BRAZIL: The Preventive Revolution

The army toppled the President last week in a Brazilian-style revolution: bloodless, almost gentle, and, to foreigners, bewildering. It was a coup to forestall a coup, a "preventive revolution."

Brazilian army officers traditionally like to think of themselves as the true de fenders of constitutional government. A fervent upholder of that tradition is Lieut. General Henrique Teixeira Lott, 61, leader of last week's revolt. In recent months War Minister Lott had emerged as the army's sturdiest opponent of the faction called golpistas—the military and civilian leaders who favor a golpe (coup) to...