Carlos Marighella
Encyclopedia
Carlos Marighella was a Brazil
ian Marxist
revolutionary
and writer.
Marighella's most famous contribution to guerrilla literature was the Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla
, consisting of advice on how to disrupt and overthrow an authoritarian regime aiming a revolution. He also wrote For the Liberation of Brazil
. The theories laid out in both books have greatly influenced contemporary ideological activism. Unlike Che Guevara
, who proposed guerrilla activity in the countryside, Marighela's theories on urban guerrilla warfare
envisaged cities as the source of rebellion.
, to Italian immigrant Augusto Marighella and Afro-Brazilian
Maria Rita do Nascimento. His father was a blue collar worker originally from Emilia
, while his mother was a descendent of African slaves, brought from Sudan
(Hausa blacks
). He spent his young life at a house in Rua do Desterro, at the Baixa do Sapateiro neighbourhood, where he would graduate from primary and secondary education. In 1934, he left the Polytechnic School of Bahia, where he was pursuing a degree in civil engineering
, in order to become an active member of the Brazilian Communist Party
(Partido Comunista Brasileiro - PCB). He then moved to Rio de Janeiro
to work in the restructuring of PCB.
Marighella was first arrested in 1932, after he wrote a poem criticizing the administration of Bahia intervenor Juracy Magalhães. On May 1, 1936, during the Getúlio Vargas
dictatorship, he was once again arrested for subversion. He was tortured by the political police led by Filinto Müller
, now considered the "patron of torturers" in Brazil. He remained in jail for a year. He was released by "macedada" (the measure which freed political prisoners without pressing charges against them). After his release, he once again entered clandestinity, along with all members of PCB. He was recaptured in 1939, being once again tortured. He is not released until 1945, when an amnesty during the democratization process of the country benefited all political prisoners.
The following year, Marighella was elected constituent federal deputy by the Bahian branch of PCB, but loses his office in 1948, under the new proscription of the party. Back in clandestinity, he occupied several offices in the leadership of the party. Invited by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
, Marighella visited China between 1953 and 1954 in order to learn more about the Chinese Communist Revolution. In May 1964, after the military coup, he was shot and arrested by agents of the Department of Social and Political Order (Departamento de Ordem Política e Social - DOPS), the political police, at a movie theater in Rio. he was released in the following year by a court order. In 1966, he wrote The Brazilian Crisis, opting for the armed struggle against the military dictatorship. Later that year, he renounced to his office in the national leadership of PCB.
On August 1967, he participated at the 1st Conference of Latin American Solidarity in Havana
, contradicting what his party had determined. In Havana, he wrote Some Questions About the Guerrillas in Brazil, dedicated to the memory of Che Guevara
and made public by Jornal do Brasil
on September 5, 1968. That same year he was expelled from PCB, and founded the Ação Libertadora Nacional
(ALN) on February 1968. In September 1969, ALN members kidnapped the U.S. ambassador Charles Burke Elbrick
in a coordinated move with the Revolutionary Movement 8 October (Movimento Revolucionário 8 de Outubro - MR-8).
After a series of successful robberies and kidnappings, the police force was determined to eliminate him. He was shot by police at an ambush at 8pm on November 4, 1969 at 800 Alameda Casa Branca, São Paulo
. This ambush was organized by a policeman Sérgio Paranhos Fleury
, known for his work inside DOPS.
, August 24, 1970 Biography at a site dedicated to Marighella Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla by Carlos Marighella "Estratégia para matar o terror", Veja
, November 12, 1969
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 Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
and writer.
Marighella's most famous contribution to guerrilla literature was the Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla
Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla
Minimanual Of The Urban Guerrilla is a book written by Brazilian guerrilla fighter Carlos Marighella in June 1969. It consists of advices on how to disrupt and overthrow an authoritarian regime aiming a revolution...
, consisting of advice on how to disrupt and overthrow an authoritarian regime aiming a revolution. He also wrote For the Liberation of Brazil
For the Liberation of Brazil
For the Liberation of Brazil is a Marxist tract on guerrilla warfare written by Carlos Marighella. First published in France as Carlos Marighela: Pour la Libération du Brésil presented by Conrad Detrez, Editions du Seuil, 1970...
. The theories laid out in both books have greatly influenced contemporary ideological activism. Unlike Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, who proposed guerrilla activity in the countryside, Marighela's theories on urban guerrilla warfare
Urban guerrilla warfare
Urban guerrilla redirects here. For the Hawkwind song, see Urban Guerrilla.Urban guerrilla refers to someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare in an urban environment...
envisaged cities as the source of rebellion.
Biography
Marighella was born in Salvador, BahiaBahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, to Italian immigrant Augusto Marighella and Afro-Brazilian
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...
Maria Rita do Nascimento. His father was a blue collar worker originally from Emilia
Emilia (region of Italy)
Emilia is a historical region of northern Italy which approximately corresponds to the western and north-eastern portions of today’s Emilia-Romagna region...
, while his mother was a descendent of African slaves, brought from Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
(Hausa blacks
Hausa people
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
). He spent his young life at a house in Rua do Desterro, at the Baixa do Sapateiro neighbourhood, where he would graduate from primary and secondary education. In 1934, he left the Polytechnic School of Bahia, where he was pursuing a degree in civil engineering
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...
, in order to become an active member of the Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party is the oldest political party still active in Brazil, founded in 1922, and one of the only Brazilian parties with a Stalinist orientation...
(Partido Comunista Brasileiro - PCB). He then moved to 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...
to work in the restructuring of PCB.
Marighella was first arrested in 1932, after he wrote a poem criticizing the administration of Bahia intervenor Juracy Magalhães. On May 1, 1936, during the Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
dictatorship, he was once again arrested for subversion. He was tortured by the political police led by Filinto Müller
Filinto Müller
Filinto Müller was a military-associated Brazilian politician, and President of the Senate for the state of Mato Grosso and Chief of Distrito Federal police during the government of Getúlio Vargas ....
, now considered the "patron of torturers" in Brazil. He remained in jail for a year. He was released by "macedada" (the measure which freed political prisoners without pressing charges against them). After his release, he once again entered clandestinity, along with all members of PCB. He was recaptured in 1939, being once again tortured. He is not released until 1945, when an amnesty during the democratization process of the country benefited all political prisoners.
The following year, Marighella was elected constituent federal deputy by the Bahian branch of PCB, but loses his office in 1948, under the new proscription of the party. Back in clandestinity, he occupied several offices in the leadership of the party. Invited by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the highest authority within the Communist Party of China. Its approximately 350 members and alternates are selected once every five years by the National Party Congress....
, Marighella visited China between 1953 and 1954 in order to learn more about the Chinese Communist Revolution. In May 1964, after the military coup, he was shot and arrested by agents of the Department of Social and Political Order (Departamento de Ordem Política e Social - DOPS), the political police, at a movie theater in Rio. he was released in the following year by a court order. In 1966, he wrote The Brazilian Crisis, opting for the armed struggle against the military dictatorship. Later that year, he renounced to his office in the national leadership of PCB.
On August 1967, he participated at the 1st Conference of Latin American Solidarity in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, contradicting what his party had determined. In Havana, he wrote Some Questions About the Guerrillas in Brazil, dedicated to the memory of Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
and made public by Jornal do Brasil
Jornal do Brasil
Jornal do Brasil, widely known as JB, is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest existent Brazilian paper, after the Diário de Pernambuco and O Estado de São Paulo....
on September 5, 1968. That same year he was expelled from PCB, and founded the Ação Libertadora Nacional
Ação Libertadora Nacional
The Ação Libertadora Nacional , the National Liberation Action, was a Brazilian communist guerrilla movement created in the end of 1967 to stand against the military dictatorship of 1964-1985. It was founded by Carlos Marighella after he got expelled from the Brazilian Communist Party....
(ALN) on February 1968. In September 1969, ALN members kidnapped the U.S. ambassador Charles Burke Elbrick
Charles Burke Elbrick
Charles Burke Elbrick, , was a United States diplomat and career foreign service officer. During his career, he served three ambassadorships in various parts of the world, in addition to many other minor postings.Elbrick was the son of Charles Elbrick and his Irish wife, Lillian Burke...
in a coordinated move with the Revolutionary Movement 8 October (Movimento Revolucionário 8 de Outubro - MR-8).
After a series of successful robberies and kidnappings, the police force was determined to eliminate him. He was shot by police at an ambush at 8pm on November 4, 1969 at 800 Alameda Casa Branca, 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...
. This ambush was organized by a policeman Sérgio Paranhos Fleury
Sérgio Paranhos Fleury
Sérgio Fernando Paranhos Fleury was a Brazilian police deputy during the military dictatorship. He was chief of DOPS, a repression group also known as death squad, and is famous for his cruel torture methods...
, known for his work inside DOPS.
General sources
- Carlos Marighella article at Portuguese WikipediaPortuguese WikipediaThe Portuguese Wikipedia is a Portuguese language edition of Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia. It was the fifth edition of Wikipedia, started in June 2001. It is currently the tenth largest Wikipedia by article count, containing articles.From late 2004, the edition grew rapidly...
External links
"Pattern of Terror", TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, August 24, 1970 Biography at a site dedicated to Marighella Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla by Carlos Marighella "Estratégia para matar o terror", Veja
Veja
Veja may refer to:*Veja Diena, a Latvian festival*Veja , a Brazilian weekly newsmagazine*Veja, a village in Stăniţa Commune, Neamţ County, Romania*Veja Sneakers, a brand of fair trade sneakers...
, November 12, 1969