Documentary “963 days” revisits the former president’s government in a historical portrait without space for contradiction
“963 dias”, a documentary about the government of the former president (MDB) directed by Bruno Barreto, had a show, mostly politicians, this Friday (June 26, 2026), in 4 cinemas at Shopping JK Iguatemi, south of São Paulo.
The film, which should premiere in the second half of 2026, covers some of the main points of the Temer government through clippings of journalistic articles and interviews with characters from the period, including the governor of São Paulo, (Republicans), and the ministers of the Federal Supreme Court Alexandre de Moraes (present at the session) and Gilmar Mendes.
There are no interviewees from the PT (Workers’ Party). According to Barreto, they did not accept the invitation. “I called, but I wasn’t interested in listening to anyone who was going to repeat an ideological playbook”, said the director.
From the impeachment process of (PT), which placed Temer in the Presidency and was taken over by “blow” by sectors to the left, up to the track passed to its successor, (PL), Barreto’s film tries to position the former president as a moderate and conciliatory figure.
To do this, he listens to journalists, advisors, former ministers, sociologists and family members of the former president, as well as himself. Revisit crises: a In 2018, the “Out Temer”.
The idea is to carry out a historical exercise to look at the emedebista management outside the kids and intrigues of daily politics. Almost like a reckoning. The result, however, is short-lived.
This is because the format of the feature, marked by the repetition of posed interviews and archive images, leaves little room for contradiction, which when present seems out of context, and leaves the complimentary report a little boring.
The image we seek to convey is that Temer’s 963 days as head of the Executive were marked by policies necessary to put a country in political and economic crisis on track, despite the government’s high unpopularity.
The former president’s political skill in his relationship with Congress and the approval of the PEC of the spending ceiling and labor and pension reforms are praised. Frequent criticisms from the left on these topics were left out of the documentary.
The Temer government is part of a key period of the New Republic, but the film adds little to its interpretation. THEThose who defend it will continue to defend it. Those who dislike it may have more reasons to do so. It remains to be seen what the record looks like for historical posterity.
PERIOD IN THE PLANALTO
Temer assumed the Presidency of the Republic definitively on August 31, 2016, after the Senate approved the impeachment of (PT). Vice-president elected on the PT ticket in 2014, he had already held the position on an interim basis since May 12, 2016, during the PT member’s departure.
His government lasted until January 1, 2019. At the end of his term, he was disapproved by 74% of Brazilians, according to an Ibope survey.
Temer’s inauguration was the target of criticism from the PT and left-wing movements on the grounds that there was no crime of responsibility that would justify the president’s impeachment.
Defenders of the process maintained that the process followed the rites provided for in the Constitution. Temer often says that, if there was “blow“, he was “lucky break”.
A traditional figure in Brazilian politics, the former president continues to participate in public life with an agenda of “pacification” of the country.
This report was produced by journalism intern João Lucas Casanova under the supervision of editor Bruno Lupion.
