Rio Gringa

Fifty Years After Brazil's Military Dictatorship Began

This month marks 50 years since the beginning of Brazil's military dictatorship. On March 31, 1964, a coup began that resulted in the overthrow of President João Goulart the following day. The military then ruled the country until 1985. Brazil didn't have the same type of experience that countries like Argentina or Chile had, but it did suffer the effects of authoritarianism: over 400 people were killed or disappeared, thousands were tortured, and censorship was the rule of the day.

So now, 50 years later, what has changed? The answer is complicated.

Investigating Dictatorship-Era Crimes

Unlike some of its neighbors, Brazil hasn't had a great reckoning about the dictatorship. There have been efforts to investigate crimes, though no one has been convicted for dictatorship-era abuses.

Efforts have been made to document human rights abuses, and in 2001, a commission was established to provide reparation to victims. Over 12,000 victims received compensation. In 2011, President Dilma Rousseff signed a law to create a truth commission to investigate dictatorship-era abuses, but the commission has yet to produce a final report. (It released preliminary findings in February.) The commission has also begun efforts to investigate Goulart's death, to determine if he was murdered. But the commission lacks prosecutorial power, and a 1979 amnesty law has protected those who inflicted abuses. In fact, no one has been tried or convicted of human rights abuses during the dictatorship, and it was only in December 2013 that the first trial of dictatorship-era security agents began; they stand accused of being responsible for a disappearance in 1971.

The Transition to Democracy and the Revindication of Guerrillas

Perhaps the greatest victory came with democracy. Brazil has held democratic elections for nearly the past three decades, and is considered a stable bastion of democracy. Most notably, the elections of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff brought two people who struggled against the regime to the presidency. These two leaders also promoted other former guerrillas and political activists to the highest echelons of power. This reversal of fortunes isn't only testament to the shift to democracy, but served as a reinvidication of those who fought against the dictatorship.

Support for Democracy vs. Support for Authoritarianism

Fifty years later, Brazilians are split on the concept of democracy. Support for democracy has grown, to be sure. According to the Latinobarómetro poll, in 2003 only 35 percent of Brazilians said democracy was the most preferable type of government. In 2013, that number had risen to 49 percent. At the same time, a minority still believe in dictatorship. In 2003, 19 percent of Brazilians said in certain circumstances, an authoritarian government can be preferable to democracy, and that percentage remained unchanged in 2013. Plus, according to the survey, only 26 percent of Brazilians are satisfied with how democracy works in their country--one of the lowest percentages in Latin America.

This minority of those who believe in authoritarianism came into the spotlight this week. Folha de São Paulo published a video of people explaining why they support military intervention in Brazil, as well as the new March of the Family, inspired by eponymous demonstrations in 1964 calling for the armed forces to intervene and prevent an alleged communist takeover.

 

The new March of the Family, during which people will show support for military intervention, is scheduled to take place on March 22 in over 200 cities across Brazil.

The Military's Evolving Role

During the upcoming October presidential elections, there could be an unusual candidate: a member of the military. General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira has the support of nearly 6 million voters, even though it's unclear if he's submitted the necessary paperwork to run. He's right-leaning and anti-PT, which is reflective of the military establishment. Though he's not openly sympathetic to the dictatorship, he's been known to quote the phrase: "Democracy is when I tell you what to do. Dictatorship is when you tell me what to do."

But that doesn't mean that the military's role in the country isn't under scrutiny. Corruption and abuse by military police as well as police violence during the June 2013 protests have helped garner support to demilitarize the country's law enforcement. A proposed constitutional amendment introduced last year seeks to restructure the country's security forces and to demilitarize police, and a public hearing will soon be held about the legislation.

Human Rights in Concept and in Practice

After experiencing over two decades of a regime that trampled human rights, this concept remains complicated in Brazil, which continues to contend with high levels of violence. On one hand, the idea of human rights as an abstract idea is generally accepted. A 2013 youth survey found that 90 percent of young Brazilians think increasing respect for human rights is very important for society. But when it comes to applying this concept in specific circumstances, it's sometimes a different story. For example, a 2010 survey found that nearly 48 percent of Brazilians approve of torture to elicit confessions--and that number actually rose from 29 percent in 1999. The two wildly popular Elite Squad films released in recent years produced a colorful discussion on human rights, as the film's special ops protagonists saw human rights as something for liberal hippies. And when the story broke in February of a young man accused of theft being beaten, stripped, and chained to a pole in Rio, the national debate it sparked revealed that some people actually supported the vigilantes responsible.

Additional resources:

• Folha's interactive guide about the 50-year anniversary of the coup
• A historical breakdown of the Marches of the Family with God for Freedom
• Profile of Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira

Image: Photos of the disappeared during the military regime. Photo by Rafael Tsavkko, Flickr.

May Reading Recommendations

My March reading list is coming along a bit slowly, but while I'm working on longer blog posts I've put together some of the things I've read recently that I recommend.

• Já Matei por Menos: Here's an explanation of how I came to follow Juliana Cunha's work. Her book was a quick and delightful read, a compilation of some of her blog posts dating back to 2008. One of the reasons I like Juliana's work is because she's a brutally honest, a no-BS kind of writer. No "homem cordial" (or rather, mulher cordial) here. Some of my favorite stories are about how she managed to get a steady stream of newly released books when she was young; the stereotypes of Bahians she's encountered in São Paulo; her favorite things about Salvador; her observations about her neighborhood; and her idea for a personal trainer for freelancers.

• 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus: Without a doubt, this is one of the most fascinating books I've read in a long time. It presents theories about the indigenous population in the Americas before European colonization, claiming that these civilizations were much bigger than previously estimated, with even more sophisticated societies than thought. It covers a large portion of the Americas, but the parts about Brazil and the Amazon are really interesting. It discusses the formations found in parts of the Amazon, and introduces a theory that parts of the rainforest were actually planted by humans.

• 1565: Enquanto o Brasil nascia: As expected, this book provides an intriguing look at Rio de Janeiro's early history. It really gives you a better sense of the importance of indigenous tribes in the city's founding and development. There's a lot more about the city's original inhabitants and their lasting impact on the city than in other books I've read about the city. It also provides interesting insight into the attempted French conquest of Rio. Other cool facts: where the word Copacabana comes from, how Botafogo got its name, and how the Angolan queen N'Zinga impacted Brazilian history.

• Why Everything Costs So Much in Brazil: This Superinteressante article brings together a lot of the numbers and facts you've probably heard before about why things are expensive in Brazil. But it does so in an engaging and coherent way, and gives a good, simple overview. It's available in Portuguese and English.

• Cars Made in Brazil Are Deadly: An excellent piece of investigative work on Brazil's car industry by the Associated Press. That cars made and sold in Brazil are less safe than in other countries is not exactly a revelation, but this is the kind of piece that has the potential to have an impact and inspire a movement for higher safety standards.

Nazis in Brazil

During World War II, Brazil sent troops to fight with the Allies, and opened military bases to American forces. But after the war, Brazil became a destination for between 1,500 and 2,000 Nazi war criminals. One of the most notorious Nazis, Josef Mengele, lived for the last years of his life in Brazil, and died of drowning in the resort town of Bertioga in São Paulo. Alois Brunner, one of the most wanted Nazi war criminals who escaped capture, was rumored to have lived in Brazil.

But what fewer people know is that Nazis--both German and Brazilian--made attempts at establishing Nazi settlements in Brazil.

One of the known German attempts was the Guyana Project, as detailed in the 2008 book The Guyana Project: A German Adventure on the Amazon. A Nazi delegation traveled to the Amazon in the 1930s to search for land to colonize and to establish settlements. One of the explorers, Joseph Greiner, died of malaria or yellow fever, and a nine-foot high grave was erected near the Rio Jari. The author of the book found the grave, marked with swastikas, along with remains of dwellings. (See photos here.)

Another case is that of Octávio Rocha Miranda, a Brazilian landowner in rural São Paulo who sought to create a Nazi-inspired homestead. Between 1930 and 1940, orphan boys, many of them black, were taken to his farm called Cruzeiro do Sul, where they were forced into slave labor. Nazi symbols were later found in the area, including swastika-imprinted bricks and a Nazi flag.

Revista de História recently made a short documentary about this case, which includes interviews with the farmer who originally discovered the bricks and several of those who were forced to work on the farm. There are Portuguese subtitles available.

Image: Via "Entre a suástica e a palmatória"

March Reading List

As I'm preparing for some longer posts and interviews, I thought I'd share some books I'm reading or that are on my to-read list.

• 1565: Enquanto o Brasil nascia. Written by tech journalist Pedro Doria, this book looks at the early history of Rio de Janeiro and to a lesser extent, São Paulo. Since it's written by a journalist rather than a historian, it's a much more fun read, giving you some amazing descriptions of what Rio looked like during the colonial period. It's a fascinating read for history buffs, though it's only available in Portuguese at the moment. I'm a huge history nerd, so I ordered this for a sort of absurd price and waited a month for it to arrive in New York.

• Brasil, País do Presente. Also written by a journalist, I'm eager to get my hands on this book. It's by Daniel Buarque, editor-in-chief of content at Terra and a blogger who writes about Brazil coverage in the international media. The book examines Brazil in the eyes of the United States, looking at the continued clichés Americans tend to reference when it comes to Brazil, as well as Brazil's changing image as an economic giant.

• O Jeitinho Americano. Written by American Brazilianist Matthew Shirts, who is editor-in-chief of National Geographic Brasil and a columnist for VEJA SP, this book is a collection of stories about life in Brazil, where he has lived for over 25 years. It also as looks at Brazilian and American cultures and the differences between the two. It's also available in e-book format which should make buying it from abroad a bit easier.

• Brazil Is the New America: How Brazil Offers Upward Mobility in a Collapsing World. "As the future of the American economy seems to get bleaker by the day, it is tempting to look abroad for business opportunities. Europe and Asia don't provide much hope, but what about somewhere that's both closer to home and sunny year-round? In "Brazil is the New America: How Brazil Offers Upward Mobility in a Collapsing World," James D. Davidson shows that the current financial situation in Brazil is a haven for those looking to make money in a world in turmoil." In other words, could be interesting, or could be kind of bad. But I'm curious.

• A alma encantadora das ruas. Paulo Barreto, also known as João do Rio, was a writer and journalist living in Rio at the turn of the 20th century. He was quite the colorful character, and this book is a collection of his newspaper articles published between 1904 and 1907 describing a changing city. I've had this one on my list for a while, and luckily it's considered public domain and can be downloaded from the web.

• Já Matei por Menos. I first learned about Juliana Cunha's blog, Já Matei por Menos, through Alex Castro a couple of years ago. I started following her blog and later befriended her when she was in New York last year. Juliana is a journalist and student by day, and a blogger by night. (She's currently on an amazing adventure in Asia, which she's chronicling on her blog). Her first book is coming out soon, featuring some of the best posts from her blog about her life in São Paulo and her travels. It's available for pre-sale in Brazil, and although the site doesn't accept foreign addresses, you can also order directly from the publisher.

A Brief History of Brazilian Capitals

Quintino at Diário do Rio posted this video from a government agency-produced educational series about different Brazilian cities. I also found the rest of the series about other state capitals, including São Paulo, Recife, Salvador, Brasília, and Porto Alegre. The series is a few years old, but what's interesting to see is just how much has changed in a short period of time, particularly when it comes to the outlook of locals and overall optimism. The Rio episode is particularly interesting, since it came before Rio's resurgence: before the city won the World Cup and Olympic Games, before the peak of the economic boom, before the major oil discovery, before the UPPs, and before the growth of international businesses. Available only in Portuguese.

A Brief History of Rio de Janeiro

 

A Brief History of São Paulo

 

A Brief History of Recife

 

A Brief History of Salvador

 

A Brief History of Brasília

  

A Brief History of Porto Alegre

 

Rachel Recommends: Brazil Books

• The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, and Politics edited by Robert M. Levine and John J. Crocitti, 1999 (English)

This book is a collection of articles and short stories about Brazil. It is an excellent overview of the country, its culture, history and social and economic trends. The editors devote chapters to different periods of history, to Brazilian women, race and ethnic relations, slavery, "realities" and "saudades" (nostalgia). It is an excellent way to gain a great snapshot of the country and to learn about both important historical facts and also lesser known interesting cultural trends, like about the indigenous movements.

• Culture Shock!: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette in Brazil, by Volker Poelzl (English)

This book is Brazil in a nutshell, giving you all the essential information in a condensed fashion about everything you ever needed to know about Brazil, including Brazilian history, culture, food, holidays, regional differences, and vital information you need to know when visiting or moving to Brazil. Includes a section on Brazilian Portuguese and a nice little cultural "Dos and Don'ts" section that include such fun advice as: "Don't be alarmed by people randomly talking to you in public," or "Don't use the American OK sign. It is considered an obscene gesture."

• Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life, by Alex Bellos, 2002 (English)

One of my absolute favorite books about Brazil, and one of my favorite books in general. Alex Bellos did extensive research and interviews about Brazilian soccer and managed to show, in his charming British way, just how incredibly intertwined soccer is with absolutely every aspect of Brazilian life: politics, the economy, popular culture, immigration, sociology, the media, religion, and much more. Here are a few key tidbits:

1. About 5,000 Brazilians play soccer abroad, not only in Western Europe but even in "Armenia, Senegal, China, Jamaica, Lebanon, Vietnam, Australia, and Haiti."
2. Brazilians love soccer so much they have invented new sports using football as the base, including something called "autoball" that involved men in cars knocking around a huge ball. It is now outlawed.
3. Many professional Brazilian soccer teams have a personal Candomble priest who tries to provide the team with luck from the spirits, though this fact is not well-publicized.

• Brazil: A Traveler's Literary Companion, edited by Alexis Levitin, 2010 (English)

An interesting collection of short stories by Brazilian authors divided into sections based on region. A great overview of Brazilian literature in translation.

• Deu no New York Times, (The New York Times Had It) by Larry Rohter, 2007 (Portuguese)

A collection of the former New York Times Brazil correspondent's most important articles about Brazil, including the best of culture, society, politics, the Amazon, and science/economy. He also provides interesting insight in the introductions, giving a unique outsider perspective from a foreigner who knows Brazil and Brazilians after decades of living and working in the country.

• O Rio é assim, (That's Rio) by José Carlos Oliveira, 2005 (Portuguese)

The absolute best non-fiction book on Rio de Janeiro, though only available in Portuguese (as far as I know). A collection of essays and columns written between 1953 and 1984, it's a fascinating look at a changing city with a mixture of pure love and complete frustration. He casts a critical eye on the city's problems (many of which still persist) and also poetically expresses his adoration for all there is to love about Rio.

• O que faz o brasil, Brasil? (What Makes Brazil, Brazil?) by Roberto da Matta, 1999 (Portuguese)

A non-fiction book that summarizes most of his major works, this short work by a famous Brazilian anthropologist helped shed light on some of the things I didn't understand about Brazilian society and culture and confirmed in a very astute and concise way the things I did understand.

• Brazil on the Rise, by Larry Rohter, 2010 (English)

Larry Rohter analyzes Brazil, this time in English. It's a must-read for any foreigner interested in Brazil, and is one of the best non-fiction reads you'll find in English about Brazil. You'll learn about Brazilian history, economy, and politics as well as important cultural idiosyncracies. Plus, there's fun reading on music, film, soccer, and interesting perspectives on race and religion.

• The New Brazil, by Riordan Roett, 2010 (English)

An excellent non-fiction account by one of the great Brazilianists, this book focuses on Brazilian history and also on current events, outlining political and economic changes that have transformed the country in the last decade. It's more on the academic side, but fascinating nonetheless.

• Gabriela, Cravo e Canela (Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon), by Jorge Amado, 1958 (Portuguese; translated editions in English and Spanish)

One of Brazil's most famous novels about the shift from the old-fashioned to modern Brazil. It takes place in Ilheus, Bahia and has a Dickensian amount of characters. One of the best fictional books you can read to understand Brazil.

• Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas,  (The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas) by Machado de Assis, 1881 (Portuguese, available in English)

One of the greatest works of Brazilian literature, this novel provides a look into 19th century Brazil, including social classes, slavery, and life in Rio. It's one of Machado de Assis' most famous works that's required reading for Brazilian high school students.

• Rio de Janeiro: Carnival on Fire, by Ruy Castro, 2003. (Portuguese, available in English)

A quick and easy read about the history and spirit of Rio de Janeiro. While it actually subscribes to a lot of Rio stereotypes, there are some great stories about Rio's history and important characters from the city, as well as an explanation of why certain things are the way they are in Rio. It's a good read as long as you also read some more realistic visions of the city, too.

Never a Dull Moment: A Day in Catete (Part I)

Today I decided to explore the neighborhood of Catete, just 5 minutes by Metro from Botafogo. It was originally part of the older part of the city, made up of Centro and Lapa, and has somehow managed to maintain the beautiful traditional architecture alongside modern residential buildings, and has a certain charm you won't find in Centro or Botafogo, though it is a mix of the two.

I went to two museums: The Museum of the Republic and the Museum of Folklore Art. Before I describe my visits, I want to point out a few things about the museum-visiting experience in Brazil (perhaps it's just Rio). First, though there seem to be audio tours available, no one ever offers you the option; apparently you have to ask for it yourself. At the second museum a guy offered me a "book" that I'd return at the end, and I turned it down but later found out there were basically no explanations of anything in the museum. Secondly, there are no signs to guide you around the museum in a coherent manner. Instead, there are security guards, one per hallway and room. In the first museum they were actually paying attention, but in the second one they were talking to each other and on the phone some of the time, and the other part of the time literally following me around. It's not the most pleasant of experiences, since you feel like they're expecting you to do something wrong, and especially since they were really unhelpful in the first museum and I thought I'd missed a part, even though I hadn't. It seems like such a waste of money, but security here is always a big deal, and this is how they like to deal with it.

First, I went to the Museum of the Republic. The building from the front isn't terribly impressive; it looks a lot like architecture in Buenos Aires and some parts of Rio's Centro. It was a palace built in 1866 by a Portuguese coffee baron family, and later became the Presidential Palace between 1896 and 1954. It has been restored to its original splendor and I have to say, definitely wins a Rachel Recommendation for a Rio must-see. It also includes a theater, separate exhibits, a lovely cafe, and a large beautiful park/gardens behind it.

The first floor had an exhibit discussing the construction of the mansion and the original family that lived in it, including some beautiful artifacts, like clothes, jewelery, ivory and precious stone umbrellas, and fans. The second exhibit on that floor is a temporary one, and one of my favorites. It was "Profiles of Brazilian Women in Republican History." We have lots of women heroes in American history, but the number and diversity of Brazilian women heroes, since the early 1900s, is truly an achievement, considering the incredible machismo, prejudice, and social norms that were not only realities in the beginning of the 20th century but even at the end. For example, did you know that divorce was only legalized in Brazil in 1977???

So the exhibit features a timeline of all powerful women in international history, and has special features of Brazilian women from the early 1900s until now, including all the first ladies, architects, feminists, doctors, religious leaders, pilots, poets, academics, musicians, human rights leaders, suffrage leaders, scientists, painters, engineers...the list goes on. It is truly impressive -- except the exhibit is only in Portuguese. The exhibit also includes artifacts of jewelery, clothing, hats, and other trinkets. The last part of the exhibit is a wall full of names of professions, and an enormous old-fashioned mirror on the opposite wall. Gostei :)

There were so many women I was impressed by, but here are two that stood out in my mind. The first is Zuzu Angel Jones, a fashion designer born in Minas Gerais in the 20s that grew up in Bahia and then started her career in Rio. She was a pioneer in Brazilian fashion and even exported her line to the US.  Everything was going well for her until the 1970s,  when her son was disappeared and murdered by the military regime, since he had been a militant against the dictatorship. From then on, Zuzu poured her energy into a campaign to recover her son's body, even involving the US government. She delivered a letter to Henry Kissinger, asking for his help, since her son was an American citizen by birth (his dad was American). From what I can tell, he didn't help. She spent 5 years on a campaign against the regime and looking for her son's body. She began incorporating political symbols into her clothing, the first "political clothing line" in history, using an angel symbol to symbolize her son. This became her weapon against the dictatorship. But in 1976, she died in a mysterious car crash at the age of 55. It was only later revealed that the regime was responsible for her death. A movie was made in 2006 here about her, which me (and you!) should all see!

The second woman who stood out was Ana Cristina Cesar, a poet born in Rio in 1952. She wrote her own poetry but also liked English literature, and studied in England. When she returned, she began to translate Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath poems into Portuguese. But ironically, she had a lot of Plath-like tendencies, and jumped out of the window of her parent's apartment in 1983, killing herself.

Next, I went to the two upper floors of the museum. which had the most beautiful, exquisite, and over the top ceilings and walls and decor and stained glass you've ever seen. Walking up the stairway and craning your head to see the top is truly a sight to behold.

The second floor is a lot of the social rooms: the chapel, the dining room, various salons, etc. They are stunning. Yes I DID NOT bring my camera yet again but I'm stealing some pictures from the website. The explanations are minimal, but the rooms are so beautiful that they speak for themselves. My favorite was the Arabian room, completely decked out in the most ridiculous Middle-Eastern tiles and design from ceiling to floor. the third picture in this series.

Then I made my way up to the third floor, a dimly lit exhibit dedicated entirely to Getulio Vargas, President of Brazil from 1930 - 1945 and one of its most beloved and hated. He was the populist president, similar to Peron in Argentina. He was born in Rio Grande do Sul in 1882, and worked his way up as a politician. In 1930, he lead the "Revolution of 1930," a bloodless coup d'etat and became the leader of the nation. He was a nationalist, pro-industry, semi-fascist and anti-communist and had strong support from the middle class and tenentes (military strongmen), but not from Sao Paulo's growing upper class, which would later form a radical opposition party against him. He worked on expanding industry and installing fascist-style programs to coopt all social classes into his policies. His Estado Novo, begun in 1937, established Vargas as basically a dictator, abolishing opposition parties, militarizing the state, and imposing censorship. In 1954, he killed himself with a revolver in his bedroom, leaving a suicide note citing his inability to control the situation of military men close to him threatening his power and trying to kill him.

The exhibit features lots of artifacts, information, and photographs of Vargas. Some of the most impressive of the ones from his funeral, when thousands upon thousands showed up for the unveiling of his coffin and marching in the funeral procession, men and women weeping, women fainting, and people flooding the presidential palace. There is an exact replica of his bedroom from the night he died; his bed looks so painfully small. And the most controversial part of the exhibit is a small glass case that supposedly contains the revolver Vargas used to kill himself, the bullet used, and his nightshirt. I am slightly dubious about the shirt. There is definitely a bullet hole near where the heart would be, and then a large cut on the other side of the shirt, but the blood stain is about the size of a quarter. Unless they scrubbed the heck out of that shirt, I cannot imagine that little blood resulting from shooting oneself in the heart. It is powerful to see, nonetheless.

 

 

The view from the third floor

 

The gun

You must see this museum if you visit Rio. See more pictures by clicking on the mansion here.