Dom Pedro, a beloved figure in both Brazilian and Portuguese history, was divided between the two countries by death – his heart enshrined in a church in Porto, Portugal, and his remains in an independence monument in Sao Paulo, Brazil . But after Porto city officials agreed to return the heart on loan, it arrived in Brazil on Monday for the country’s 200-year independence celebrations on September 7. The heart, kept in a glass jar in a golden urn, arrived with all the pomp of a state visit. “It will be treated as if Dom Pedro I were alive and with us … just as if it were a state visit by a foreign leader,” said Alan Coelho, head of ceremonial protocol at Brazil’s foreign ministry. Dom Pedro fled to Brazil with his family as a nine-year-old boy when Napoleon’s army invaded Portugal in 1807. He stayed behind to rule the then-colony as regent when his father, King Joao VI, returned home to the increasingly restless homeland in 1821. Facing pressure to curb the political autonomy the colony enjoyed, Pedro I declared it an independent country on September 7, 1822, and became its first emperor. But no sooner had he rejected Portuguese rule and established Brazil as a constitutional empire than turmoil across the Atlantic forced him to return to Portugal, where his younger brother had usurped the throne and was trying to restore the country from a constitutional government to absolute monarchy. . Pedro I, known in Portugal as Pedro IV, abdicated in 1831 and sailed back to Portugal, leading an army to Porto to support the eventually successful struggle of the constitutionalists. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. After his death from tuberculosis in 1834, he was celebrated in both Brazil and Portugal as a champion of liberal causes and representative power. At his request, his heart was removed and kept in Porto, in gratitude to his people for their support. “Today the heart of this national hero, the first emperor of Brazil, returns home to our soil,” Defense Minister Paulo Sergio Nogueira said at a ceremony welcoming the instrument at an air base in Brasilia. “This important relic represents the bravery, passion and above all the immeasurable power of our first emperor.” The heart has a busy agenda for its visit. President Jair Bolsonaro will hold an official ceremony for it on Tuesday with military honors. The 9-kilogram (20-pound) urn will then be displayed for 17 days at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Itamaraty Palace. Bolsonaro, who is fighting to win re-election in October, has faced accusations of fanning the flames of nationalism with heartland celebrations. The far-right leader is also planning a large rally of supporters and a military parade on Independence Day. Critics have said the parade of hearts is reminiscent of when Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship – which Bolsonaro openly admires – brought the remnants of Pedro I back from Portugal in 1972. Quick guide
Brazilian dictatorship 1964-1985
projection How did it start? Brazil’s leftist president, João Goulart, was overthrown in a coup in April 1964. General Humberto Castelo Branco became leader, political parties were banned, and the country was plunged into 21 years of military rule. Repression intensified under Castelo Branco’s hardline heir, Artur da Costa e Silva, who took power in 1967. He was responsible for an infamous decree called AI-5 that gave him broad dictatorial powers and started the so-called ‘anos de chumbo ». ” (years of lead), a grim period of tyranny and violence that would last until 1974. What happened during the dictatorship? Supporters of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military regime – including Jair Bolsonaro – credit him with bringing security and stability to the South American country and masterminding a decade-long economic “miracle”. But the regime, while less notoriously violent than those in Argentina and Chile, was also responsible for murdering or killing hundreds of its opponents and imprisoning thousands more. Among those imprisoned and tortured was Brazil’s first female president, Dilma Rousseff, then a leftist rebel. It was also a period of harsh censorship. Some of Brazil’s most beloved musicians – including Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque and Caetano Veloso – were exiled to Europe, writing songs about their forced departures. How did it end? Political exiles began returning to Brazil in 1979 after an amnesty law was passed that began to pave the way for the return of democracy. But the pro-democracy movement “Diretas Já” (Direct elections now!) took its leap only in 1984 with a series of huge and historic street demonstrations in cities such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. Civilian power was restored the following year and a new constitution was introduced in 1988. The following year Brazil held its first direct presidential elections in nearly three decades. Thanks for your response. “This will be a Bolsonaro farce, welcoming this heart as a visiting official,” said historian Lilia Schwartz, who has written books on Pedro I and Brazilian independence. “We should ask ourselves what kind of way it is to think about history – a dead story stuck in time, like the stopped organ of a dead emperor.” Others found humor in the situation. “Since the process of independence began with Napoleon’s invasion, I suggest they bring Bonaparte’s penis,” quipped fellow historian Luiz Antônio Simas. Usually kept under a five-fold lock at the Church of Our Lady of Lapa in Porto, the heart will be under the watchful eye of a police officer sent by the Portuguese city during its visit to Brazil, before it is returned on September 8.
