Brazil (BRA)South America, AmericasNovember 21, 1955
Event Summary
In November 1955, Brazil's war minister General Henrique Teixeira Lott led a preventive coup to guarantee that president-elect Juscelino Kubitschek, who had won the October 1955 election, would be allowed to take office over the objections of opponents who wanted the result annulled. The crisis peaked when acting president Carlos Luz, who had taken over during Cafe Filho's illness and was seen as hostile to Kubitschek, refused to discipline an officer who had publicly called for overturning the election. Lott resigned in protest and then, on November 11, led troops to seize key points in Rio de Janeiro, forcing Luz out.
Congress removed Luz and installed Nereu Ramos. When the recovered Cafe Filho tried to reclaim the presidency on November 21, the military surrounded his residence and placed him under house arrest, and Congress confirmed his removal. Kubitschek was inaugurated in January 1956.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Carlos Luz (acting president, ousted 11 November) and Joao Cafe Filho (president, blocked from returning and confined on 21 November)
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Henrique Teixeira Lott (war minister who led the coup)
Carlos Luz (acting president removed)
Joao Cafe Filho (president blocked from returning)
Juscelino Kubitschek (president-elect the coup protected)
Nereu Ramos (installed as acting president)
Sources
On 11 November 1955 Lott, after resigning as war minister, led troops to take control of police buildings, telegraph operations, and Catete Palace, forcing out acting president Carlos Luz, who had been president for just three days.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, "Preventative Coup of November 11"open source ↗
When Cafe Filho's doctors pronounced him healthy on 21 November and he proclaimed himself president again, the military mobilized, surrounded his apartment and the presidential palace, and effectively placed him under house arrest; Congress then voted to remove him from office.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, "Preventative Coup of November 11"open source ↗
The crisis grew after president-elect Kubitschek's victory was challenged and Colonel Jurandir Mamede publicly called for overturning the results; Lott demanded the officer be punished and resigned when acting president Luz refused.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, "Preventative Coup of November 11"open source ↗
After Vargas's suicide, Vice President Cafe Filho held the presidency from 24 August 1954 until November 1955, when due to illness he transferred power to Carlos Luz, president of the Chamber of Deputies, during the succession crisis.
The Cline dataset codes 21 November 1955 with the leader placed under house arrest, matching the confinement of Cafe Filho when he tried to resume the presidency; the coup's decisive action against acting president Luz was on 11 November. This preventive coup ensured Kubitschek's inauguration and is a direct sequel to the August 1954 Brazil (Vargas) record, since Cafe Filho was Vargas's successor. Multiple sections of two Wikipedia articles were read directly.
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Carlos Luz (acting president, ousted 11 November) and Joao Cafe Filho (president, blocked from returning and confined on 21 November).
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; placed under house arrest. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.
Baseline Source-Document Entries
The Manchester Guardian
“Brazil’s President Arrested: State of Seige,” November 23, 1955
New York Times
“Brazil is Facing Presidency Test: Physicians to Scan Cafe’s Health,” by Tad Szulo, November 21, 1955
“Second Crisis in Ten Days: Brazil Deputies Block Cafe’s Bid,” by Tad Szulo, November 22, 1955
“Brazil’s Leaders Ask Martial Law to Bar President,” by Tad Szulo, November 23, 1955
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →