The tired, drawn figure rose wearily in his seat in Brazil's Senate chamber and switched on a microphone. Gone was the familiar exuberance, the wall-to-wall smile. "I am overcome by the most terrible sadness I have ever known in my whole public life," said Brazil's onetime President. "In the expectancy that the cancellation of my political rights, and therefore my rights as a citizen, will be confirmed, I believe it is my duty to direct a few words to the Brazilian nation."
Last week Juscelino Kubitscheknot long ago considered the front-running presidential candidate for the 1965 elections and one of...