Command of Communist Hunting
Encyclopedia
The Command for Communist Hunting (Portuguese
: Comando de Caça aos Comunistas - CCC), was a paramilitary
and conservative terrorist
group active in Brazil
during the first years of the military dictatorship
(1964–1985).
that followed the fall of the João Goulart
government:
"When the military coup took place, the Rádio MEC was invaded by members of the Comando de Caça aos Comunistas (CCC) which literally destroyed the studios". Rádio MEC was a state-owned broadcasting station in Rio de Janeiro. The CCC was also held responsible for the arsoning, on the same day, of the Rio headquarters building of UNE, the national university students organization.
As a generic denomination for any group of righitist students,the CCC was also involved in the events known as Conflito da Rua Maria Antônia (Maria Antônia Street Battle) in 1968, among students of Universidade Mackenzie, a private college, and Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil's leading public university—where a student died.
As a formally organized paramilitary group, the CCC became known to the general public when it staged attacks to leftist personalities outside the university milieu. Its most shocking acion was the invasion of the Ruth Escobar Theatre in São Paulo
on July 18, 1968, where they beat the cast members of Chico Buarque
's play Roda Viva. Among them was actress Marília Pêra
, who was hit with rubber truncheons backstage and had to flee naked into the street, alongside other members of the female cast. According to the same sources, the CCC was also responsible for a bomb attack on the Opinião Theatre in Rio de Janeiro
on December 2 of the same year and for kidnapping, torturing and murdering of Antônio Henrique Pereira Neto, a Catholic priest of Recife
and aide of arcebishop Helder Câmara
, on May 26, 1969.
and could arrest citizens without the right of defense, Brazilian repressive institutions such as DOI-CODI
holding the power of life and death over anyone deemed an enemy of the military regime, paramilitary groups such as CCC lost their raison d' étre and ceased their actions, its individual members quietly melding into the social support basis for the dictatorship.
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Comando de Caça aos Comunistas - CCC), was a paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
and conservative terrorist
Conservative terrorism
Conservative terrorism is a type of terrorism, associated with state loyal terrorism, that is carried out by militants intending to eliminate threats which they believe should have been eliminated by a state's security forces...
group active in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
during the first years of the military dictatorship
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
(1964–1985).
Activities
The CCC, in the mid-1960s, began as an informal organization of rightist university students who busied themselves with bullying of allgedly leftist students, or anyone they deemed as a communist. At the outbreak of the military dictatorship, it was such a group of studentes, who, according to the historian Maria Yedda Leite Linhares, engaged in witch-hunting during the red scareRed Scare
Durrell Blackwell Durrell Blackwell The term Red Scare denotes two distinct periods of strong Anti-Communism in the United States: the First Red Scare, from 1919 to 1920, and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. The First Red Scare was about worker revolution and...
that followed the fall of the João Goulart
João Goulart
João Belchior Marques Goulart was a Brazilian politician and the 24th 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 until Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003.-Name:João Goulart is...
government:
"When the military coup took place, the Rádio MEC was invaded by members of the Comando de Caça aos Comunistas (CCC) which literally destroyed the studios". Rádio MEC was a state-owned broadcasting station in Rio de Janeiro. The CCC was also held responsible for the arsoning, on the same day, of the Rio headquarters building of UNE, the national university students organization.
As a generic denomination for any group of righitist students,the CCC was also involved in the events known as Conflito da Rua Maria Antônia (Maria Antônia Street Battle) in 1968, among students of Universidade Mackenzie, a private college, and Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil's leading public university—where a student died.
As a formally organized paramilitary group, the CCC became known to the general public when it staged attacks to leftist personalities outside the university milieu. Its most shocking acion was the invasion of the Ruth Escobar Theatre in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
on July 18, 1968, where they beat the cast members of Chico Buarque
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda , popularly known as Chico Buarque , is a singer, guitarist, composer, dramatist, writer and poet...
's play Roda Viva. Among them was actress Marília Pêra
Marília Pêra
Marília Pêra is an award-winning Brazilian actress.-Biography:Pêra was born to actors Manuel Pêra and Dinorah Marzullo. Her sister is also an accomplished actress Sandra Pêra...
, who was hit with rubber truncheons backstage and had to flee naked into the street, alongside other members of the female cast. According to the same sources, the CCC was also responsible for a bomb attack on the Opinião Theatre in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
on December 2 of the same year and for kidnapping, torturing and murdering of Antônio Henrique Pereira Neto, a Catholic priest of Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
and aide of arcebishop Helder Câmara
Hélder Câmara
Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife.He was known as the 'Bishop of Corum' and took a clear position with the urban poor....
, on May 26, 1969.
Military Backing and demise
As the military government, at the end of 1968, dissolved habeas corpusHabeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
and could arrest citizens without the right of defense, Brazilian repressive institutions such as DOI-CODI
DOI-CODI
The Destacamento de Operações de Informações - Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna was the Brazilian intelligence and repression agency during the military government . This period started on March 31, 1964 with the removal of the civilian government by military forces and ended in the 1984....
holding the power of life and death over anyone deemed an enemy of the military regime, paramilitary groups such as CCC lost their raison d' étre and ceased their actions, its individual members quietly melding into the social support basis for the dictatorship.
See also
- ABINAbinAbin may refer to:* Abin Sur, a fictional character* R. Abin I, Jewish Talmudist* R. Abin II, Jewish Talmudist* Jose ben Abin, Jewish Talmudist* Abin Naggara, Jewish Talmudist* Idi b. Abin Abin Naggara, Jewish Talmudist...
(Agência Brasileira de Inteligência) - Present Brazilian Intelligence Agency - DOI-CODIDOI-CODIThe Destacamento de Operações de Informações - Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna was the Brazilian intelligence and repression agency during the military government . This period started on March 31, 1964 with the removal of the civilian government by military forces and ended in the 1984....
(Destacamento de Operações de Informações - Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna) - Brazilian Intelligence Agency during Military Dictatorship