In July 1934, with the approval of Brazil's new constitution and the election of Vargas, the country entered a period of constitutional normality, although no one was satisfied. President
Getúlio Vargas declared himself against the constitutional regime despite his authoritative role. Other opposing factions within Brazil's politics shared his point of view that the new government was weak and thus began to plot its overthrow. The plot to overthrow the government was begun in 1934 by disgraced military officers who lost power and prestige as a result of collaborating with former Brazilian president
Artur Bernardes during the
Revolution of 1930. Using their position within the military, conspirators began an effort to siphon military weapons from police forces and recruited military men of
sergeant rank and below to form a combat force. These efforts gave the revolutionaries connections to most garrisons in the country by October 1934, although three factions would form within the revolutionary movement, causing a clash of ideas. The first group, based in
São Paulo, was led by military officers and civilians seeking social reform. The second faction was made up of military personnel who shared
authoritarian ideals, while the third was composed of communists within the military, both enlisted and officers. The movement during this time would find itself infiltrated by the
Communist International (Comintern),
MI6 agent Johann Heinrich Amadeus de Graaf, and Vargas' government.
Filinto Muller, an officer loyal to Vargas based in the
Federal District, learned of the conspiracy against the government as early as October 1934. Senior military leaders were rightfully fearful that the communist element in their midst would take over their movement. The
Brazilian Communist Party, which was then called the Communist Party of Brazil, began its efforts to take control of the movement by January 1935 after the planning for an uprising caught the attention of the
Soviet Union. Communist agents identified these political divisions within the movement, particularly the differences between officers who rallied with Artur Bernardes and those who wished for social reform. The communists took full control of the movement by March 1935 after expelling unsympathetic officers from the cause. This would act to hinder the movement, which had initially intended to begin the uprising during Carnival week, in 1935. During this time the National Liberation Alliance was created in Brazil, inspired by popular fronts that emerged in Europe to prevent Nazi-fascist political advance. The ANL would serve to expand the conspiracy by attracting many military personnel,
Catholics,
socialists, and liberals into the mass movement under a unified front alongside numerous unions. Members of the ANL viewed Vargas as a revolutionary who would continue to further plunge the country towards an authoritarian regime. The movement's platform was the fight against the exploitation of Brazil by international capital, the struggle for land reform and the struggle for democracy: for Bread, Land, and Freedom.
Luís Carlos Prestes was publicly announced as the ANL's honorary president following the party's announcement of its formation, based on his involvement in leading the revolutions of the 1920s and his high esteem among military officials. A revolutionary forerunner of
Che Guevara, "Cavalier of Hope" Prestes became a staunch communist in 1930, publicly acknowledging his allegiance to the plight of the
proletariat in 1931 following a visit to Moscow. Prestes' requests for membership into Brazil's Communist Party were ignored for years, while away from Brazil, until a directive was issued by the Comintern, directly requesting his acceptance into the organization. In April 1935, Prestes would be sent back to Brazil following a winter season in Moscow with his wife, fellow communist
Olga Benario Prestes, along with communists Harry Berger, Argentine
Rodolfo Ghioldi, León-Julles Vallée, Franz Paul Gruber, and American Victor Alan Baron, who would join the Comintern's delegation to Brazil. The delegation from the Comintern was accompanied by a
GRU agent who saw to their security during and after the trip to Brazil. Upon his return, thanks to his reputation among military officers, Prestes assumed control of the conspiracy and plans for the revolution to come. With Prestes heading the conspiracy, the Comintern felt confident in financially supporting the movement allowing the movement to grow exponentially, allowing the party to produce new propaganda and initiate new communist youth programs. Thanks to information provided to Vargas by Filinto Muller, Vargas was able to connect the conspirators to the
National Liberation Alliance. In response, Vargas successfully urged the National Congress of Brazil (
Portuguese:
Congresso Nacional do Brasil) to pass the 1935 National Security law outlawing the political alliance formed by the ANL. This legislation inhibited Prestes' ability to rally widespread support from the masses, who worried about becoming targeted by the government. At the time, Vargas' government had acknowledged the threat of revolution posed by members of the ANL, reaching the same conclusion as the Comintern when it decided to back the conspiracy. In July, the government moved against the ANL, with troops raiding offices, confiscating propaganda, seizing records, and jailing leaders. This crackdown made Prestes change his tactics, forcing him to spread additional agents throughout the army to recruit new conspirators and bolster his forces while continuing to defy Vargas by having the ANL continue to host their illegal rallies throughout the summer of 1935. By August 1935, Prestes had completed drafting his plans for the installation of a communist regime by way of military uprising in several regions to trigger strikes and revolution. ==Outbreak of uprisings==