1978 in Brazil

Federal government

• President: General Ernesto Geisel
• Vice President: General Adalberto Pereira dos Santos

Governors

• Acre: Vacant
• Alagoas:
  • Divaldo Suruagy (until 14 August)
  • Ernandes Lopes Dorvillé (14 August-14 September)
  • Geraldo Mello (from 14 September)
• Amazonas: Henoch da Silva Reis
• Bahia: Roberto Santos
• Ceará:
  • José Adauto Bezerra (until 28 February)
  • Waldemar Alcântara (from 28 February)
• Espírito Santo: Élcio Álvares
• Goiás: Irapuan Costa Jr.
• Maranhão: Oswaldo da Costa Nunes Freire
• Mato Grosso:
  • Jose Garcia Neto (until 14 August)
  • Cássio Leite de Barros (from 14 August)
• Mato Grosso do Sul: Vacant
• Minas Gerais:
  • Aureliano Chaves (until 9 July)
  • Levindo Ozanan Coelho (from 9 July)
• Pará:
  • Aloysio Chaves (until 1 August)
  • Clóvis Rego (from 1 August)
• Paraíba:
  • Ivan Bichara (until 14 August)
  • Dorgival Terceiro Neto (from 14 August)
• Paraná: Jaime Canet Júnior
• Pernambuco: Francisco Moura Cavalcanti
• Piauí:
  • Dirceu Arcoverde (until 14 August)
  • Djalma Veloso (from 14 August)
• Rio de Janeiro: Floriano P. Faria Lima
• Rio Grande do Norte: Tarcisio de Vasconcelos Maia
• Rio Grande do Sul: Sinval Sebastião Duarte Guazzelli
• Santa Catarina: Antônio Carlos Konder Reis
• São Paulo: Paulo Egídio Martins
• Sergipe: José Rollemberg

Vice governors

• Acre: Omar Sabino de Paula
• Alagoas: Antônio Guedes Amaral (from 14 September)
• Amazonas: João Bosco Ramos de Lima
• Bahia: Edvaldo Brandão Correia
• Ceará:
  • José Waldemar de Alcântara e Silva (until 1 March)
  • Vacant thereafter (from 1 March)
• Espírito Santo: Carlos Alberto Lindenberg von Schilgen
• Goiás: José Luís Bittencourt
• Maranhão: José Duailibe Murad
• Mato Grosso:

• • Cássio Leite de Barros (until 14 August)
  • Vacant thereafter (from 14 August)
• Mato Grosso do Sul: Vacant
• Minas Gerais:
  • Levindo Ozanam Coelho (until 5 July)
  • Vacant thereafter (from 5 July)
• Pará:
  • Clovis Silva de Morais Rego (until 1 August)
  • Vacant thereafter (from 1 August)
• Paraíba:
  • Dorgival Terceiro Neto (until 14 August)
  • Vacant thereafter (from 14 August)
• Paraná: Octávio Cesário Pereira Júnior
• Pernambuco: Paulo Gustavo de Araújo Cunha
• Piauí:
  • Djalma Martins Veloso (until 14 August)
  • Vacant thereafter (from 14 August)
• Rio de Janeiro: Vacant
• Rio Grande do Norte: Geraldo Melo
• Rio Grande do Sul: José Augusto Amaral de Sousa
• Santa Catarina: Marcos Henrique Büechler
• São Paulo: Ferreira Filho
• Sergipe: Antônio Ribeiro Sotelo

March

• March 29-31: United States President Jimmy Carter makes his three-day visit to Brazil and is the fifth US president to visit the country. ^[1][2]

July

• July 8: A fire destroys the art collection at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro.^[3]

August

• August 4: President Ernesto Geisel signs a national decree, that prohibits strikes in the sectors of national security and public services.^[4]

September

• September 6: Dr. Roberto Farina is sentenced to two years in prison for performing Brazil's first male-to-female gender-affirming surgery.^[5]

October

• October 13: The National Congress of Brazil grants Constitutional Amendment No. 11, which would repeal the Institutional Act No. 5.^[6]
• October 16: General João Batista Figueiredo is elected President of Brazil by the electoral college.^[7]
• October 27: A federal judge delivers a judgement, establishing that journalist Vladimir Herzog was wrongfully detained and tortured under the premises of the DOI-CODI.^[8]

December

• December 29: President Ernesto Geisel signs a decree that lifts the banning of over a hundred Brazilians living abroad as political exiles. The decree also extinguishes the General Commission of Investigations.^[9]

January

• January 4: André Neles, footballer (died 2020)
• January 19: Eryk Rocha, director and screenwriter
• January 29: Joice Hasselmann, journalist, writer, activist and conservative political commentator

March

• March 7: Jaqueline Jesus, psychologist and activist
• March 18: Fernandão, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2014)

May

• May 8: Lúcio, footballer
• May 18: Helton, football manager and former player
• May 10: Marcelo Moretto, footballer
• May 30: Lyoto Machida, mixed martial artist

June

• June 23: Leandro Firmino, actor
• June 28: Baiano, footballer

July

• July 4: Marcos Daniel, tennis player^[10]
• July 17: Ricardo Arona, mixed martial artist
• July 20: André Bankoff, actor

August

• August 31: Regiane Alves, actress

September

• September 16: Emerson Sheik, association footballer
• September 16: Carolina Dieckmann, actress

November

• 6 November: Daniella Cicarelli, Brazilian model
• 25 November: Taís Araújo, actress