1964; Brazil: CRISIS IN BRAZIL Joao Goulart flees Brazil as he is ousted as President by an Army rebellion. It was Goulart's leftist leanings and the fear that he would turn Brazil into a Castro state which led to his downfall.  He began his regime as a middle-of-the-roader but runaway inflation and worker discontent led him to institute land reforms and legalize the Communist party.