Brazilian Integralism was a
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
ian political movement created in October 1932. Founded and led by
Plínio SalgadoPlínio Salgado was the founder and leader of the 1930s Brazilian political movement known as "Integralism".-Early life:...
, a literary figure who was relatively famous during the 1922 Modern Art Week, the movement had adopted some characteristics of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an mass movements of those times, specifically of the
Italian fascismThe term Italian Fascism denotes the authoritarian nationalist Fascismo political movement that ruled Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943 under leader Benito Mussolini...
, but differentiating itself from some forms of fascism in that Salgado did not preach
racismRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
(they even had as their
sloganA slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish and Irish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm...
: "
Union of all races and all peoples").
Brazilian Integralism was a
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
ian political movement created in October 1932. Founded and led by
Plínio SalgadoPlínio Salgado was the founder and leader of the 1930s Brazilian political movement known as "Integralism".-Early life:...
, a literary figure who was relatively famous during the 1922 Modern Art Week, the movement had adopted some characteristics of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an mass movements of those times, specifically of the
Italian fascismThe term Italian Fascism denotes the authoritarian nationalist Fascismo political movement that ruled Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943 under leader Benito Mussolini...
, but differentiating itself from some forms of fascism in that Salgado did not preach
racismRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
(they even had as their
sloganA slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish and Irish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm...
: "
Union of all races and all peoples"). The name of the party was
Ação Integralista Brasileira (
AIB,
Brazilian Integralist Action); the reference to
IntegralismIntegralism, or integral nationalism, is a perspective according to which society is an organic unity. Although it is marked by its being exclusionary and particularistic, and there has been consideration of its historic role as a sort of proto-fascism or actual fascism , this link remains...
mirrored the choice of name for a traditionalist movement in
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
,
Integralismo LusitanoIntegralismo Lusitano was a Portuguese Integralist political movement advocating traditionalism, opposed to conservatism, founded in Coimbra in 1914, and especially active during the Portuguese First Republic...
. For its symbol, the AIB used a flag with a white disk on a
royal blueRoyal blue describes both a bright shade and a dark range of blue. It is said to have been invented by millers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of which won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte....
background, with an uppercase
sigmaSigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the /s/ sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form is used. Sigma (upper case Σ, lower case σ; Greek Σιγμα, lower case in...
(Σ) in its center.
Character
In its outward forms, Integralism looked as a copy of European fascism: a green-shirted
paramilitaryA paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status...
organization with
uniformA uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organisations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
ed ranks, highly regimented street demonstrations, and rhetoric against
MarxismMarxism is the political philosophy and economic worldview based upon a materialist interpretation of history, a Marxist analysis of capitalism, a theory of social change, and an atheist view of human liberation derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; three primary aspects of...
and
liberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
. However, it differed markedly from it in specific ideology: a prolific writer before turning political leader, Salgado interpreted human history at large as an opposition between "materialism" - understood by him as the normal operation of natural laws guided by blind necessity - as opposed to "spiritualism": the belief in God, in the immortality of the soul , and in the conditioning of individual existence to superior, eternal goals. Salgado advocated, therefore, the harnessing of individual interest to values such as pity, self-donation and concern to others. For him, Human history consisted in the eternal struggle of the human spírit as against the laws of nature, as expressed by the atheism of modern society in the twin forms of liberalism and socialism - capitalist competition leading eventually to the merger of private capitals in a single state-owned economy. Therefore the fact that the integralists favoured
nationalismNationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...
as a
shared spiritual identity, in a context of heterogeneous and tolerant nation influenced by "
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
virtues" - such virtues being concretely enforced by means of an authoritarian government enforcing compulsory political activity under the guidance of an acknowledged leader. Integralism, therefore, had as its specific character the religious, traditional Catholic roots of its totalitarian ideology - something akin to the contemporary Irish blueshirts. Like the European fascists, Integralists were essentially
middle classThe middle class are any class in the middle of a social schema. In Weberian socio-economic terms they are the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socioeconomically between the working class and upper class. In Marxist terms, middle class commonly refers to either the...
. In particular, they drew support from military officers, especially in the
Brazilian NavyThe Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America, with a 32,800-ton aircraft carrier, the NAe São Paulo , British-built frigates, locally-built corvettes, coastal diesel-electric submarines and many...
.
Integralism being a mass movement, there were marked differences in ideology among its leaders under the influence of various international fascist and quasi-fascist contemporary movements, as in the issue of
anti-SemitismAntisemitism is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, often rooted in hatred of their ethnic background, culture, or religion....
: Salgado was more or less indifferent to it, while
Gustavo BarrosoGustavo Dodt Barroso was a Brazilian writer and politician associated with Brazilian Integralism.- Biography :He was half German by birth, his mother coming from Württemberg....
, the party's chief doctrinnaire after Salgado, was known for his militant antisemitic views, being the translator into Portuguese of the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as well as the author of various antisemitic works of his own (
Judaism, Freemasonry and Communism;
Sinagogues in São Paulo). This led to at least two serious ruptures in the movement: one in 1935 and the other, 1936, when Plínio almost renounced leadership of the movement.
One of the most important principles in an Integralist's life was the "
Internal Revolution", or "
Revolution of the Self", through which a man was encouraged to stop thinking only for himself, and instead start to integrate into the idea of a giant integralist family - becoming one with the Homeland, while also leaving behind selfish and "
evil" values.
Attitudes of the Vargas regime
In the beginning of the 1930s, Brazil went through a strong wave of political
radicalismA revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
. The government led by
PresidentThe President of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The presidential system was established in 1889, upon the proclamation of the republic in a military coup d'etât against the Emperor Pedro II. Since then, Brazil had six constitutions, two...
Getúlio VargasGetúlio Dornelles Vargas served as president of Brazil from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954.-Background:...
had a degree of support from workers because of the labor laws he introduced, and competed with the
Communist Party of BrazilThe Communist Party of Brazil is a political party in Brazil. It currently takes part on the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Worker's Party.-History:...
for working class support. In the face of communist advances, Vargas turned towards establishing the integralist
Estado NovoEstado Novo was the name of the authoritarian government installed in Brazil by President Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, which lasted from 1937 to 1945. It was modeled on the Estado Novo regime in Portugal.-Great Depression:...
, the only mobilized base of support on the
rightIn politics, right-wing, political right, rightist and the Right are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for preserving traditional or cultural values and customs or for maintaining some form of social hierarchy or private...
, building upon his intensive crackdown against the Brazilian
leftIn politics, left-wing, political left, leftist and the Left are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for changing traditional social orders or for creating a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and privilege...
. With center-left tendencies out of the Vargas' coalition and the left crushed, Vargas gradually started seeking to co-opt the popular movement to attain a widespread support base.
Integralism, claiming a rapidly growing membership throughout Brazil by 1935, especially among the
German-BrazilianA German Brazilian is a Brazilian person of German ancestry or origin...
s and Italian-Brazilians (communities which together amounted to approximately one million people), began filling this ideological void. In 1934, the Integralists targeted the Communist movement led by Luiz Carlos Prestes, mobilizing a conservative mass support base engaging in street brawls. In 1934, following the disintegration of Vargas' delicate alliance with labor, and his new alliance with the AIB, Brazil entered one of the most agitated periods in its political history. Brazil's major cities began to resemble the 1932-33 street battles in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
between the
Kommunistische Partei DeutschlandsThe Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period...
and the National-Socialist German Workers' Party. By mid-1935, Brazilian politics had been drastically destabilized.
Crackdown and legacy
When Vargas established full
dictatorial powersA dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator, without hereditary ascension. It has three possible meanings:...
under the Estado Novo in 1937, he turned against the movement. Although AIB favored Vargas' hard right turn, Salgado was overly ambitious, with overt presidential aspirations that threatened Vargas' grip on power. In 1938, the Integralists made a last attempt at achieving power, by attacking the Guanabara Palace during the night, but police and army troops arrived at the last minute, and the ensuing gunfight ended with around twenty casualties. This attempt was called the Integralist Assault and the Integralist
Pajama Putsch.
AIB disintegrated after that failure in 1938, and some years later Salgado founded the Party of Popular Representation (PRP), which maintained the ideology of Integralism, but without the uniforms, salutes, signals, and signs. In 1964, many of the former members of Brazilian Integralist Action took part in the
military coupA coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...
that overthrew
João GoulartJoão Belchior Marques Goulart was a Brazilian politician and the 24
th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on April 1, 1964. He is considered to have been the last left-wing President of the country before Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003.-Name:João...
; the Catholic bishop and famous socialist D.
Hélder CâmaraDom Hélder Pessoa Câmara was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife....
and the Brazilian leftist
Leonel BrizolaLeonel de Moura Brizola was a Brazilian politician. He was governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul from 1959 to 1962 and served two terms as governor of Rio de Janeiro state...
were both former integralists. Today, there are very small and powerless groups in Brazil which upholds the integralist tradition.
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