The exuberance projected by General João Batista de Figueiredo (1918–1999) when he accepted the presidential sash on March 15, 1979, contrasted sharply with the magnitude of the political and economic challenges confronting Brazil. In his acceptance speech, he reaffirmed his commitment to a “free and democratic society,” pledging that he would sustain the “independence of state powers” and not rest until assuring the “enjoyment of the rights of man and citizen written in the Constitution.”