Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks.

Carlos Lamarca was a Brazilian Army Captain who deserted to join the armed struggle against the Brazilian military dictatorship. He was part of the Popular Revolutionary Vanguard and became, along with Carlos Marighella, one of the leaders of the armed struggle. Such groups were armed chiefly for self-protection from the Right-wing dictatorship that unleashed state terrorism against any who opposed their regime, including students, the clergy, and the children of those who called for democracy. The kidnappings by a few armed groups were conducted to free comrades suffering extremely brutal torture in Brazil's prisons.

The military dictatorship in Brazil, sometimes called the Fifth Brazilian Republic, was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces with support from the United States government against President João Goulart. It lasted 21 years, until 15 March 1985.

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is also the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh-largest by population, with over 212 million people. The country is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District, which hosts the capital, Brasília. Its most populous city is São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has the most Portuguese speakers in the world and is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is an official language.

São Paulo is the capital city of the state of São Paulo, as well as the most populous city in Brazil, the Americas, and both the Western and Southern Hemispheres. Listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as an alpha global city, it exerts substantial international influence in commerce, finance, arts, and entertainment. It is the largest urban area by population outside Asia and the most populous Portuguese-speaking city in the world. The city's name honors Paul the Apostle and people from the city are known as paulistanos. The city's Latin motto is Non ducor, duco, which translates as "I am not led, I lead".