Corinthians Democracy

the military government

Wladimir, and with the consent of club president Waldemar Pires, the squad players took control over the management of the team Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. Sócrates, together with teammate Wladimir, organised the players to discuss and then vote with a simple show of hands on all matters that affected them, ranging from what time they would eat lunch to challenging the concentração, a common practice in Brazil where players were practically locked in a hotel for one or two days before a game. One of the most notable decisions they made was, in 1982, having "Vote on 15th"^[2] printed on the back of their shirts to motivate fans to vote in the first Brazilian multiparty election since the 1964 military coup

Sócrates revived a contact offer from Fiorentina. Despite the offer, the player was willing to stay in Corinthians if Congress approved the Constitutional Amendment introduced by Dante de Oliveira, which would restore direct elections for President. It did not pass,^[3]

senior media creative Washington Olivetto, who coined the term Democracia Corintiana. Eventually, the government reacted, as Brigadier Jerônimo Bastos, head of the Brazilian Sports Confederation