Phyllis Parker was a graduate student at the University of Texas, doing research for her master’s thesis, when she stumbled across recently declassified documents at the LBJ library detailing U.S. support for the Brazilian coup. She interviewed Lincoln Gordon, who ended up explaining the whole story, which she published in her book, Brazil: The Quiet Intervention. Read a biography of Phyllis Parker.

The U.S. government and Ambassador Gordon feared a communist takeover of Brazil by Goulart. Therefore, the White House and the embassy in Brazil tensely watched as the biggest country in South America veered to the left. Although Lincoln Gordon denies having any part in the coup of ’64, it is clear that he played a significant role. President Johnson immediately recognizes the military regime as legitimate. Hear and read documents from the Johnson tapes here.

Read documents from the U.S. State Department files:

• • CIA cable
  • State Department memo 2 
  • Senator Wayne Morse’s speech

Lincoln Gordon’s involvement:

• • Telegram from Lincoln Gordon (March 29, 1964) — A personal memo sent from Lincoln Gordon to the U.S. secretary of state and secretary of defense, detailing the need for secret U.S. military backup in case of future leftist violence in Brazil.
  • Lincoln Gordon’s statements to Congress on March 5, 1963
  • Abrazo vs. Coexistence, a scholarly article published by Gordon
  • Interview with Gordon from the JFK Library