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Until the Storm Passes reveals how Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship contributed to its own demise by alienating the civilian political elites who initially helped bring it to power. Based on exhaustive research conducted in nearly twenty archives in five countries, as well as on oral histories with surviving politicians from the period, this book tells the surprising story of how the alternatingly self-interested and heroic resistance of the political class contributed decisively to Brazil's democratization. As they gradually turned against military rule, politicians began to embrace a political role for the masses that most of them would never have accepted in 1964, thus setting the stage for the breathtaking expansion of democracy that Brazil enjoyed over the next three decades.Review Quotes:
"Until the Storm Passes is significant and timely. Pitts combines meticulous research with a clear analytical framework, offering a reinterpretation that is both persuasive and generative. By placing civilian politicians at the centre of the narrative without reducing democratisation to elite manoeuvring, Pitts provides a nuanced account of the demise of Brazil's military dictatorship that will interest scholars of Latin American politics, authoritarianism, and democratisation. In doing so, he sets a high bar for future work on the political history of the period."