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In Dialogue with the Past

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The Making of Resistance

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Sociology ((BRIEFSSOCY))

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Abstract

This empirical chapter sketches the historiography of Brazil’s Landless Movement. By recapturing historical events used by movement participants for contextualization, agents and activities of that context are here re-presented in historiographic terms. The analysis draws empirically on ethnographic interviews and participant observations, as well as MST-produced material, in particular the internal newspaper Jornal Sem Terra. Based on this empirical analysis, historical events are presented as a prequel to the MST story. The portrait of MST’s historiography is fleshed out through aligned historical research, and chronologically presented along the Colonial, Imperial and Republican Epochs of Brazilian history. In sum, the MST prequel encompasses five centuries of insurgencies, construed as historical struggles against nation building, and for land. This overarching theme of the MST prequel then guides the movement’s navigation across Brazil’s uneven politico-economic topography. Thus, the critical inquiry into the MST historiography, analyzing the linkage between prequel and story, particularly explores how political subject formation is performed in dialogue with the past.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Fausto (1999), pp. 6–10; Burns (1993), pp. 21–25.

  2. 2.

    See for instance the classical works of Freyre (1987 [1933]), p. 17 and Holanda (1982 [1936]), pp. 16–18.

  3. 3.

    Furtado (1963 [1959]), pp. 10–11, 43–45.

  4. 4.

    Skidmore (1999), pp. 16–22.

  5. 5.

    Scott (2009), pp. 19–20.

  6. 6.

    Anderson (1996), pp. 550, 558.

  7. 7.

    See Leite (2000), p. 334.

  8. 8.

    Anderson (1996), p. 551. See also Wright and Wolford (2003), p. 124.

  9. 9.

    Schwartz (1992), pp. 123–124.

  10. 10.

    Anderson (1996), p. 551. See also Burns (1993), pp. 50–54.

  11. 11.

    Carneiro (1966 [1947]), pp. 9–10.

  12. 12.

    Anderson (1996), pp. 558–565. See also Schmitt et al. (2002), p. 5; Leite (2000), pp. 333–334.

  13. 13.

    Leite (2015), pp. 1234–1239; Leite (2000), pp. 336–342.

  14. 14.

    Jornal Sem Terra (1994, December), p. 13.

  15. 15.

    In the JST corpus (1980–2013), the word quilombo occurred 279 times, Zumbi 110, and Palmares 148 times.

  16. 16.

    Morissawa (2001), pp. 64–65.

  17. 17.

    INCRA (2014).

  18. 18.

    See Skidmore (1999), pp. 9–10, 29; Ganson (2005), pp. 89–91; Fausto (1999), pp. 72–75; Burns (1993), pp. 55–61.

  19. 19.

    Fausto (1999), pp. 56–58.

  20. 20.

    Mörner (1968 [1953]), pp. 30–45.

  21. 21.

    Ganson (2005), pp. 50–51, 89–91. See also Saeger (1995), pp. 399–404.

  22. 22.

    Ribeiro (1995), pp. 92–105; Brasil (2010), p. 8.

  23. 23.

    Ganson (2005), pp. 93–108. See also Brasil (2010), pp. 107–113; Brum (2007), p. 11.

  24. 24.

    Saeger (1995), pp. 394, 405–406.

  25. 25.

    Jornal Sem Terra (2000, March), p. 16. The importance of Sepé Tiaraju is also reflected in assentamento naming. INCRA (2014) report that nine settlements in Brasil, three in Rio Grande do Sul, have been named after Sepé.

  26. 26.

    Brum (2007), pp. 5–8, 12.

  27. 27.

    Individual interview 12; Brum (2007), p. 12.

  28. 28.

    Skidmore (1999), pp. 31–37. See also Trouillot (1995), pp. 37–40; Burns (1993), pp. 111–112.

  29. 29.

    Burns (1993), p. 124.

  30. 30.

    Skidmore (1999), pp. 39–49.

  31. 31.

    Ribeiro (1995), pp. 248–256.

  32. 32.

    Historians have documented similar rebellions in Bahia (Sabinada), Pernambuco (Praieira and Cabanada), and Rio Grande do Sul (Farroupilha). See Röhrig Assunção (1998), pp. 68, 84; Burns (1993), pp. 132, 136. These rebellions were all mentioned in Jornal Sem Terra, often in lists of historical land struggles, but seldom directly analyzed upon. Morissawa’s history textbook (2001), pp. 67–47, similarly mention these rebellions (except Cabanada). The Farroupilha uprising was also mentioned in Individual interview 12, in order to contextualize the São Gabriel region as a historical arena of social conflict. The relatively weak historiographic role of the Farroupilha rebellion presumably relates to the anti-imperial feature that denotes latifundiários as narrative protagonists, making it less useful for the MST prequel.

  33. 33.

    Röhrig Assunção (1998), pp. 67–84. See also Janotti (2005), pp. 54–56.

  34. 34.

    Janotti (2005), pp. 41, 73.

  35. 35.

    Ricci (2007), pp. 27–30; Cleary (1998), pp. 118, 121–124.

  36. 36.

    Harris (2010), pp. 1–3; Fausto (1999), pp. 89–91.

  37. 37.

    See for instance Jornal Sem Terra (2010, January/February), p. 13; Jornal Sem Terra (2008, November/December), p. 6.

  38. 38.

    See Morissawa (2001), pp. 66–68 and Jornal Sem Terra (2009, May), p. 6. Apart from the written sources, historiographic significance of the Cabanagem and Balaiada rebellions is also verified by their naming of MST assentamentos, as listed in INCRA (2014).

  39. 39.

    Skidmore (1999), pp. 65–92.

  40. 40.

    Leal (1975), pp. 19–20.

  41. 41.

    Levine (1992), pp. 94–95.

  42. 42.

    Cunha (2010 [1902]).

  43. 43.

    Levine (1992), pp. 16–18, 65, 226–227. See also Skidmore (1999), pp. 80–81. This process clearly mirrors what postcolonial theorist Walter Mignolo (2007), pp. 463–470, calls “the darker side of modernity”; the notion that modernity itself requires a parallel notion of alleged backwardness.

  44. 44.

    Levine (1992), pp. 38, 217–226.

  45. 45.

    Cava (1970), pp. 5–7, 31, 50–56, 107, 115–118.

  46. 46.

    INCRA (2014); Jornal Sem Terra (1991, May), p. 6; Jornal Sem Terra (1991, April), p. 12.

  47. 47.

    Levine (1992), pp. 121–125.

  48. 48.

    Martins (2007), pp. 13–15.

  49. 49.

    Levine (1992), pp. 16, 39, 170–184.

  50. 50.

    Jornal Sem Terra (1993, October), p. 1.

  51. 51.

    Cunha (2010 [1902]), p. 507.

  52. 52.

    See Jornal Sem Terra (2007, April), p. 6, and INCRA (2014).

  53. 53.

    Cava (1970), p. 76.

  54. 54.

    Levine (1992), p. 7.

  55. 55.

    Diacon (1991), pp. 6–8, 44–58, 91, 145–150. See also Levine (1992), p. 223; Skidmore (1999), pp. 67–73.

  56. 56.

    Diacon (1991), pp. 2–4, 115–132, 198.

  57. 57.

    Jornal Sem Terra (1987, June), p. 5. See also Jornal Sem Terra (2006, April), p. 5.

  58. 58.

    As in Jornal Sem Terra (2008, February), p. 6; Jornal Sem Terra (2004, December/January), p. 2.

  59. 59.

    Morissawa (2001), p. 86.

  60. 60.

    Jornal Sem Terra (1995, July), p. 8.

  61. 61.

    Wolford (2010), pp. 77–79.

  62. 62.

    INCRA (2014).

  63. 63.

    Morissawa does not mention the Prestes Column. The March is mentioned very briefly in Jornal Sem Terra (2009, July), p. 13; (2009, March), p. 14. Nevertheless, INCRA (2014) lists three assentamentos named after Luis Carlos Prestes. Historian Anita Prestes, daughter to Luis Carlos, was also key note speaker at MST 25th anniversary conference, in January 2009.

  64. 64.

    See Skidmore (1977), pp. 229–230. The Prestes Column did, however, effectively avoid state-military repercussion through constant mobility of their own militia, famously resulting in the 25,000 km interstate march between 1924 and 1927, which interestingly enough resembles MST’s national marches in the late 1990s. For more on MST’s national march to Brasilia in 1997, see Chaves (2000).

  65. 65.

    Guimarães (1968 [1963]), pp. 1–3. See also Burns (1993), pp. 26–27.

  66. 66.

    Wolford (2010), pp. 37–49.

  67. 67.

    Martins (1990 [1981]), pp. 21–24; Martins (1999 [1994]), p. 150.

  68. 68.

    Duquette (2005), pp. 36–54, refers to Nova República (here The Second Republic) as a first wave of democratization, and the 1980s abertura (The Third Republic) as the second wave of democratization.

  69. 69.

    This periodization is still compatible with the República Velha (Old Republic), República Nova (New Republic) and Abertura (opening), as informed by Fausto (1999), pp. 148–189, 237–279; Duquette (2005), pp. 36–37; Burns (1993), pp. 150, 382; Skidmore (1999).

  70. 70.

    Skidmore (1999), pp. 108–109, 124–129. See also Burns (1993), pp. 346–358.

  71. 71.

    Diacon (1998), pp. 409–411, 434–436; Burns (1993), pp. 337–338; Skidmore (1999), pp. 111–113.

  72. 72.

    Welch (2006), pp. 30–33.

  73. 73.

    Welch (2009), pp. 129–133.

  74. 74.

    Rosa (2009), pp. 202–207.

  75. 75.

    See Morissawa (2001), pp. 92–94, 123–124, and, for instance, Jornal Sem Terra (1984, July), p. 10; Jornal Sem Terra (2009, January/February). Across the Jornal Sem Terra corpus, Ligas Camponêsas is mentioned on 130 occasions, while MASTER occurs 21 times.

  76. 76.

    Stedile and Fernandes (1999), p. 17.

  77. 77.

    Focus group 15.

  78. 78.

    Trombas and Formoso are recounted in Morissawa (2001), p. 89, are discussed in Jornal Sem Terra (2004, March), p. 14, and have given name to several assentamentos across Brazil, as listed by INCRA (2014).

  79. 79.

    Abreu (1985), pp. 73–82.

  80. 80.

    Cunha (2007), pp. 86–88, 91.

  81. 81.

    Bandeira (2006).

  82. 82.

    Galdino (2005), p. 132; Welch (2006), p. 39.

  83. 83.

    Cunha (2007, pp. 14-17, 280; Martins (1999 [1994]), p. 64.

  84. 84.

    Quoted in Panini (1990), p. 81.

  85. 85.

    Wolford (2010), pp. 44–45.

  86. 86.

    Medeiros et al. (1994), pp. 24–25; Vergara-Camus (2012), pp. 1143–1145.

  87. 87.

    Stedile and Fernandes (1999), pp. 28–29.

  88. 88.

    Welch (2009), pp. 133–134, 138–139.

  89. 89.

    Stedile and Fernandes (1999), pp. 18–22.

  90. 90.

    Martins (1999 [1994]), pp. 139–140.

  91. 91.

    An argument elaborated by theologian Leonardo Boff (1980), pp. 30–42, 57–59.

  92. 92.

    Wright and Wolford (2003), pp. 27–30.

  93. 93.

    Harnecker (2003 [2002]), pp. 31–33. See also Ondetti (2008), pp. 65–69.

  94. 94.

    Branford and Rocha (2002), p. 17.

  95. 95.

    Wright and Wolford (2003), pp. 38–47. The acampados also started a news bulletin—later known as Jornal Sem Terra—to share experiences with other land occupiers across Brazil, according to Individual interview 07; Morissawa (2001), p. 125.

  96. 96.

    Harnecker (2003 [2002]), pp. 35–37.

  97. 97.

    Historians have documented that this rumor actually spread chiefly via acampados settled in remote Brazilian states, following the state’s back-fired attempt to dampen mass mobilization. See Lerrer (2008), pp. 183–190; Schreiner (2009), pp. 101–102.

  98. 98.

    As reported by Harnecker (2003 [2002]), p. 38.

  99. 99.

    Ondetti (2008), pp. 13–19. It should be noted that Ondetti’s categorization involves additional land occupying agents, besides MST.

  100. 100.

    See Skidmore (1999), pp. 186–187; Fausto (1999), pp. 296–297.

  101. 101.

    Ondetti (2008), p. 56.

  102. 102.

    Fausto (1999), p. 303.

  103. 103.

    Fausto (1999), pp. 309–319. See also Ondetti (2008), pp. 55–56.

  104. 104.

    Luna and Klein (2006), pp. 60–65. See also Skidmore (1999), pp. 223–226; Fausto (1999), pp. 320–321.

  105. 105.

    Interestingly enough, Cardoso is also a well-renowned sociologist, recognized for important contributions to the dependency school through the book dependency and development in latin america (1979). In possession of state power, according to MST’s historiography, Cardoso instead contributed to the very capitalist expansion that he had critically analyzed as an academic scholar.

  106. 106.

    Jornal Sem Terra (2002, January), p. 1.

  107. 107.

    Jornal Sem Terra (2001, October), p. 1.

  108. 108.

    Jornal Sem Terra (1998, July), p. 1.

  109. 109.

    Jornal Sem Terra (1998, December), p. 1.

  110. 110.

    Jornal Sem Terra (2001, July), p. 1.

  111. 111.

    Jornal Sem Terra (1995, September), p. 1.

  112. 112.

    Jornal Sem Terra (1996, January/February), p. 1.

  113. 113.

    Luna and Klein (2006), pp. 31–33, 72–75.

  114. 114.

    Duquette (2005), pp. 53–54.

  115. 115.

    Focus group 02.

  116. 116.

    See Kröger (2012), pp. 887, 891–892; Dauvergne and Farias (2012), pp. 906–908; Galdino (2005); Lundström (2011).

  117. 117.

    Ondetti (2008), pp. 148–155. For comparable analyses, see Mészáros (2015), pp. 357–358; Pereira (2004), p. 104.

  118. 118.

    Ondetti (2008), pp. 148–151, 183–188.

  119. 119.

    Focus group 17.

  120. 120.

    Bolsa Familia is critically discussed in Luna and Klein (2006), pp. 34–35; Fernandes (2015), pp. 140–145; Ondetti (2008), pp. 202–204.

  121. 121.

    Carter (2015b), pp. 413, 419–423.

  122. 122.

    Ondetti (2008), pp. 186–188, 206–208. See also Branford (2015), pp. 336–349.

  123. 123.

    Individual interview 14; Individual interview 06.

  124. 124.

    Focus group 02.

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  1. Department of Economic History, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Markus Lundström

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Lundström, M. (2017). In Dialogue with the Past . In: The Making of Resistance. SpringerBriefs in Sociology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55348-1_2

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