deal of prestige with the majority of the population. Low ranking members of the military, with their wages diminished due to inflation, started to voice their discontent to their superiors. On April 16, shortly before the vote in Congress which would enable direct elections for president, a final demonstration took place in São Paulo. Afraid that the Praça da Sé would prove too small, the Anhangabaú Valley was chosen, where an estimated crowd of over 1.5 million people attended, in what was the largest political demonstration ever seen in Brazil. During the month of April 1984, then-president Figueiredo increased the censorship on the press and promoted arrests and police violence. Nonetheless, the Diretas Já amendment (known as Dante de Oliveira law, after its author) was voted on April 25, 1984. Despite a vote of 298 in favor, with 65 against, 112 pro-government deputies abstained, leaving the Chamber without a quorum. As a result, the bill died. Despite the bill's failure, the movement proved to be a catalyst for various opposition forces and a voice for popular discontent. The re-democratization process ended with the return of civil power in 1985 and the approval of a new constitution in 1988, which called for the first direct presidential elections in 1989. Brazil then elected Fernando Collor de Mello, its first democratically elected president since 1961. Assemblies This is a partial list in chronological order of the Diretas Já demonstrations: See also 1964 Brazilian coup d'état History of Brazil (1964-1985) References External links Folha de S.Paulo Assembly of "Diretas-Já" "Diretas-Já" O Estado de S. Paulo "Diretas-Já" Abril Cultural Political history of Brazil 1984 in Brazil 1984 protests