Although it had considerable support, particularly among conservative sectors of the middle class, the regime ultimately lacked a durable social base of support.
Makes me wonder if they were a paper tiger, and people were only willing to comply with their regime so long as economic conditions slowly but surely improved.
The act also granted military courts the authority to try civilians accused of crimes against “national security.”
Essentially a police state.
The left, which seemed well organized and strong, was stunned and unable to react.
This reminds me a little bit of the internal strife in left-wing forces during the Spanish Civil War during the 1930s. While saying that this caused Franco's forces to win may be a slight overexaggeration, it absolutely was a pivotal factor.
The United States government was suspicious of Jango, concerned about Brazil’s independent foreign policy (sympathetic to “Third Worldism” and the countries of the socialist bloc), economic nationalism that threatened the interests of American companies, and the risk of another socialist revolution in the hemisphere, following in the footsteps of the Cuban Revolution.
If I remember correctly, this was the height of the United States' frequency in distrusting foreign governments, particularly those in Central and South America. While I am unsure if the United States (presumably the CIA) actually meddled in Brazilian affairs, it would harldy be surprising.