The Communist Revolt — Brazil 1935

The communist revolt of 1935 in Brazil was erroneously called “Intentona”, which is a derogatory term meaning “silly/imprudent intent” and was only used by the official media of the time in an attempt to mock the rebellion.

In November, 1935, responding to the dissolution (by government decree) of the Aliança Nacional Libertora (ANL) i.e. the National Liberation Alliance, there were uprisings in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro, mainly coordinated in the barracks.

The ANL was composed of intellectuals, workers and military personnel. In March, 1935, under the guidance of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) the ANL was formed with the objectives of nationalizing corporations, undertaking agrarian reform, suspending the foreign debt and installing a people’s government. The rapid growth of the ANL, demonstrated by mass protests, was a direct threat to the Vargas administration, which was doing everything in its power to stop it.

On the 5th of July, 1935, the ANL promoted a celebration of the “movimento tenetista” (Lieutenant’s movement) and Luís Carlos Prestes spoke out vehemently against the Vargas government, inciting the masses to take power by way of a popular revolutionary government. He ended his speech with: “All power to the ANL”. Prestes had recently returned from exile in the Soviet Union, together with his wife, Olga Benário, who acted as his bodyguard.

During the conference of the Latin American Congress a decision was made to organize an armed rebellion in Brazil and institute a Socialist state. With this intention, Arthur Ernest Ewert (from Germany, whose alias was Harry Berger), Rodolfo Ghioldi (from Argentina), Pavel Stuchevski (from the Ukraine) and Victor Baron (from the U.S.A.) arrived in Brazil. Following the Third International, the idea was to establish a popular front against fascism and mobilize the population toward Socialism.

Getúlio Vargas’ reaction was to outlaw the ANL. On July 11, 1935, under the legal framework of National Security, it became a crime to belong to the ANL. As a response, the uprisings began in the different states.

The first state was Rio Grande do Norte. In the capital city, Natal, the soldiers of the 21st Battalion, took power and on November, 23, installed the Comitê Popular Revolucionário (Popular Revolutionary Committee). The revolt spread to other cities in the state and the governor, Rafael Fernandes Gurjão and his flunkies left the state, with the help of a French plane. The repression of the revolt was led by police forces from other states and the factions of the Army that remained loyal to Vargas. The uprising lasted until November, 27 and ended with the arrest of the revolutionaries.

On November 24, the revolt in Pernambuco erupted. The movement was preceded by massive strikes, mainly by the railroad workers of Great Western. However, the uprising was restricted to the 20th Battalion, and thus, was quickly quashed by the regime’s troops in two days. On November 25, a state of siege was decreed throughout the entire country.

There were approximately 100 deaths during this revolt, most of whom were non-military people who had joined the rebellion.

The last uprising occurred in Rio at two different Army barracks, on November 26. The very next day the revolt was stifled by government forces. Clearly, they could no longer count on the element of surprise and their numbers were far inferior to those of the Vargas regime. Another negative factor was the poor turnout for the strikes that the PC do B (trots) had staged. They, therefore, had much less than the expected support from the workers.

Vargas used the revolts as an excuse to exaggerate the “Red menace”. The Army was purged of all its progressive members and the Congress installed the National Security Tribunals, the sole purpose of which was to hound, prosecute and kill the remaining members and sympathizers of the ANL.

The persecution of communists (and others considered to be a threat to the regime) became commonplace. In the years that followed, mass arrests were constant, and the elimination of any and all opposition paved the way for the “Estado Novo” (New State) that consolidated Vargas’ fascist dictatorship — officialized in November, 1937.