Rubens Paiva
Encyclopedia
Rubens Paiva was a Brazil
ian civil engineer
and politician
who became a victim of torture
and forced disappearance
during the military dictatorship in Brazil.
. He was son of Jaime Almeida Paiva, a lawyer
and a farmer
, and Araci Beyrodt. He was married to Maria Lucrécia Eunice Facciolla Paiva, with whom he had five children: Marcelo Rubens Paiva
, Vera Silvia Facciolla Paiva, Maria Eliana Facciolla Paiva, Ana Lucia Facciolla Paiva and Maria Beatriz Facciolla Paiva.
He graduated from the Universidade Prebisteriana Mackenzie, in São Paulo, with a BA in Civil Engineering in 1954. He joined the "Oil is ours" nationalist campaign as a member of the student council. During his college years, he was the president of the Academic Center of the Civil Engineering Students and vice-president for the São Paulo Union of Students.
. He took office in February of the next year and participated in the Investigation Committee created to examine the activities of both the Institute for Social Research and Studies (Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Sociais) and the Brazilian Institute for Democratic Action (Instituto Brasileiro de Ação Democrática). Those two organizations were supposedly funding commentators and writers who warned about the "red menace
" in Brazil. The Committee discovered that some checks were being deposited in the accounts of military officers; this scheme was sponsoring the upcoming coup d'état
. With the 1964 coup, Paiva had his mandate revoked by the junta
on April 10, 1964.
and in Paris
, France
. Nine months later, he was supposed to fly to Buenos Aires
for a meeting with the deposed leaders João Goulart
and Leonel Brizola
. During the lay over in Rio de Janeiro though, he said to the flight hostess that he was leaving to buy cigarettes. Then, he boarded on another flight to São Paulo, heading to his house, where his wife and children lived. Paiva moved with them to Rio de Janeiro and returned to work as a civil engineer, but still kept contact with the exiled left-wing militants.
Rubens Paiva founded, alongside editor Fernando Gasparian, the newspaper Jornal de Debates and was the last director of Última Hora
in São Paulo, before Samuel Weiner sold it to Octávio Frias
' Grupo Folha
.
After a visit to Santiago
, Chile
, in order to help the exiled daughter of his friend Bocaiúva Cunha, Paiva returned to Brazil. On his trip, he was mistakenly identified as a contact of "Adriano", which was the contact of Carlos Lamarca
, then the top name on the most wanted list kept by Brazil's dictatorship regime.
.
Since then, Paiva was reported missing. According to documents published by the Brazilian military, the car that was conducting Paiva to the Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna (Center for Internal Defense Operations) prison collided with another and was attacked by unknown individuals that rescued him.
Eunice, Paiva's wife, was arrested and remained incommunicable for twelve days. Eliana, one of the couple's daughter, then a 15-year-old young woman, was arrested for 24 hours. Eunice and Eliana were interrogated in the same DOI-CODI
room where people supposedly were tortured. They claim to have seen blood, the feared pau de arara
and the portrait of Paiva in the tokens of recognition. They also heard the screams from prisoners apparently being tortured.
While his wife and daughter were being interrogated, Paiva was transferred to the Destacamento de Operações Internas (Department of Internal Operations), where he was probably tortured to death. His body was never found.
In a 1971 letter, Eunice wrote, based on witnesses, that her husband was tortured on the same day she was arrested at the III Aerial Zone, located near Santos Dumont Airport, then under the command of João Paulo Burnier, also accused of torturing and killing Stuart Angel
.
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...
ian civil engineer
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who became a victim of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and forced disappearance
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
during the military dictatorship in Brazil.
Early life
Rubens Paiva was born in Santos, São PauloSão Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
. He was son of Jaime Almeida Paiva, a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
, and Araci Beyrodt. He was married to Maria Lucrécia Eunice Facciolla Paiva, with whom he had five children: Marcelo Rubens Paiva
Marcelo Rubens Paiva
Marcelo Rubens Paiva is a Brazilian writer born in São Paulo, Brazil. He is the son of Rubens Paiva, who disappeared during Brazil's military dictatorship in 1971....
, Vera Silvia Facciolla Paiva, Maria Eliana Facciolla Paiva, Ana Lucia Facciolla Paiva and Maria Beatriz Facciolla Paiva.
He graduated from the Universidade Prebisteriana Mackenzie, in São Paulo, with a BA in Civil Engineering in 1954. He joined the "Oil is ours" nationalist campaign as a member of the student council. During his college years, he was the president of the Academic Center of the Civil Engineering Students and vice-president for the São Paulo Union of Students.
Political career
Paiva's political career began to rise on October 1962, when he was elected Congressman for the State of São Paulo by the Brazilian Labour PartyBrazilian Labour Party (historical)
The Brazilian Labour Party was a center-left populist political party in Brazil founded in 1945 by supporters of the late Getúlio Vargas. It was dismantled by the military after 1964 coup d'état.-History:...
. He took office in February of the next year and participated in the Investigation Committee created to examine the activities of both the Institute for Social Research and Studies (Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Sociais) and the Brazilian Institute for Democratic Action (Instituto Brasileiro de Ação Democrática). Those two organizations were supposedly funding commentators and writers who warned about the "red menace
Red menace
Red Menace or red menace may refer to:* Red Scare or Red Menace, a term starting during the Cold War era to describe the Soviet Union or an "international communist conspiracy"...
" in Brazil. The Committee discovered that some checks were being deposited in the accounts of military officers; this scheme was sponsoring the upcoming coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. With the 1964 coup, Paiva had his mandate revoked by the junta
Military junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
on April 10, 1964.
Exile and return
After the coup, Rubens Paiva exiled himself in YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Nine months later, he was supposed to fly to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
for a meeting with the deposed leaders 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...
and Leonel Brizola
Leonel Brizola
Leonel de Moura Brizola was a Brazilian politician. Launched in politics by Getúlio Vargas, Brizola was the only politician to serve as governor of two different states in the whole history of Brazil. In 1959 he was elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul, and in 1982 and 1990 he was elected...
. During the lay over in Rio de Janeiro though, he said to the flight hostess that he was leaving to buy cigarettes. Then, he boarded on another flight to São Paulo, heading to his house, where his wife and children lived. Paiva moved with them to Rio de Janeiro and returned to work as a civil engineer, but still kept contact with the exiled left-wing militants.
Rubens Paiva founded, alongside editor Fernando Gasparian, the newspaper Jornal de Debates and was the last director of Última Hora
Última Hora
Última Hora is a Spanish language newspaper published in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The newspaper was founded on July 26, 1996, as Dos, Enlace de Culturas by Benjamin Galvan Gomes. The name was changed to Ultima Hora on November 13, 1998...
in São Paulo, before Samuel Weiner sold it to Octávio Frias
Octávio Frias
Octavio Frias de Oliveira was a Brazilian executive who built Grupo Folha, one of Brazil's largest media empires.Frias was born in Rio de Janeiro, and the family moved to São Paulo in 1918...
' Grupo Folha
Grupo Folha
The Grupo Folha is a Brazilian conglomerate of publishing companies, including newspapers, publishing houses, print shops and so on...
.
After a visit to Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, in order to help the exiled daughter of his friend Bocaiúva Cunha, Paiva returned to Brazil. On his trip, he was mistakenly identified as a contact of "Adriano", which was the contact of Carlos Lamarca
Carlos Lamarca
Carlos Lamarca was a Brazilian Army Captain who deserted to become a communist guerilla member. He was a part of the revolutionary guerrilla group Popular Revolutionary Vanguard and became, along with Carlos Marighella, one of the major elements of communist subversion in Brazil...
, then the top name on the most wanted list kept by Brazil's dictatorship regime.
Arrest and disappearance
Hoping to catch "Adriano" and thus reach Lamarca, the repression forces invaded Paiva's house in Rio de Janeiro on January 20, 1971. The invasion was conducted by armed men that claimed being members of the Brazilian Air ForceBrazilian Air Force
The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces"...
.
Since then, Paiva was reported missing. According to documents published by the Brazilian military, the car that was conducting Paiva to the Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna (Center for Internal Defense Operations) prison collided with another and was attacked by unknown individuals that rescued him.
Eunice, Paiva's wife, was arrested and remained incommunicable for twelve days. Eliana, one of the couple's daughter, then a 15-year-old young woman, was arrested for 24 hours. Eunice and Eliana were interrogated in the same 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....
room where people supposedly were tortured. They claim to have seen blood, the feared pau de arara
Pau de Arara
Pau de arara is a Portuguese term that literally translates to "parrot's perch". The term originates from the habit of tying birds to a pole for sale, where they also hang for transportation...
and the portrait of Paiva in the tokens of recognition. They also heard the screams from prisoners apparently being tortured.
While his wife and daughter were being interrogated, Paiva was transferred to the Destacamento de Operações Internas (Department of Internal Operations), where he was probably tortured to death. His body was never found.
In a 1971 letter, Eunice wrote, based on witnesses, that her husband was tortured on the same day she was arrested at the III Aerial Zone, located near Santos Dumont Airport, then under the command of João Paulo Burnier, also accused of torturing and killing Stuart Angel
Stuart Angel
Stuart Edgar Angel Jones was an American Brazilian guerrilla fighter captured, tortured and killed by officers of the Brazilian military dictatorship.-Biography:...
.