Marxism and Brazilian Historiography

7/24/2019 Marxism and Brazilian Historiography

1/33

Marxism and Brazilian Historiography.

Jurandir Malerba

Ronaldo Pereira de Jesus

Introduction

According to experts, Brazilian historiography was inaugurated with the publication of the first

volume of the Revista do Instituto Histrico e Geogrfico Brasileiro Journal of the Brazilian

!eographic and "istorical #nstitute$ in %&'(%, in accordance with the local elites) pro*ect of building a

national identity for the newly independent monarchical state+ Although there are minor signs of the

existence of Marxs wor- still in the last years of the %(

th

.entury, it will be in the early decades of the/0th .entury that Marxism will arrive strongly to Brazil, initially far more as a doctrinaire body for

political action than as a theoretical inspiration for academic debate/+ As a body of doctrine, Marxism

will supply the entire spectrum of political activism 1largely from the twentieth century clandestinely,

such as under dictator !et2lio 3argas) 45stado 6ovo7 6ew 8tate$, between %('9 and %(:;, or under

the civil


2/33

tric-ery$ or arcy Ribeiro)s O povo brasileiro Brazilian people$+:5xperts agree in placing amongst

the three founding matrices of Brazilian social thought the wor-s of sociologist !ilberto Ereyre 1%(00;, of literary critic and historian 8Lrgio Buarue de "olanda 1%(0/= and historian .aio

Prado Jr 1%(09+ .aio Prado can be assigned the status of founder of Marxist historiography in

Brazil+Rather than offering a chronological approach or a catalog of wor-s and authors it struc- us

more appropriate to arrange this text from the evocation of the great issues within Brazilian

historiography, many of which were proposed by Marxist historians or have received decisive

contribution from those+ Qhenever possible, we see- to provide a historical analysis, contextualizing

the issues debates on approaches that dialogue with the field of the history of ideas, intellectual

history and of the intellectuals, the history of historiography and history of concepts+ Accordingly,

among the ma*or historiographical debates produced at different moments of the /0

th

century, whichhas left developments to the present day, the discussion about the meaning of colonization in Brazil

becomes paramount+ Eor Marxists and interpreters of Brazil in general, the challenge was that of

explaining the vector or vectors determinant for the countrys history+ he point is basically whether

the country would fulfill a subordinate role in the concert of nations or its history has its own internal

logic+

his debate leads to a second one, about the nature of Brazilian society since colonial timesH

one see-s to -now how Brazil fits into the global expansion of capitalist mode of production since the

beginning of modern times, under the logic of commercial capitalism+ #n broad modernity, li-e other

:A select and relevant analysis focused on the ?Brazilian social thought? bibliography can be found, amongothers, in Mota, .arlos !uilherme, #deologia da cultura brasileira+ (th ed, 8Go Paulo, Stica, %((:T 8ilva, Albertoda .osta e, Nuem fomos no sLculo H as grandes interpretaIes do Brasil, in Mota, .arlos !uilherme 1ed+>3iagem incompletaH a experiUncia brasileira 1%;00 V a grande transaIGo, 8Go Paulo, 5ditora do 8enac 8GoPaulo, /000, p+ %( #ntroduIGo ao Brasil+ Om banuete nos trFpicos, / ed, 8GoPaulo, 5ditora do 8enac 8Go Paulo, %(((T Reis, JosL .arlos+ As identidades do BrasilT de 3arnhagen a E"., /ed, Rio de Janeiro, 5ditora da E!3, %(((T Miceli, 8Lrgio, #ntelectuais W Brasileira, 8Go Paulo, .ompanhia das@etras, /00%+ Eormer classic Qor-s as Martins, Qilson, "istFria da inteligUncia Brasileira,8Go Paulo, .ultrix,5dusp, %(9=T @eite, ante Moreira, C carKter nacional brasileiroT histFria de uma ideologia, 8Go Paulo, Pioneira,%(=(+;Ereyre, !ilberto, .asa !rande X 8enzala,: ed, Rio de Janeiro, JosL Clympio, %(;%+ Cn !ilberto Ereyre onecan seeH Ara2*o, Ricardo Benzauen+ !uerra e pazH .asa, C imperadordas idLiasH !ilberto Ereyre em uestGo, Rio de Janeiro, opboo-s, /00%T Bastos, Ylide Rugai, !ilberto Ereyre ea sociedade brasileira, outorado, PO., 8Go Paulo, %(&=T a Matta, Roberto, 4A originalidade de !ilbertoEreyre7 inBIB, n+ ':,%(&9T !ilberto Ereyre na OnB BrasZlia, 5ditora da OnB, %(&%+="olanda, 8Lrgio Buarue, RaZzes do Brasil+ Rio de Janeiro, JosL Clympio, %('=+ Cn 8Lrgio Buarue see.andido, Antonio, 4C significado deRa!"es do Brasil# in "olanda, 8Lrgio Buarue de "olanda+ RaZzes doBrasil, Rio de Janeiro, JosL Clympio 5ditora, %(=9T .andido, Antonio 1ed+> 8Lrgio Buarue de "olanda e oBrasil8Go Paulo, EundaIGo Perseu Abramo, %((&T ias, Maria Cdila @eite da 8ilva, 48Lrgio Buarue de

"olanda, historiador7 in 8Lrgio Buarue de "olanda, 8Go Paulo, Stica, %(&;T Revista do Brasil, n+ =, %(&9+62mero especial dedicado a 8Lrgio Buarue de "olandaT Monteiro, Pedro Meira+ A ueda do aventureiro,.ampinas, O6#.AMP O+P+, %(((T 8Lrgio Buarue de "olanda+ erceiro colFuio Oniversidade 5stadual do Riode Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, #mago, %((/T 8Lrgio Buarue de "olandaH vida e obra, 8Go Paulo, 8ecretaria de5stado da .ultura, %(&&+

/


3/33

@atin American countries Brazil submits to capitalist logic as from the establishment of historically

new modes of production, notably modern slavery+ Against a bac-ground of such complexity, in which

a late industrialization emerges from the rubble of a slave society, another issue that stirred Brazilian

intelligence, particularly in the years %(;0


4/33

constantly bloc-ed by the eminently agrarian nature of the economy based on the exploitation of

peasants by large landowners+ he national bourgeoisie in turn found itself completely at the mercy of

the interests of imperialism and landlordism now installed on state power+ his situation only

worsened the condition of exploitation of rural and urban wor-ers, and the petty bourgeoisie+ hese

last three sectors were the agents of the first stage of the revolution that advocated a radical solutionfor the agrarian uestion, ie the overcoming of semi


5/33

disparate or conflicting conceptual elements such as, for example, Brazils insertion in the global

capitalist economy in the Modern 5ra and the reinvention of slavery in the 6ew Qorld+ he solution to

the theoretical euation would fall on the authors emphasis on, by the one hand, the characterization of

colonial universe as an autonomic mode of production relative to the unfinished 5uropean transition,

or, on the other hand, in the definition of colony as an extension of capitalist mode of productionrunning from the %=th century onwards+ #n practice, for decades the academic debate seemed to unfold

around the supposed best interpretation of the category mode of production and the best reading of $(e

.apital)s #3 and 3 chapters concerning the primitive accumulation and colonialism%%+

6elson Qernec- 8odrL%/e Alberto Passos !uimarGes%'remained tied to the P.B formulations, to the

extent that they postulated notions close to stage, .aio Prado Jr+

delivers the most sophisticated dialectical materialist reading of Brazilian history conceived so far+

Production, consumption, and 1bad> distribution of wealth are his research topics+ According to .aio

Prado, which anticipates to some extent subseuent proposals as .epalian thin-ing, Brazil has emerged

as a vector of mar-et expansion of modern capitalist economic system+ #nflows of international

economics are what assign ?meaning? to the history of Brazil+ #n an unprecedented perspective on

Brazilian historiography, his focus lies on the ?struggle of social classes+? elites are no longer interest

the historian+ he ?people? anonymous masses slaves, freed slaves, runaway slaves, poor, exploited

and excluded in general are now at the center stage of the Brazilian historical drama+ hese are the

new lead characters < and no longer the elites+ As from .aio Prado Junior ?common people? get to

have their own physiognomy, with the rewriting of the rebellions of the small fry, of the plebs 1as in

%%@apa, JosL Roberto do Amaral 1organizador>+ Modos de produIGo e realidade brasileira+ PetrFpolisH 3ozes,

%(&0+%/8odrL, 6elson Qernec-, #ntroduIGo W revoluIGo Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, JosL Clympio, %(;&+ 8odrL,6elson Qernec-, EormaIGo histFrica do Brasil, 8Go Paulo, Brasiliense, %(=/+ 8odrL, 6elson Qernec-, "istFriada Burguesia Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, .ivilizaIGo Brasileira, %(=:+%'!uimarGes, Alberto Passos de, Nuatro sLculos de latif2ndio+ 8Go Paulo, Eulgor, %(=:+

;


6/33

the movements of cabanos, balaios, and 8abinos hut people, bas-ets, 8abino)s insurgents$>%:, riots in

the cities and the slave uarters,

A law graduate, self


7/33

nineteenth century culminating in #ndependence in %&//+ "owever, the advent of political

emancipation would not led immediately to autonomy, because some structures generated in the

previous colonial times Vbasically the system of production based on export


8/33

with issues related to colonial times, remained strongly tied to the unfolding of this historical issue+%9+

he great exponent of this historiographical lineage is Eernando 6ovais, both by the lasting influence

of his wor-,ortugal e Brasil na crise do antigo sistema colonial12344523637Portugal and Brazil in

the crisis of the old colonial system$1%(9'>, as by the academic and institutional importance of the

author+ Around 6ovais, the idea of ?old colonial system? as an analytical category, unuestionably aMarxist matrix, which aims at to complement .aio Prado Junior)s formulations, succeeded in bring

together the wor- of various historians and radiate out from the Oniversity of 8Go Paulo 1O8P> to other

centers of historical research throughout Brazil+

Also Marxist


9/33

Brazilian re$olution.

he issue of colonial heritage unfolded naturally to another topic, and more central and sociallyrelevant to MarxistsH the revolution+ #n this case, the conceptual challenge to be faced was to define the

historical process and the main features of the bourgeois revolution in Brazil, so that one could predict

the advent of socialist revolution+ Practically spea-ing, analyzes converged into the proposition where

the two events < the bourgeois revolution and the socialist revolution V could ta-e place simultaneously

or at least close and intertwined+ Again, in historiographical terms, the debate was polarized between

an official version tending to play a stage and proletariat have become historical agents of capitalist modernization, whose

main role would be to overcoming the social legacy of three centuries of slavery and permanently

eliminate the remnants of the feudal mode of production off Brazilian social


10/33

Erom this perspective, the historical uestion of revolution would find constant resonance in the

academic literature, especially among social scientists of Marxist orientation+ he assessment of the

developments especially in .hina and .uba led to oscillations between a perspective that prioritized

the socialist revolution and another one which focused on the issue of dependence/:+

he predominance of the thesis of colonial capitalism ruled out the possibility of thin-ing thebourgeois revolution as a uniue historical event, similar to what occurred in several countries in

5urope and even in America from the late %&th.entury to early %(thcentury+ his explains why, once

born under the aegis of capitalism, Brazil have -nown successive processes of modernization that

would seem more properly ad*ustments in the strategy towards the structuring of a liberal, democratic

and bourgeois society, a prereuisite for socialist revolution+

Amongst historians the idea of a procedural bourgeois revolution whose origins dated bac- to the

political emancipation in %&// prevailed

/;

+ he abolition of slavery and the transition to free labor

/=

arise as ad*ustments necessary to the full development of the capitalist mode of production, although

the colonial condition or subordination to imperialism were not eliminated+ 3ery few interpretations

were opposed to this line of thought, by identifying the bourgeois revolution in Brazil as a more

specific political event and a corollary of the transition from a non


11/33

#n the %(90s and %(&0s, Qarren ean, Maria da .onceiIGo avares de Almeida, 8Lrgio 8ilva, Qilson

.ano, 8tanley 8tein, JoGo Manuel .ardoso de Mello and Qilson 8uzigan have led the academic debate

on the emergence of domestic industry and the effective beginning of the process of industrialization /&+

Broadly spea-ing, the wor-s of these authors highlight constant dialogue with Marxist categories andparticularly the interest of economists for the economic history of Brazil+ he theme is summarized in

the historical forms of the relationship between coffee production and industrialization+ he starting

point is the notion that the economic dominance of coffee economy from the second half of the %(th

century on led to ma*or obstacles to the emergence and consolidation of industry, interrupted only at

times of global economic crisis+ 8uch obstacles would allow the development of domestic industry by

means of import substitution+

Cver two decades academic literature was able to note increasingly better the complex relationship

between coffee capital and industrial capital, pointing to the structural conseuences that the coffee

production gain new analytical dimensions+ A movement of

the armed forces ?lieutenants? tenentistas$ sectors and political expression of urban middle classes,

the military coup of Cctober %('0 would sustain the status of culminating point of bourgeois

/&ean, Qarren, A industrializaIGo de 8Go Paulo %&&0


12/33

revolution started with independence in the %(thcentury+ #t expressed the definitive crisis of political

hegemony of the agro, such as .elso Eurtado, Eernando "enriue .ardoso, Elorestan Eernandes and Erancisco

de Cliveira remained somewhat apart from the specific domain of historiography, although

manipulated historiographical production and a dose of Marxism in their formulations+ Most active in

the fields of sociology and economics, these authors responded to the political and intellectual stimuli

resulting from the approximation with the Erench intelligentsia < especially Jean


13/33

he historical picture regarding the ?revolution of %('0? presented by Boris Eausto suited perfectly to

the set of formulations that sought to explain the phenomenon of incorporation of urban wor-ers to the

political scene during the twentieth century+ he historical and analytic propositions gain in rigor and

breadth when approached the wor- of 5rnie 8ilveira, Cctavio #anni and Erancisco Qeffort''+ he latter

is considered the most prominent scholar in the debate on the ?populism? of the %(90s+

8tarting from the negative meaning of the word ?populism? used by contemporaries to define a

specific type of approach of politicians to the people, the most important theoretical inflection in the

%(90s was the wide use of the !ramscian concept of ?hegemony? beside of the Eran-furtian category

of ?mass? and a certain conception of ?manipulation? which referred, albeit wea-ly, to the slightly

elaborated concept of ideology as a mere distortion of the real for the purpose of domination+

he logical


14/33

mainly by collaborationist unions, or ?pelegos? 4scrabs7$ in exchange for support, loyalty and

political subservience+

As early as %(9& @uiz Qernec- 3ianna':outlines a series of criticisms of the then current model of

interpretation of the ?revolution of %('0? in a wor- intended to be theoretical and historiographical tothe same extent+ Qhile ma-ing the reassessment of the concept of hegemony, 3ianna approaches the

notions of ?revolution from above?, ?revolution without revolution? and ?Prussian model?+ 8o, where

once Boris Eausto identified a crisis of political hegemony, 3ianna seizes the broadening of political

tiesby aggregating new interests of different sectors of the bourgeoisie+ Qhere one pointed out the

power gap, 3ianna perceives the expansion of the state see-ing to expand its scope of action and

sub*ugating the most diverse sectors of the economy and society+ As a result, the political event of

%('0 and its aftermath appears as *ust another element whereby the Brazilian economic and politicalelites managed to implement conservative modernization+ Cn the one hand, one sees the historical

process of independence that articulates its bloodless conuest, territorial integrity and maintenance of

slow and gradual abolition of slaveryT and on the other, processes whose ultimate sense would be to

delay the granting of political citizenship for the vast ma*ority of the population 1safeguarding the

elites privileges>, by means of state control of political institutions and the institutional, economic and

social stability+

#n the academic scene of the early %(&0s there was also a tendency to approach 5+ P+ hompson,

Qalter Ben*amin and Michel Eoucault, whose outcome to the debate around the ?revolution of %('0?

is expressed in the wor- of 5dgar 8alvadori ecca';,for whom the central axis of interpretation is the

hegemony of the .ommunists among institutions and leftist militants, and how those became victims

of the manipulation of state labor pro*ect implemented by !et2lio 3argas starting from %('%+ Already

in the late %(&0s, however, the historical investigation of the ?revolution of %('0? by the -ey of

?conservative modernization? would open the way for criticism of the scheme set out to explain the

?populism?+ he category ?laborism? rabalhismo$ as analytic resource gets evidence then+

#n %(&&, ngela de .astro !omes'=Angela de .astro !omes provides empirical and theoretical #ndependUncia do BrasilH histFria e historiografia, 8Go Paulo, "ucitec, /00:+

Donder, @eandro, A derrota da dialLticaH a recepIGo das ideias de Marx no Brasil, atL o comeIo dos anos '0, / nd

ed, 8Go Paulo, 5xpressGo Popular, /00(+

Donder, @eandro, A faIanha de uma estreia, in )#ncao, Maria Angela 1ed+> "istFria de um idealT ensaios sobre.aio Prado Jr, 8Go Paulo, BrasilienseOnesp, %(&(+

@apa, JosL Roberto do Amaral 1ed+> Modos de produIGo e realidade brasileira+ PetrFpolisH 3ozes, %(&0+

@ara, 8ilvia "unold, .ampos da violUnciaH escravos e senhores na capitania do Rio de Janeiro %9;0


31/33

Malerba, Jurandir, @a historia en AmLrica @atinaH ensayo de critica historiogrKfica, Rosario 1Ar>H Prohistoria,/0%0+

Maram, 8heldon @eslie, Anaruistas, imigrantes e movimento operKrio no Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Paz e erra,%(9(+

Martins, Qilson, "istFria da inteligUncia Brasileira,8Go Paulo, .ultrix, 5dusp, %(9=+

Mattos, #lmar Rohloff, empo 8auaremaH formaIGo do 5stado imperial, /nd

ed, 8Go Paulo, "ucitec, %((0+Mello, JoGo Manuel .ardoso de, C capitalismo tardio, 8Go Paulo, Brasiliense, %(&/+

MendonIa, 8`nia Regina de, 5stado e economia no BrasilH opIes de desenvolvimento, Rio de Janeiro, !raal,%(&=+

Miceli, 8Lrgio, #ntelectuais W Brasileira, 8Go Paulo, .ompanhia das @etras, /00%+

Monteiro, Pedro Meira+ A ueda do aventureiro, .ampinas, O6#.AMP O+P+, %(((+

Moore Jr, Barrington, 8ocial Crigins of ictatorship and emocracyH @ord and peasants in the ma-ing themodern world, BostonH Beacon Press, %(=9+

Moraes Eilho, 5varisto de, A proto


32/33

Reis, JoGo JosL 1ed+> 5scravidGo X invenIGo da liberdadeT estudos sobre o negro no Brasil, 8Go Paulo,Brasiliense .6P, %(&&+

Reis, JoGo JosLT !omes, ElKvio dos 8antos 1ed+> @iberdade por um fioH histFria dos uilombos no Brasil, 8GoPaulo, .ompanhia das @etras, %((=+

Reis, JoGo JosLT 8ilva, 5duardo, 6egociaIGo e conflitoH a resistUncia negra no Brasil escravista, 8Go Paulo,.ompanhia das @etras, %(&(+

Reis, JosL .arlos, As identidades do Brasil+ e 3anrhagen a E".,'thed, Rio de Janeiro, 5ditora E!3, /000+

Reis, JosL .arlos+ As identidades do BrasilT de 3arnhagen a E"., / ed, Rio de Janeiro, 5ditora da E!3, %(((+

Rodrigues, JosL "onFrio, .onciliaIGo e reforma no BrasilT um desafio histFrico


33/33

\aidKn, Michel+ C !rande $ounantH C 3# congresso da #nternacional .omunista 1%(/&+ in Reis Eilho,aniel AarGo et al+$, "istFria do Marxismo no Brasil #H o impacto das revoluIes, Rio de Janeiro, Paz e erra,%((%+

Documents

Marxism and Brazilian Historiography