{"id":70896,"date":"2021-12-21T21:40:29","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T00:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=70896"},"modified":"2024-07-21T21:52:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T00:52:48","slug":"rio-federal-university-truth-commission-releases-documentary-about-the-impacts-of-the-military-dictatorship-on-the-black-population-and-favela-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=70896","title":{"rendered":"Rio Federal University Truth Commission Releases Documentary About Impacts of Brazil’s Military Dictatorship on Black, Favela Population"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Front<\/a><\/p>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/i><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

On November 30, 2021, the Memory and Truth Commission of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro<\/a> (CMV\/UFRJ) livestreamed<\/a> the episode \u201cThe Black Population and Favela Residents Under the Dictatorship<\/a>,” one of<\/em> six in the \u201c<\/em>Countless<\/a>\u201d <\/em>series, an audiovisual project aimed at bringing visibility to the stories of groups affected by the 1964-1985 military dictatorship<\/a> in Brazil. Covering subjects often overlooked in traditional narratives, the event was broadcast on the university’s Science and Culture Forum YouTube channel<\/a>, and followed by a roundtable discussion.<\/p>\n

The discussion was led by Lucas Pedretti, a researcher at CMV\/UFRJ and writer of the episode. Participants included Gabrielle Abreu, a historian and researcher at the Institute of Religious Studies<\/a> (ISER); Itamar Silva, coordinator of the Brazilian Institute for Social and Economic Analysis<\/a> (Ibase) and a researcher at UFRJ’s Citizenship University<\/a>; Marco Pestana, a historian and professor at the National Institute of Education for the Deaf<\/a> (INES); and Fil\u00f3 Filho\u2014better known as Dom Fil\u00f3\u2014a cultural producer and executive coordinator of the Cultne<\/a> collection, the country’s first TV channel dedicated entirely to black culture.<\/p>\n

The discussion prompted reflections from researchers and activists, creating a broad overview of the dictatorship in Brazil. One of the episode’s themes, which also came up during the conversation, was the repression of black balls<\/a> during the 1970s by the military dictatorship. During this period, government officials began to investigate and criminalize artists, intellectuals, and civil society groups.<\/p>\n

The black balls<\/a> drew crowds from the periphery, grooving to the beats of soul, funk, and samba-rock. In Rio de Janeiro, groups like Soul Grand Prix<\/a> and Black Power<\/a> stood as examples of musical resistance against the policies of the time, resulting in the persecution of their producers by the military regime. Dom Fil\u00f3, the first to speak during the livestream, was one of these producers. In 1976, he was arrested for hosting black dances<\/a> in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n

The story is told in the episode \u201cThe Black Population and Favela Residents Under the Dictatorship,\u201d <\/em>narrated by Dom Fil\u00f3 himself. Captured as he left the headquarters of renowned Renascen\u00e7a<\/a> club, Dom Fil\u00f3 spent a night in a dark, cold room. With blurred vision, he struggled to see those around him. After enduring psychological torture, Dom Fil\u00f3 was released hours later in the North Zone<\/a> neighborhood of Lins de Vasconcelos. Using contemporary documents and newspapers, the video illustrates that Dom Fil\u00f3’s experience was not an isolated incident.<\/p>\n

\"Fil\u00f3<\/a><\/p>\n

In discussing this part of his story during the livestream, Dom Fil\u00f3 shared: \u201cWe lived through a sinister period of military dictatorship in our country. For 21 years, we endured the ominous grip of authoritarianism, stifling the intellectual growth of the Brazilian people. Positioned at the base of the pyramid, Afro-Brazilians faced prejudice and explicit racism, all masked under the guise of racial democracy<\/a>. But every action has a reaction. They didn’t anticipate that the focal point of resistance would emerge against that very dictatorship, within that chaotic backdrop, especially here in Rio de Janeiro. A few individuals made all the difference. I highlight those young people who, through music, managed to wield it as a tool to build a new identity, a new behavior, a new aesthetic. This remained hidden for many years, absent from mainstream media.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the livestream, Dom Fil\u00f3 recounted his experience as a guest speaker at the First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies<\/a> organized by the Afro-Latin American Research Institute (Alari)<\/a> at Harvard University in December 2019. His lecture focused on the importance of the Black Rio movement. Reflecting on the conference, he recalled: \u201cDuring the meeting, they asked me a question, among many others, mainly because they were scholars and I was the subject\u2014in other words, the one who had lived through that whole process\u2026 they asked me what it had been like to be a public enemy of the Brazilian State and to have survived underground. I stopped, thought it over, and everything just came flooding back. And this is what I answered: \u2018I had luck and the protection of my ancestors on my side. If I hadn’t had that, I wouldn’t be here telling you this story.\u2019 Really, I was very lucky, because plenty of my companions didn’t follow the same path, they weren’t so lucky. The boldness of my youth tested that luck. You all have no idea what that period was like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revisiting memories from the 1970s, Itamar Silva<\/a> also shared his experiences. \u201cI lived my innocence as a young teenager from the favela in the 1970s\u2026 I was 13 or 14 years old, and I had an uncle serving in the army. On more than one occasion, he returned home furious because he was forced to repress students… sometimes he couldn’t come home because he was called in to work. They were putting together a group to repress students, and he was outraged by that. At the time, he wasn’t politically aware of what was happening, but it certainly had a strong effect on him. He explicitly stated that it was because he was forced to stay in the barracks. But I don\u2019t think that was it. In reality he fundamentally opposed the whole procedure [of repression], to the extent that he later on became an activist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Morro<\/a><\/p>\n

Silva spoke about his trajectory as a journalism student in the 1970s and his involvement in the Black Movement. He also drew a timeline from the dictatorship to the present, reporting on State repression and control over favela organizations during the dictatorship.<\/p>\n

As recounted by Silva, the Federation of Favela Associations of the State of Guanabara (FAFEG<\/a>) was created in 1963 in response to the forced eviction of the Morro do Pasmado favela in Botafogo<\/a>. However, during its creation and expansion, FAFEG faced political persecution. Silva shared that that the Santa Marta Favela Residents’ Association<\/a> was created in 1965, and during that period, several FAFEG leaders were already being persecuted, with some even being arrested.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere in Santa Marta<\/a>, specifically, the president told me in an interview that [during the dictatorship] he was barred from making any move, any protest, or any claim due to police pressure and control. Police looked for communists including within residents’ associations.\u201d \u2014 Itamar Silva<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Silva, the dictatorship\u2019s control over favela organizations is reflected in current State control policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those of us who live in the favela it’s obvious. As far as I’m concerned, we\u2019ve always lived under strong State control. This persecution wasn\u2019t made explicit for those who were living in the favela at that time [of the dictatorship]… I think that, today, we live the consequences of that period, of this [dictatorial] training that infected and contaminated the police\u2026 today, the favela is no longer seen\u2014by the authorities, the police, the armed branch of the State\u2014as a lair for communists, a center for revolutionaries. But it’s viewed as a place that it [the State] needs to control and eliminate. The logic we live with today is the same.\u201d \u2014 Itamar Silva<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Favelas Forcibly Evicted During the Dictatorship<\/h3>\n

During the online talk, Marco Pestana, author of The<\/em> Union<\/em> of<\/em> Favela<\/em> Workers<\/em> and<\/em> the<\/em> Struggle<\/em> Against<\/em> the<\/em> \u201cNegotiated<\/em> Control\u201d<\/em>\u00a0of<\/em> Carioca<\/em> Favelas<\/em> (1954-1964<\/em>)<\/a>, explained that, while favela evictions in the former state of Guanabara began before the establishment of the military regime, these removals advanced with financial and operational resources during the dictatorship<\/a>, becoming more frequent and violent.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nThe central government carried out forced evictions through the Coordination of Social Interest Housing of the \u200b\u200bRio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area<\/a> (CHISAM). The program, created in 1968, oversaw government bodies such as the Housing Company<\/a> (COHAB), which built and commercialized housing projects, the Bureau of Social Services, responsible for the removals, and the National Housing Bank<\/a> (BNH), which financed the program. In practice, the project resulted in the migration of favela residents to areas that were far from the city’s central region and, consequently, far from employment and opportunities.<\/p>\n

Pestana explained that \u201cthe policy of forcibly removing favelas was not explicitly presented as an attack on the black population. Firstly, because it was portrayed as a benefit that would provide housing\u2014formal housing. Furthermore, it did not single out the black population when mentioning favela residents. The issue [of race] did not come up in official documents about evictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Pestana, although race was not associated with the forced evictions of the 1960s, data reveal that racism was clearly present in the process. Pestana reported that, in the 1960 census, 29% of the Guanabara state population was black and brown. In the favelas, however, 61% of the population was black and brown.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As a concrete example of the racial impact of forced evictions, Pestana highlighted the neighborhood of Lagoa<\/a>, in Rio\u2019s South Zone<\/a>. This neighborhood, which currently has the fewest Afro-Brazilians<\/a> in the city, was the site of several favelas<\/a> 50 years ago. The researcher recalled the favelas of Praia do Pinto<\/a>, Catacumba<\/a>, and Ilha das Dragas<\/a>\u2014predominantly black communities that were evicted from Lagoa during the dictatorship. With this in mind, he explained: \u201cThe longevity and depth of impact of this removal policy did not only directly affect those who were relocated, whose lives were destroyed. It also helped reinforce and shape Rio de Janeiro as an economically and racially segregated city. The neighborhood that underwent the most evictions is, today, the least black neighborhood in the city. I think that this is an important element for us to understand the impact [of forced evictions] on the configuration of the city as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the forced eviction of favelas, camouflaged by speeches that emphasized its benefits, did not happen without resistance from their residents. \u201cThe largest number of forced evictions took place in Rio de Janeiro from 1963 to 1973. Even with the dictatorship, there was still resistance. [On] many occasions, the population tried to prevent [the expulsions]. But that was not enough: the central government exerted very strong pressure and control over these initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resistance by the Black Movement<\/h3>\n

With six chapters, the objective of the “Countless” series is to discuss the impacts of the civil-military dictatorship on society, creating a tool that brings together academic and cultural production to amplify the voices of impacted Afro-Brazilians<\/a>, favela residents<\/a>, women<\/a>, indigenous<\/a>, and LGBTQIAP+<\/a> people. The series aims to highlight narratives that are rarely portrayed in mainstream media and in history about the period.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Mem\u00f3ria e Verdade UFRJ (@cmv.ufrj)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n