPS-SP) and the Personal File of delegate Augusto do Amaral Peixoto located in CPDOC. The vigilance of military factions during this period (1955-1956) revealed the fragility of political détente brought by the 1946 constitution, where the debate taking place in civil society on democratic freedoms, as well as the reactions to restriction on freedom of expression and organization, set up an institutional framework in view of the military, was chaotic. This perspective, the Secret Service would closely follow this debate over the military or the constitutional legality held by these military groups , brought together with the threads that holds the political and economic power and they see the continued development model the country is at risk, to expand the spaces towards real democratization, even the liberal content.