About the Event

About the event:

On March 31, 1964, one of the most momentous and tragic moments in the history of Brazil unfolded: the 1964 Military Coup. It marked the beginning of one of the darkest chapters in Brazilian history—a dictatorship that lasted 21 years (1964-1985). This period was characterized by the systematic use of torture and extrajudicial killings of dissidents, censorship of the press and artists, severe restriction of political rights, and the abolition of direct elections and democracy.

In their book, Brazil: A Biography (2019), researchers Lilia Schwarcz and Heloisa Starling provide a comprehensive account of the mechanisms of persecution employed by the dictatorial regime. They highlight that within the first week after the coup, 763 police inquiries were initiated. Within a year, "10,000 defendants and 40,000 witnesses were subjected to investigations demonstrating complete disregard for the rules of justice. Between 1964 and 1973, thousands of Brazilians were affected by these purges, with an estimated 4,841 people losing their political rights."

From 1967 onward, the regime’s methods of repression became increasingly brutal and sophisticated, utilizing structures such as the Departments of Political and Social Order (DOPS), the Center for Internal Defense Operations (CODI), the Information Operations Detachment (DOI), and the Army Information Center (CIE). The regime employed censorship as a critical tool to silence Brazilian citizens and suppress political mobilization. As Schwarcz and Starling (2019) explain, “Censorship began to operate with different objectives: to ensure control over the public flow of information, communication, and the production of opinion; to suppress the symbolic content present in cultural production; and to manipulate the mechanisms of memory and interpretation of national reality.” During this time, book editors were forced to submit their manuscripts for approval, and artists like Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Nara Leão, Chico Buarque, and Geraldo Vandré were exiled. Intellectuals, students, and teachers were arrested and kept under close surveillance.

Conversely, the opposition’s strategy against the military regime underscored the importance of connecting culture and politics as essential tools for rebuilding narratives that would challenge those created by the government and promote the debate of ideas. Notable among these resistance efforts was the 1965 demonstration at the Hotel Glória in Rio de Janeiro, as mentioned by Schwarcz and Starling, which included journalists Antonio Callado, Márcio Moreira Alves, and Carlos Heitor Cony; filmmakers Glauber Rocha, Mário Carneiro, and Joaquim Pedro de Andrade; Ambassador Jayme de Azevedo Rodrigues; theater director Flávio Rangel; and poet Thiago de Mello. Another significant event was the vigil at the Municipal Theatre of Rio against censorship, featuring the participation of prominent figures from music, literature, architecture, drama, cinema, and visual arts, such as Drummond, Chico Buarque, Vinicius de Moraes, Nelson Rodrigues, Oscar Niemeyer, actors Paulo Autran, Cacilda Becker, and Tônia Carrero, literary critic Otto Maria Carpeaux, and painters Di Cavalcanti and Djanira. The artistic community played a key role in resisting dictatorial authoritarianism, particularly through "popular songs," "protest songs," and various forms of performance art. Their efforts aimed to challenge the existing power structures and erode the official narrative propagated by the dictatorial government.

More recently, supporters of the former President of the Republic in Brazil who did not accept the validity of the election results attacked the Buildings of the Três Poderes in Brasília. This led to the vandalism and destruction of the Judiciary, Legislative, and Executive branches’ headquarters. These incidents on January 8, 2023, highlight the ongoing need for restoration and healing. The damage inflicted on Brazilian democracy during these assaults remains deeply impactful.

In light of these recent threats to Brazilian democracy and the 60th anniversary of the 1964 Military Coup, this symposium seeks to foster an interdisciplinary discussion on the artistic productions in Brazil and Latin America that served as forms of resistance and beacons of freedom during times of authoritarian rule.

Source: Schwarcz, L. M., & Starling, H. B. (2019). Brazil: A biography. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.