Returning from the airport, Darcy Ribeiro noted two things: the lights were on at Congress and the Army was defending it. Though there was no quorum for an impeachment, the Legislative conducted an institutional coup d'état by declaring the Presidency vacant - even though during the session an official notice that the President was still on national territory and merely moving to Porto Alegre was read. Darcy fruitlessly tried to mobilize the remaining legalist officers to prevent Ranieri Mazzili, President of the Chamber of Deputies, to assume the post. They couldn't blockade the palace or even pull off something as fickle as cutting off electricity. Mazzili was sworn in at 03:45 on the 2nd, in farcical circumstances. To top it off Darcy and Fico were in the palace as it happened, leading to a discussion about Fico's loyalty; he'd been obeying both Darcy and Costa e Silva, and the former caught Fico calling the latter "my chief" in a telegram. He called him a "treasonous monkey".

Meira Mattos made extensive further use of airlifts and at morning on the 2nd landed on Brasília itself, with some of his troops soon after. Others took a week to arrive by road. The 10th Police Battalion arrived on the same day. In this picture Georgino is to the left, holding his helmet. They hold their state's flag in front of the President's residence, symbol of federal power.
From Belo Horizonte Guedes dispatched the "Caicó Detachment" to Brasília, composed of:
1st Battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment
2nd Group of the 4th Howitzer Regiment
Howitzer battery
Shock battery (3 buses with surplus personnel)
10th Police Battalion
3rd Police Battalion

Elements of the:
Instruction Department
Auxiliary Service Corps
Police Cavalry Regiment
1st (Guard) Police Battalion
12th Police Battalion