O Brasil vivia a ditadura militar, e esta canção critica a censura do governo. Por volta dos anos 60, o ativismo político foi manifestado através da segunda geração da bossa nova, e o nacionalismo na música foi encorajado tanto pela rigidez do poder dos militares quanto pelo sucesso do rock que estava iniciando no país.

“Cotidiano” was composed by Chico Buarque in 1971 on the album “Construção”. During that time, Brazil was under a dictatorship. The song is critiquing the censorship of the government. This genre is often classified as Musica Popular Brasileira (known as MPB). In the early 60’s, political activism was manifested in the approaches of the second generation of Bossa Nova, and nationalism in music was encouraged both by the military’s seizure of power and by the success of early Brazilian rock'n'roll. At that time, new terms of discussion for contemporary popular music was being established parallel to the course of military government. The broadly based musical trend known as “MPB” emerged under the sign of the first cycle of military control, notably in historic songwriters' competitions that fulfilled evident political functions. MPB could include or incorporate traditional forms of samba, bossa nova and rural genres.