This article discusses aspects of the political debate that took place in the second half of the 1950s, representing a set of practices that went beyond that particular moment of Brazilian history; we concentrate particularly on the crisis that occurred around Juscelino Kubitschek and João Goulart´s election and taking office - which took place in 1955 - as seen through texts published in two daily newspapers which took opposite sides during the crisis, the Correio da Manhã and O Estado de S. Paulo. We are interested here in showing the continuity that can be found in the 1946-1964 period; this can be seen in practices revealing a contempt for elements of confrontation and struggle in politics and accompanied by widespread disenchantment with electoral processes and the population´s ability to make judgments. We place particular emphasis on two topics: 1) the role of the masses in politics, and a corresponding critique of the elites and of the "current state" of democracy in the country, seen as faulty or incomplete and 2) the role that is given to the press in light of this recurrent diagnosis. Our considerations regarding the positions taken by the two newspapers that we study belong to this discussion, which in turn brings considerations regarding the connections between liberalism and authoritarianism, democracy and military coup, to the forefront.
journalism; democracy; military coup; liberalism; authoritarianism; Brazil during the 1950s