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ORCID
N/A
Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
History
Degree Type
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Year Degree Awarded
2015
Month Degree Awarded
May
Abstract
This thesis argues that the Maoist guerrilla movement headed by members of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) chose Araguaia as the stage for its insurrection based on perceived ideological and physical advantages. It examines the founding of the PCdoB as it split from the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) over the issue of armed resistance in 1962. While the PCB did not promote the use of violence against the military dictatorship, the PCdoB sought an environment in which they could foster revolutionary fervor. Though the war’s longevity demonstrates that the PCdoB accurately assessed some camponeses’ willingness to help the guerrilheiros, their inability to foster loyalty within their ranks hindered the party’s mission. The movement’s leaders policed the bodies of pregnant guerrilla members and this lack of reproductive freedom led two members to abandon the revolutionary cause. Pedro Albuquerque Neto and his wife Tereza Cristina successfully abandoned detachment C in favor of keeping their child. Pedro was imprisoned in Fortaleza leading to the discovery of the guerrilla camps in Araguaia and the end to a revolution that never truly got off the ground. Thus, this thesis proposes that while the PCdoB’s choice in Araguaia was thought to garner the best possible opportunity for a rural revolution, their mission to radicalize the camponeses was cut short by the Brazilian Armed Forces in April of 1972.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/7038841
First Advisor
Joel Wolfe
Second Advisor
Barbara Krauthamer
Third Advisor
Julio Capó
Recommended Citation
Almeida, Thamyris F. T., "Araguaia: Maoist Uprising and Military Counterinsurgency in the Brazilian Amazon, 1967-1975" (2015). Masters Theses. 179.
https://doi.org/10.7275/7038841
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/179