Communism in Brazil

Worker organizations in Brazil are known to have existed since the 19th century. The first known strike by salaried employees happened in 1858, though slave revolts related to working conditions had been happening prior – slavery was only abolished in Brazil in 1888. Though information is lacking due to the societal treatment of slaves at the time, it is known that many such revolts ended with police repression.{{ cite web | url=https://riomemorias.com.br/memoria/greve-de-escravizados/ | title=Greve de Escravizados | language=pt-br | website=Associação Rio Memórias | date=20 March 2023 | access-date=4 November 2024 }}

File:Jornal dos Typographos n.1 (1858-01-10) p.1.jpg

On 8 January 1858, a total of 80 typographers from 3 daily publications (Jornal do Commercio, {{ill|Correio Mercantil|pt}} and {{ill|Diário do Rio de Janeiro|pt}}) refused to work simultaneously.{{ cite journal | url=https://ojs.ifch.unicamp.br/index.php/ael/article/view/2479 | title=Escravismo, proletários e a greve dos compositores tipográficos de 1858 no Rio de Janeiro | language=pt-br | first=Artur José Renda | last=Vitorino | journal=Sociedades Operárias e Mutualismo | pages=69–107 | publisher=Cadernos Arquivo Edgard Leuenroth | volume=6 | issue=10/11 | date=8 October 2010 | access-date=4 November 2024 }} The workers published a bulletin, titled Jornal dos Typographos, stating their demands for better pay in light of increasing food prices. They further explained that the strike was a last resort after being denied a raise on multiple occasions, as they had not seen an increase in pay since 1855. The result of the typographers' strike is not known; it lasted until at least 12 March 1858, the date of the last issue of Jornal dos Typographos before it was sold.

In 1890, the first self-declared socialist political party of Brazil was established in Rio Grande do Sul, namely the Partido Operário do Rio Grande do Sul.{{ cite web | url=https://vermelho.org.br/2020/05/01/o-1o-de-maio-e-a-luta-historica-dos-trabalhadores-pelos-seus-direitos/ | title=O 1º de Maio e a luta histórica dos trabalhadores pelos seus direitos | language=pt-br | first=Raúl | last=Carrion | website=O Vermelho | date=1 May 2020 | access-date=4 November 2024 }} It called for, among other things, women's rights and the end of inheritance rights.

The early 1900s were rife with strikes, usually in the interest of better pay and shorter work days.{{ cite journal | url=https://periodicos.ufjf.br/index.php/TeoriaeCultura/article/view/12383 | doi=10.34019/2318-101X.2017.v12.12383 | title=A Revolução Russa e o Brasil | language=pt-br | trans-title=The Russian Revolution and Brazil | first1=André Moysés | last1=Gaio | first2=Daniel Jorge Salles de | last2=Freitas | journal=Teoria e Cultura | issn=1809-5968 | eissn=2318-101X | publisher=Federal University of Juiz de Fora | volume=12 | issue=2 | date=30 November 2017 | access-date=5 November 2024 | doi-access=free }} For example, the 8-hour work day was among the proposals of the First Brazilian Workers' Congress held in April 1906. Inspired by that proposal, in October, workers participating in the 21-day strike in Porto Alegre achieved a partial success, reducing their work day from 11 to 9 hours. However, strikes were more commonly met with police repression and, even when successfully leading to new agreements, company owners could simply decide not to honor them or revert any of the changes after some time.

Facing the abolition of slavery in Brazil a few years prior, in 1888, coffee farmers saw immigration as a source of cheap labor to meet production demands.{{ cite web | url=https://cpdoc.fgv.br/sites/default/files/verbetes/primeira-republica/LEIS%20ADOLFO%20GORDO.pdf | title=Leis Adolfo Gordo | language=pt-br | first=Alice Beatriz da Silva Gordo | last=Lang | publisher=Fundação Getulio Vargas | year=2013 | access-date=5 November 2024 }}{{

cite journal | title=The Clarté Group in Brazil | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3778017 | doi=10.2307/3778017 | first1=Michael M. | last1=Hall | first2=Paulo Sérgio | last2=Pinheiro | year=1980 | journal=Le Mouvement social | issn=0027-2671 | eissn=1961-8646 | number=111 | pages=217–234 | jstor=3778017 | url-access=limited }} However, immigrants brought with them ideals of anarchism and socialism, which were undesirable to landowners. In 1907, federal deputy {{ill|Adolfo Gordo|pt}} authored Decree N.1,641, which became known as the Adolfo Gordo Law or the first "Foreigner Expulsion Law", allowing for the immigrants' expulsion from the country for vagrancy or simply "compromising public tranquility".{{ cite web | url=https://www2.camara.leg.br/legin/fed/decret/1900-1909/decreto-1641-7-janeiro-1907-582166-publicacaooriginal-104906-pl.html | title=Decreto Nº 1.641, de 7 de Janeiro de 1907 | language=pt-br | trans-title=Decree N.1,641, of 7 January 1907 | first=Afonso | last=Pena | authorlink=Afonso Pena | date=7 January 1907 | access-date=5 November 2024 }} This and other laws authored by Gordo became yet another tool for capitalists to suppress strikes and workers' movements.

Ideologically, not every revolutionary worker self-identified as a communist or a socialist; many were deemed anarchists, who rejected the idea of political parties, and instead preferred direct action or organization though unions. Political theory and literature was not always accessible in Brazil, either because it was not translated into Portuguese, or because the Portuguese text was not accommodating to workers with little to no formal education. As such, many at the time were simply anti-capitalists, supporting a revolution without fully considering what would come after any revolutionary action.

File:São Paulo (Greve de 1917).jpg]]

In July 1914, World War I began. While Brazil did not see direct conflict, the effects of the war were quickly felt by its citizens. Brazil's economy was, and had been for decades, reliant on exporting coffee; by 1914, Brazil controlled around 80% of the world's coffee exports.{{ cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2014/11/141110_brasil_guerra_fd | title=Participação do Brasil na 1ª Guerra trouxe ganhos modestos e baque econômico | language=pt-br | trans-title=Brazil's participation in World War I brought modest gains and economical impact | first=Fernando | last=Duarte | website=BBC News | date=11 November 2014 | access-date=5 November 2024 }} With the advent of the war, demand for coffee fell drastically. Additionally, Britain's blockade, aimed at preventing aid to the Central Powers by neutral countries such as Brazil, successfully hindered trade with a big part of Europe, worsening Brazil's coffee exports.

In contrast, in certain industries such as textiles, profits skyrocketed: with the war, products that would previously be imported now had to be produced in Brazil, and were even exported in some cases.{{ cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-39740614 | title=1ª greve geral do país, em 1917, foi iniciada por mulheres e durou 30 dias | language=pt-br | trans-title=First general strike in the country, in 1917, was started by women and lasted for 30 days | first=Camilla | last=Costa | website=BBC News | date=28 April 2017 | access-date=5 November 2024 }} But workers did not see those profits; on the contrary, higher demand meant longer workdays of up to 16 hours, without increase in pay. Moreover, with growing demand for food in belligerent countries, Brazil began heavily exporting crops and meat which, in turn, caused shortages and a massive price increase locally.{{ cite journal | url=https://revistaprincipios.emnuvens.com.br/principios/article/view/172 | doi=10.4322/principios.2675-6609.2022.163.002 | title=A fundação do Partido Comunista do Brasil | first=Raul K. M. | last=Carrion | volume=41 | number=163 | journal=Princípios | series=Modernismo e revolução nos anos 1920 | pages=9–62 | issn=1415-7888 | eissn=2675-6609 | date=7 February 2022 | access-date=6 November 2024 | doi-access=free }} Between 1914 and 1919, prices almost tripled, growing by 185%.

{{multiple image

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| header = General strike of 1917

| image1 = Polícia dispersando grevistas durante a greve geral de 1917.jpg

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| caption1 = Police dispersing strikers at Antônio Prado Square, in São Paulo

| image2 = Trabalhadores aguardando conferência com Secretário de Justiça durante a greve geral de 1917.jpg

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| caption2 = Workers awaiting meeting with Secretary of Justice during the strike

| image3 = Operários em greve em comício do Comitê de Defesa Proletária (1917-07-16).jpg

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| caption3 = Striking workers at rally with the Comitê de Defesa Proletária (16 July 1917)

}}

In this context, with worse working conditions, a higher cost of living and diminishing purchasing power, workers were at a historical low point.{{ cite web | url=https://www.dw.com/pt-br/os-ecos-da-revolu%C3%A7%C3%A3o-russa-no-brasil/a-40791959 | title=Os ecos da Revolução Russa no Brasil | language=pt-br | trans-title=The echoes of the Russian Revolution in Brazil | first=Clarissa | last=Neher | website=Deutsche Welle | date=25 October 2017 | access-date=5 November 2024 }} This culminated in the general strike of 1917, starting in the Mooca district of São Paulo, in early June, and spreading throughout Brazil in the following days.{{ Cite journal | doi=10.1590/S2178-14942017000200011 | title=Um ano extraordinário: greves, revoltas e circulação de ideias no Brasil em 1917 | language=pt-br | trans-title=An extraordinary year: strikes, uprisings and circulation of ideas in Brazil in 1917 | volume=30 | number=61 | issn=0103-2186 | journal=Estudos Históricos (Rio de Janeiro) | publisher=CPDOC | first=Edilene | last=Toledo | date=May 2017 | pages=497–518 | doi-access=free }} At its peak, it saw almost 44 thousand workers striking simultaneously. Demonstrations occurred almost daily, protesting low wages, child labor, high rent and food prices, among other issues.{{efn|The full list of demands of strikers in São Paulo, as reported in the newspaper A Plebe on 21 July 1917, is as follows:

• The release of all arrested strikers;
• The "most absolute" respect to the freedom of association of workers;
• No lay-offs for participation in the strike;
• The abolition of work for children under the age of 14;
• The abolition of night shifts for women and children under the age of 18;
• A 35% pay increase for salaries up to 5$000 Réis, and of 25% for salaries above that limit;
• The punctual payment of salaries every 2 weeks;
• A guarantee of permanent work;
• An 8-hour work day;
• A 5½-day work week and a 50% pay increase during overtime;
• The immediate cheapening of necessity goods, blocking the action of hoarders;
• The request, when necessary, of foodstuff for feeding the public;
• Measures to prevent adulteration and falsification of food products;
• The decrease of rent prices.

}}{{efn|This revolutionary sentiment wasn't unique to Brazil; in part due to the effects of WWI, and in part due to news of the success of the Russian Revolution, worker revolts had been happening all across the world – see Revolutions of 1917–1923.}} They were organized by workers themselves, with support from union, anarchist and socialist leaderships. Additionally, women played a significant role in organizing the strikes: beyond being workers themselves, they were also usually in charge of home finances – and thus saw firsthand the ever-growing prices of goods.

Brazilian workers, including anarchists, looked to the recent Russian Revolution with enthusiasm. In the Alagoas newspaper A Semana Social, in March 1917, {{ill|Antônio Canellas|pt}} writes: "if the evil temper of the bourgeoisie doesn't prevent it", then Brazil would also see "the branching of the generous tree that just emerged in Russia – the tree of liberty". In November 1918, this inspiration was put to action, in a failed anarchist insurrection.

It is also in this context that anti-communism sentiment was birthed, developed from a fear by the elites of revolutionary action by the proletariat; in Brazil, newspapers at the time denounced Vladimir Lenin as an outlaw or a crook. Astrojildo Pereira, one of the bigger enthusiasts of the Russian Revolution in Brazil, would write to newspapers under pseudonyms to combat the hostile framing of the event.

On 2 March 1919, the Communist International was founded, and 21 conditions were given for admission to it. Among them, that "any party seeking affiliation must call itself the Communist Party of the country in question".{{ cite web | url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1920/jul/x01.htm | title=Terms of Admission into Communist International | translator-first=Julius | translator-last=Katzer | editor-first1=David | editor-last1=Walters | editor-first2=Robert | editor-last2=Cymbala | website=Marxists Internet Archive | date=July 1920 | access-date=6 November 2024 }}

A few days later, news broke of the foundation of Brazil's first self-declared Communist Party (Partido Comunista do Brasil, PCdoB) on 9 March 1919, open to "anarchists, socialists and all of those who accepted social communism".{{ cite web | url=https://congressoemfoco.uol.com.br/reportagem/1919-%E2%80%93-o-primeiro-partido-comunista-do-brasil-e-a-revolucao-russa/ | title=1919 – O primeiro Partido Comunista do Brasil e a Revolução Russa | language=pt-br | trans-title=1919 – The first Communist Party of Brazil and the Russian Revolution | first=Augusto | last=Buonicore | website={{ill|Congresso em Foco|pt}} | date=18 March 2017 | access-date=6 November 2024 }} Founded by anarchist José Oiticica and delegates from Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo and Alagoas, the party had major libertarian influences; anarchists at the time may not have fully realized their ideological differences to the Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution itself may have been seen as an anarchist movement. This first party was short-lived, marking the start of the split between communists and anarchists.

Many strikes had continued to be planned, executed, and severely repressed since 1917, led by anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists. By 1921, workers were wholly defeated, and anarchism, which had been against political parties and was seen to lack discipline, received the blame. Additionally, due to WWI, the recent push for industrialization had made Brazil a worker-dense country, so conditions were fertile for the growth of communism in Brazil.

In 1918, Abílio de Nequete, Francisco Merino and Otávio Hengist had founded the União Maximalista de Porto Alegre (Maximalist Union of Porto Alegre), renamed Grupo Comunista de Porto Alegre (Communist Group of Porto Alegre) in 1921. In the aftermath of the general strikes, the country saw the formation of multiple self-proclaimed communist groups; in 1919, the Grupo Comunista Brasileiro Zumbi, and Núcleo Comunista de Pelotas; in 1921, the Grupo Clarté, inspired by the French group of the same name organized by Henri Barbusse, Raymond Lefebvre, Paul Vaillant-Couturier and others; and in the same year, the Grupo Comunista do Rio de Janeiro.

Grupo Clarté was founded by Everardo Dias, Afonso Schmidt, Lima Barreto, Pontes de Miranda, {{ill|Cristiano Cordeiro|pt}}, {{ill|Joaquim Pimenta|pt}}, {{ill|Evaristo de Morais|pt}}, Agripino Nazareth, Antônio Figueiredo, Leônidas Resende, {{ill|Maurício Paiva de Lacerda|pt}} and his brother, Paulo de Lacerda. Though some called themselves socialists, the group tended towards moderate reformism, in the context of a weakened, post-repression Left. Pimenta described his own politics as the "pragmatic method – to wrest from situation and events whatever they can provide on behalf of the working class". The group was largely sympathetic to the Russian Revolution, frequently reprinting documents on events in the Soviet Union, though not organizing any meaningful action towards any revolutionary goal in Brazil.

{{multiple image

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| header = Foundation of the Communist Party of Brazil

| image1 = Fundadores do PCB.jpg

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| caption1 = The 9 delegates present at the foundation of the PCB, in March 1922. Standing, from left to right: Manoel Cendón, Joaquim Barbosa, Astrojildo Pereira, {{ill|João da Costa Pimenta|pt}}, Luís Perez and José Elias da Silva; sitting, from left to right: Hermogênio da Silva Fernandes, Abílio de Nequete and {{ill|Cristiano Cordeiro (politician)|pt|Cristiano Cordeiro|lt=Cristiano Cordeiro}}.

| image2 = Trecho do DOU (7 abr. 1922) instituindo o PCB.png

| width2 = 300

| caption2 = Diário Oficial da União publication instituting the party as a civil society, on 7 April 1922

}}

The Grupo Comunista do Rio de Janeiro was founded by Astrojildo Pereira and 11 others. Immediately after formation, the group started contacting other workers' groups throughout the country to share the 21 conditions and recommend for their implementation. In response, several other communist groups started to form, in Recife, Juiz de Fora, Santos and Cruzeiro. In January 1922, the group launched the Movimento Comunista magazine to spread the agenda of the Communist International.

Between 25 and 27 March 1922, the various communist groups made the decision to start the Partido Comunista do Brasil (Communist Party of Brazil; dubbed the "Partido Communista – Secção Brasileira da Internacional Communista", or "Communist Party – Brazilian Section of the Communist International"), the first "truly" communist party of Brazil. Soon after its inception, the party would adopt the abbreviation of PCB. The party, created through the meeting of 9 delegates representing 73 affiliates throughout the country, was hurried in light of the soon-approaching 4th World Congress of the Communist International, for which Brazil had been lacking representation. Due to the lack of political party-specific legislation at the time, the party was registered as a civil society.

Knowledge of Marxism, at the time, was still in its infancy in Brazil. As such, PCB was still "lacking" in Marxist theory in its inception.

Parallel to the PCB's foundation, on 1 March 1922, Brazil held a presidential election.{{ cite web | url=https://www12.senado.leg.br/noticias/especiais/arquivo-s/em-1922-eleicao-teve-fake-news-e-resultado-questionado | title=Em 1922, eleição presidencial teve fake news e resultado questionado | lang=pt-br | first=Ricardo | last=Westin | website=Agência Senado | date=2022-07-01 | access-date=2025-02-28 }} It was won by Artur Bernardes of the Mineiro Republican Party, who was up against Nilo Peçanha. Bernardes' candidacy was part of the milk coffee politics of the time, a scheme which ensured only candidates from the two wealthiest states, Minas Gerais and São Paulo, would occupy the presidency. The opposition contested the election results and, over the following months, a military conspiracy emerged across the country to remove the still-in-office Epitácio Pessoa and prevent Bernardes' inauguration. This culminated in the Copacabana Fort revolt, which began on 4 July 1922.{{ cite web | url=https://www.jota.info/artigos/centenario-da-revolta-dos-18-do-forte-de-copacabana | title=Centenário da Revolta dos 18 do Forte de Copacabana | lang=pt-br | trans-title=Centenary of the Copacabana Fort Revolt | first=Paulo Fernando Pinheiro | last=Machado | website=JOTA | date=2022-07-01 | access-date=2025-03-06 }}{{ cite web | url=https://cpdoc.fgv.br/sites/default/files/verbetes/primeira-republica/REVOLTA%20DE%205%20DE%20JULHO%20DE%201922.pdf | title=Revolta de 5 de Julho de 1922 | lang=pt-br | trans-title=Revolt of 5 July 1922 | first=Alzira Alves | last=de Abreu | website=CPDOC | date=2013-05-27 | access-date=2025-03-06 }}

In response to the revolt, on 5 July 1922, Epitácio Pessoa declared a state of emergency,{{ cite web | url=https://www2.camara.leg.br/legin/fed/decret/1920-1929/decreto-4549-5-julho-1922-568200-publicacaooriginal-91593-pl.html | title=Decreto Nº 4.549, de 5 de Julho de 1922 | language=pt-br | trans-title=Decree N.4,549, of 5 July 1922 | first=Epitacio | last=Pessôa | author-link=Epitácio Pessoa | website=Câmara dos Deputados | date=5 July 1922 | access-date=10 November 2024 }} which would end up lasting for years and multiple presidencies. Among other repercussions, the PCB's operation would soon be declared illegal, a mere three months after its foundation.

{{Main|Vargas Era}}

{{Main|Brazilian communist uprising of 1935}}

File:Intentona Comunista de 1935 - 3º Regimento de Infantaria em chamas.jpg

In 1935, a communist uprising ({{Langx|pt|Intentona Comunista}}) was carried out by the ANL (National Liberation Alliance) with the support of the PCB as well as the Communist International.{{Cite web |date=2015-12-22 |title=A revolta comunista de 1935 {{!}} CPDOC |url=http://cpdoc.fgv.br/producao/dossies/FatosImagens/RevoltaComunista |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222135755/http://cpdoc.fgv.br/producao/dossies/FatosImagens/RevoltaComunista |archive-date=22 December 2015 |access-date=2025-01-04}} Under the leadership of Luis Carlos Prestes, a prominent communist figure, the Comintern provided funding, propaganda, and youth programs, which helped the movement grow rapidly.{{cite book |last=Pinheiro |first=Paulo Sérgio |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/26067080 |title=Estratégias da ilusão: a revolução mundial e o Brasil, 1922–1935 |date=1992 |publisher=Companhia das Letras |isbn=85-7164-165-X |oclc=26067080}} Revolts broke out in Natal and Recife where citizens were provided weapons to fight alongside the revolutionaries.{{cite book |last=Sa Motta |first=Rodrigo |title=On Guard Against the Red Menace |year=2020}} In Natal, the revolt broke out on the 23rd of November due to a fake telegram by the counter-intelligence services which claimed that the date of the revolt was pushed forward from the 27th, and was contained within 4 days. In Recife on the 24th, the revolt begun and was dominated within 2 days. In Rio de Janeiro on the 27th, unaware of the status of the revolts in the north, the revolt begun and by 1:30, the rebels surrendered.{{cite web |title=The Communist Intentona: what is a fact and what is a rumor |url=http://www.pitoresco.com/historia/republ207.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230554/http://www.pitoresco.com/historia/republ207.htm |archive-date=2016-03-03}} After November 1935, the National Congress of Brazil approved a series of laws that restricted its own power, while the executive gained almost unlimited powers of repression. This process culminated in the coup of 10 November 1937, which closed the National Congress of Brazil, canceled the upcoming 1938 presidential elections, and installed Getúlio Vargas as a dictator. The PCB faced significant repression during Getúlio Vargas's government following the failure of the insurgency.{{Cite journal |date=2022-04-11 |title=Parques e outras Unidades de Conservação da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo |doi=10.55881/cem.db.par001 |doi-access=free }}

Despite being driven underground, the PCB clandestinely supported Brazilian involvement in World War II,(Prestes, 2010: 51-52) due to which its membership increased to 82,000 and its leaders were released.{{cite web |title=John Newsinger: The Brazilian Communist Party (March 1975) |url=https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/isj/1975/no076/newsinger.htm |access-date=10 August 2021 |website=www.marxists.org}} It later underwent progressive and gradual reconstruction.Tribuna Popular, RJ, 27/6/1946, p. 1.(Prestes, 2001: cap.IX)

The PCB was banned once again during Eurico Gaspar Dutra's government in 1947, as it maintained a significant presence in both rural and urban syndicalism and administration, and also due to Dutra's close ties to the American government.{{Cite journal |last=Welch |first=Clifford Andrew |title=Keeping Communism Down on the Farm: The Brazilian Rural Labor Movement during the Cold War |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249693259 |journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=28–50 |doi=10.1177/0094582X06287337 |via=ResearchGate}} During Jânio Quadros's government in 1961, the party became legal once again, as it preferred not use violence to achieve its political goals.[https://blogdaboitempo.com.br/2016/11/18/cabo-dias-o-revolucionario-de-1935/ Cabo Dias, o revolucionário de 1935] In 1962, the PCB split due to the emergence of a Maoist faction,Later this faction began armed struggle during the military regime, see: (Marighella, 1979: 49, 58, 63, 104) which later adopted Marxist–Leninist principles.[http://www.justicaeleitoral.jus.br/arquivos/tse-estatuto-do-partido-comunista-do-brasil.2011 TSE] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216051000/http://www.justicaeleitoral.jus.br/arquivos/tse-estatuto-do-partido-comunista-do-brasil.2011|date=16 February 2017}} Estatuto do Partido Comunista do Brasil This faction opposed the PCB's strategy of prioritizing an urban-bourgeois revolution.{{Cite thesis |last=Vinicius Bandeira de Menezes |first=Marcus |title=Estrategias e taticas da revolução brasileira |date=2002 |publisher=Universidade Estadual de Campinas |url=https://doi.org/10.47749/t/unicamp.2002.229764 |doi=10.47749/t/unicamp.2002.229764}}{{Cite journal |last=Prestes |first=Anita Leocádia |date=2011-05-30 |title=Da Declaração de Março de 1958 à renúncia de Jânio Quadros |url=https://doi.org/10.53000/cma.v18i32.19363 |journal=Crítica Marxista |volume=18 |issue=32 |pages=147–174 |doi=10.53000/cma.v18i32.19363 |issn=2966-0165|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}

During João Goulart's administration in Brazil, the PCB adopted distinct strategies across three phases. During the parliamentary phase, the PCB distanced itself from Goulart; in the early presidential phase, the communists continued to oppose him for supporting the PSD and proposed a "Single Front" of the left composing the PCB, the Popular Mobilization Front (FMP), the General Workers' Command (CGT) and Miguel Arraes' faction. In late 1963, Goulart accepted the proposal and gained the PCB's support.{{Cite journal |last=Ferreira |first=Jorge |date= |title=The Brazilian Communist Party and João Goulart's Administration |url=https://www.scielo.br/j/rbh/a/VzG6xG7GSg4cWSBB7qSHCKQ/?lang=en |journal=Revista Brasileira de História |language=en |volume=33 |pages=113–134 |doi=10.1590/S0102-01882013000200007 |issn=0102-0188|doi-access=free }}

{{Main|Armed struggle against the Brazilian military dictatorship}}

During the Brazilian military dictatorship, following the enactment of Institutional Act No. 5 (AI-5), the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), aligned with the Soviet Union, belatedly and without proper preparation,(Moraes, 1989: 198) organized a congress in 1967. At this congress, the PCB resolved to support the coordination of demonstrations against martial law, while the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) pursued armed guerrilla warfare.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Thus, an armed struggle occurred against the Brazilian military dictatorship by different left-wing groups between 1968 and 1972, the most severe phase of the regime. Despite its resistance aspect, the majority of the groups that participated in the armed struggle aimed to achieve a socialist revolution in Brazil, inspired by the Chinese and Cuban revolutions. The confrontation deepened after the enactment of Institutional Act Number Five (AI-5) in 1968.{{Cite web |title=ATO INSTITUCIONAL Nº 5, DE 13 DE DEZEMBRO DE 1968 |url=https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/ait/ait-05-68.htm |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Federal Government of Brazil}}

Revolutionary organizations initially aimed to incite rural guerrilla warfare but became more notable for urban operations, which included fundraising activities and actions designed to support rural guerrilla campaigns and sustain clandestine infrastructure. Despite some initial successes, these groups became socially isolated as the regime's repression intensified, accompanied by a disinformation campaign designed to undermine public support for the rebels. Paramilitary groups linked to the government carried out false flag operations to justify further crackdowns and deepen authoritarianism. The armed actions in the cities were short-lived.{{Cite journal |last=Angelo |first=Vitor Amorim |year=2011 |title=Ditadura militar, esquerda armada e memória social no Brasil |url=https://repositorio.ufscar.br/bitstream/handle/ufscar/1420/3959.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |journal=UFSCar}}

The dismantling of the Araguaia guerrillas, supported by the PCdoB, in 1974 marked the collapse of the armed struggle. The conflict resulted in numerous casualties, as well as many cases of exile, imprisonment, and enforced disappearances during the dictatorship.

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-69234-0003, Luis Carlos Prestes.jpg

Between 1974 and 1976, during the height of the military government's repression, nearly 700 infiltrated militants were arrested, and more than 20 high-ranking communist leaders were killed. This wave of arrests forced the PCB into deeper clandestinity and exile. Consequently, Luís Carlos Prestes stepped down from the party's leadership,ALMEIDA, Antônio (pseudonym of Prestes), original typewritten document, untitled, 23 pgs, 08/04/1969, (Author's private file); copy in Luiz Carlos Prestes Collection, Edgard Leuenroth Archive/UNICAMP, folder 009. transferring it to Giocondo Dias. Despite President João Figueiredo's political liberalization, communist activists traveling to the Soviet Union continued to face arrests upon their return.

Brazilian cultural production—particularly in dramaturgy, soap operas, and cinema—was notably influenced by communist militant authors.PRESTES, Luiz Carlos. "Letter to Aloyzio Neiva", Rio, 16/01/1983, 3 pgs.; original document, typed. (Author's private file)

However, their efforts were hampered by inexperience, police surveillance during periods of persecution, and the detachment of exiles from the country's evolving social and political landscape.{{Cite book |last=Carone |first=Edgar |title=O PCB-1964-1982 |year=1982 |location=Sao Paulo |language=pt}}{{Cite book |last=Gaspari |first=E. |title=A Ditadura Derrotada |publisher=Companhia da Letras |year=2003 |location=Sao Paulo |language=pt}} Despite severe repression, communist influence remained strong in labor movements, notably within the Volkswagen union, which represented workers in the country's largest company at the time.{{Cite book |last=Costa |first=E. |title=A Política Salarial no Brasil |publisher=Boitempo |year=1998 |location=Sao Paulo |language=pt}}

During the Diretas Já campaign for direct elections in the early 1980s,{{Cite web |title=Arquivos do Dops dizem que Lula barrou a entrada de Luís Carlos Prestes no PT – Brasil – R7 |url=http://noticias.r7.com/brasil/noticias/arquivos-do-dops-dizem-que-lula-barrou-a-entrada-de-luis-carlos-prestes-no-pt-20111004.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20170731004817/http://noticias.r7.com/brasil/noticias/arquivos-do-dops-dizem-que-lula-barrou-a-entrada-de-luis-carlos-prestes-no-pt-20111004.html |archive-date=2017-07-31 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=noticias.r7.com |language=pt-br}} the PCB actively supported the movement.{{Cite book |last=MAZZEO |first=A. C. |title=As tarefas históricas da esquerda brasileira e o Partido dos Trabalhadores |year=2004 |location=Sao Paulo}} However, during the 1978–1980 ABC Paulista strikes, the Workers' Party (PT) rapidly gained prominence, taking advantage of the PCB's inability to adapt to new political realities.PRESTES, Luiz Carlos, "Declarations" (unrevised transcription) in "Political Resolutions of the 3rd State Meeting of the Gaucho Communists Who Are Guided by the Letter to the Communists of Comrade Luiz Carlos Prestes" (January/1984), typewritten document (xerox copy), 28 pgs. The PCB's decline was compounded by inexperienced leadership and a lack of deep political and methodological reflection on Brazil's changing context.{{Cite book |last=ANTUNES |first=R |title=A Rebelião no Trabalho |publisher=Editora Unicamp |year=1992 |location=Sao Paulo |language=pt}}{{Cite book |title=O Sindicalismo Brasileiro nos anos 80 |collaboration=Boito Jr |publisher=Paz e Terra |year=1991 |location=Sao Paulo |language=pt}}

As the PT rose to power in state and municipal governments throughout the 1990s, it ceded itself to the tools of traditional politics and disillusioned its former remaining communist members who broke away from it{{Cite book |title=Resoluções de Encontro e Congressos: 1979–1998 |publisher=Fundação Perseu Abramo |year=2000 |location=Sao Paulo |language=pt}} thus creating a new social-democratic tradition aimed at countries dependent on the First World.{{Cite book |last=DOS SANTOS |first=T. |title=Teoria da Dependência, Balanço e Perspectiva |publisher=Civilização Brasileira |year=2000 |location=Rio de Janeiro |language=pt}}{{Cite book |last=MARINI |first=R. M. |title=Dialética de la Mercancia e Teoria del Valor |publisher=Editorial Universitária Centroamericana |year=1982 |location=Mexico |language=pt}} In the late 1990s, an attempt was made by some PCB leaders to dissolve the party through a vote by non-affiliated members, but the effort ultimately failed.

File:Fora Bolsonaro em Campinas 29.05.2021 33.jpg's impeachment for mishandling the pandemic break out in over 200 Brazilian cities as COVID-19 deaths surpass 460 thousand.{{ cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/29/tens-of-thousands-of-brazilians-march-to-demand-bolsonaros-impeachment | title=Tens of thousands of Brazilians march to demand Bolsonaro's impeachment | first=Tom | last=Phillips | location=Rio de Janeiro | website=The Guardian | date=29 May 2021 | access-date=4 November 2024 }}]]

Communist parties such as the PCB and the PCdoB were part of Lula's coalition governments in 2002 and 2006.{{Citation |last=Bethell |first=Leslie |title=The failure of the Left in Brazil |date=2018 |work=Brazil: Essays on History and Politics |pages=195–222 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv51309x.11 |access-date=2025-01-07 |publisher=University of London Press |jstor=j.ctv51309x.11 |isbn=978-1-908857-54-5}} In 2006, Aldo Rebelo, a PCdoB member and President of the Chamber of Deputies, served briefly as acting President of Brazil when both the President and Vice President underwent medical procedures. During the 2006 elections, PCdoB secured its first executive office in a state capital by winning the mayoral race in Aracaju, the capital of Sergipe.{{Cite web |last=Britt |first=M. P. |date=2022-04-06 |title=Communist Party of Brazil celebrates 100 years of struggle for socialism |url=https://www.cpusa.org/article/communist-party-of-brazil-celebrates-100-years-of-struggle-for-socialism/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Communist Party USA |language=en-US}} Manuela d'Ávila, as a member of PCdoB, was the running mate for Fernando Haddad for the 2018 Brazilian general election against Jair Bolsonaro.{{ cite web | url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/monicabergamo/2018/08/confirmacao-da-chapa-haddad-manuela-davila-deixa-psol-preocupado.shtml | title=Confirmação da chapa Haddad-Manuela D'Ávila deixa PSOL preocupado | lang=pt-br | trans-title=Confirmation of Haddad–Manuela D'Ávila ticket leaves PSOL worried | first=Mônica | last=Bergamo | website=Folha de S.Paulo | date=2018-08-08 | access-date=2025-03-06 }}

Currently, PCdoB remains a member of Brazil of Hope, a coalition that includes Lula's party, the Worker's Party (PT).{{ cite web | url=https://www.tse.jus.br/partidos/federacoes-registradas-no-tse/brasil-da-esperanca-fe-brasil | title=Federação Brasil da Esperança (FE BRASIL) | lang=pt-br | trans-title=Brazil of Hope Federation | website=Superior Electoral Court | access-date=2025-03-06 }} Additionally, it's the second-largest non-ruling communist party in the world.

The PCB underwent a major crisis in 2023, after controversial expulsions of prominent party figures, and the opposition of its youth wing, the Union of Communist Youth (UJC). The party's leadership thus faced internal divisions and accusations of undemocratic practices.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-21 |title=Letter: Crisis in the Brazilian Communist Party |url=https://cosmonautmag.com/2023/08/letter-crisis-in-the-brazilian-communist-party/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=Cosmonaut Magazine|language=en-US}} In July 2023, Ivan Pinheiro was one of those who were expelled from the PCB.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-31 |title=PCB expulsa Jones Manoel e mais quatro membros |url=https://www.cartacapital.com.br/politica/pcb-expulsa-jones-manoel-e-mais-quatro-membros/ |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=CartaCapital |language=pt-BR}} He subsequently founded his own party, the Brazilian Communist Party – Revolutionary Reconstruction (PCB-RR).{{Cite web |last=Marxism |first=In Defence of |date=2024-06-10 |title=Historic leader of Brazilian Communist Party sends warm greetings to RCI founding conference |url=https://marxist.com/historic-leader-of-brazilian-communist-party-sends-warm-greetings-sent-to-rci-founding-conference.htm |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=In Defence of Marxism |language=en-gb}}

There are, currently, seven self-declared communist and left-wing socialist political parties in Brazil registered with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), shown in the table below. These seven are the only ones who, in surveys in 2019 and 2024, declared themselves as "left-wing";{{efn|name="noresponse2024"|Both PCB and PCO did not respond to the 2024 survey.}} other progressive-leaning parties only claimed being "center-left".{{ cite web | url=https://www.em.com.br/app/noticia/politica/2019/12/25/interna_politica,1110467/maioria-dos-partidos-se-identifica-como-de-centro.shtml | title=Maioria dos partidos se identifica como de centro | language=pt-bt | trans-title=Most parties identify as being in the center | publisher=Estado de Minas | work=O Estado de S. Paulo | date=25 December 2019 | access-date=12 November 2024 }}{{ cite web | url=https://valor.globo.com/politica/eleicoes-2024/noticia/2024/10/04/de-direita-ou-esquerda-veja-como-os-partidos-politicos-se-definem-no-brasil.ghtml | title=De direita ou esquerda? Veja como os partidos políticos se definem no Brasil | language=pt-br | trans-title=Right or left? Check out how political parties define themselves in Brazil | first=Alex Jorge | last=Braga | website=Valor Econômico | date=4 October 2024 }} Additionally, the Revolutionary Communist Party is not legally registered with the TSE.{{Cite web |title=Partidos políticos registrados no TSE |url=http://www.tse.jus.br/partidos/partidos-politicos/registrados-no-tse |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620184858/http://www.tse.jus.br/partidos/partidos-politicos/registrados-no-tse |archive-date=20 June 2020 |access-date=7 September 2020 |website=Tribunal Superior Eleitoral}}

Prior to the 2022 and 2024 elections, Folha de S.Paulo did studies aiming to pinpoint Brazilian parties' political alignment. Deemed "far left" were the following:{{ cite web | url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2022/09/o-que-faz-um-partido-ser-de-direita-ou-esquerda-folha-cria-metrica-que-posiciona-legendas.shtml | title=O que faz um partido ser de direita ou esquerda: Folha cria métrica que posiciona legendas | language=pt-br | first1=Daniel | last1=Mariani | first2=Diana | last2=Yukari | first3=Flávia | last3=Faria | website=Folha de S.Paulo | date=21 September 2022 | access-date=12 November 2024 }} {{subscription required}}{{ cite web | url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2024/09/novo-e-sigla-mais-a-direita-e-pstu-a-mais-a-esquerda-no-brasil-mostra-gps-partidario.shtml | title=Novo é sigla mais à direita e PSTU a mais à esquerda no Brasil, mostra GPS partidário | language=pt-br | first1=Daniel | last1=Mariani | first2=Géssica| last2=Brandino | first3=Nicholas | last3=Pretto | website=Folha de S.Paulo | date=4 September 2024 | access-date=12 November 2024 }} {{subscription required}}

• PCB (2024)
• PCO (2022)
• PSOL (2022, 2024)
• PSTU (2022, 2024)
• UP (2022, 2024)

Although its name contains "Socialist", the Partido Socialista Brasileiro (Brazilian Socialist Party) is, self-declaredly center-left.

{{Main|Anti-communism}}

File:07 09 2021 Comemoração do dia da Independência (51435073416) (cropped).jpg demonstrations in 2021, in support of then-president Jair Bolsonaro, with signs saying "out communists" and "no to communism"]]

Brazil still faces somewhat strong {{Interlanguage link|Communist threat in Brazil|lt=anti-communist|pt|Ameaça comunista no Brasil}} sentiment, even decades after the end of the multiple military dictatorships that sought to curb it.{{ cite web | url=https://www.cartacapital.com.br/politica/esquerda-volver-o-que-une-e-divide-up-pco-pstu-e-pcb/ | title=Esquerda, volver! O que une (e separa) UP, PCO, PSTU e PCB | lang=pt-br | first=Victor | last=Ohana | website=CartaCapital | date=2019-12-18 | access-date=2025-02-28 }} Near the end of Dilma Rousseff's presidency and the mass protests from late 2014 through 2016, the expression {{ill|Nossa bandeira jamais será vermelha|pt}} ("Our flag will never be red") became a popular anti-communist motto.{{ cite web | url=https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2014/11/16/politica/1416094049_851005.html | title=Movimento contra Dilma cresce ao mesmo tempo que fica mais radical | language=pt-br | trans-title=Movement against Dilma grows while becoming more radical | first=Afonso | last=Benites | website=El País | date=15 November 2014 | access-date=16 November 2024 }}{{ cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2015/03/150315_cartazes_protestos_pai | title=15 frases dos protestos pró e anti-Dilma | language=pt-br | first1=Camilla | last1=Costa | first2=Luis Guilherme | last2=Barrucho | first3=Jefferson | last3=Puff | website=BBC News | date=15 March 2015 | access-date=16 November 2024 }}

That same motto's popularity was later revitalized during Jair Bolsonaro's presidency.{{ cite web | url=https://valor.globo.com/politica/noticia/2019/01/01/nossa-bandeira-jamais-sera-vermelha-afirma-bolsonaro-na-posse.ghtml | title='Nossa bandeira jamais será vermelha', afirma Bolsonaro na posse | language=pt-br | first1=Maria Cristina | last1=Fernandes | first2=Carla | last2=Araújo | first3=Cristiane | last3=Agostine | first4=Malu | last4=Filgueiras | website=Valor Econômico | date=1 January 2019 | access-date=16 November 2024 }}{{ cite web | url=https://www.poder360.com.br/governo/nossa-bandeira-jamais-sera-vermelha-diz-michelle-bolsonaro/ | title="Nossa bandeira jamais será vermelha", diz Michelle Bolsonaro | language=pt-br | first=Vinícius | last=Nunes | website={{ill|Poder360|pt}} | date=7 September 2022 | access-date=16 November 2024 }} Bolsonaro, a staunch anti-communist, had previously stated that Brazil "could become like North Korea if the Workers' Party was not stopped".{{ cite web | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/how-anti-communist-conspiracies-haunt-brazil/614665/ | title=How Anti-Communist Conspiracies Haunt Brazil | first=Vincent | last=Bevins | others=Illustrated by Eren Su Kibele Yarman | website=The Atlantic | date=16 September 2020

| access-date=16 November 2024 }} His presidential campaign in 2018 was filled with fake news aiming at a red scare, such as alleging his opponent, Fernando Haddad, was a Marxist.

In a survey in 2023, after Lula's win over Bolsonaro in the 2022 election, around 70% of Bolsonaro voters believed the country was at risk of becoming communist.{{ cite web | url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2023/07/52-thinks-brazil-is-at-risk-of-becoming-communist-says-datafolha.shtml | title=52% thinks Brazil is at risk of becoming communist, says Datafolha | first=Igor | last=Gielow | translator-first=Cassy | translator-last=Dias | website=Folha de S.Paulo | date=3 July 2023 | access-date=16 November 2024 }} This is in stark contrast with Lula's actual political positioning, which is closer to center-left.{{ cite web | url=https://www.dw.com/en/brazils-lula-da-silva-the-communist-who-wasnt/a-64240797 | title=Brazil's Lula da Silva: the communist who wasn't | first=Oliver | last=Pieper | website=Deutsche Welle | date=29 December 2022 | access-date=16 November 2024 }}

• Socialism in Brazil
• Anarchism in Brazil
• Landless Workers' Movement
• Homeless Workers' Movement

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Communism in Brazil}}

• Lecture series by Escola Latino-Americana de História e Política (ELAHP): "100 anos de comunismo no Brasil" [100 years of communism in Brazil] (in Brazilian Portuguese), 2021.
• Lecture 1: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Znlni1pD0 Introdução geral ao curso. A fundação do Partido Comunista (antecedentes, o congresso, as resoluções)]. Prof. {{ill|Valter Pomar|pt}}.
• Lecture 2: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_x8FPqcLIw Anos 1920. O Partido Comunista e a Internacional Comunista nos anos 1920.] Profª Marly Viana.
• Lecture 3: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLBlaCEun4I O Partido Comunista frente a Revolução de 1930 e a contrarrevolução de 1932.] Prof. {{ill|Breno Altman|pt}}.
• Lecture 4: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7XSDEQCa50 O Partido Comunista durante a ditadura Vargas.] Profª Moara Crivelente.
• Lecture 5: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BAhJoFzw3g Legalidade, participação nas eleições, na Constituinte e cassação do mandato.] Profª Ana Prestes.
• Lecture 6: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw-ClTHVfzs Do manifesto de janeiro de 1947 à declaração de março de 1958.] Prof. {{ill|Breno Altman|pt}}.
• Lecture 7: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iio5uL7aqGY Do V congresso à cisão de 1962.] Prof. Valter Pomar.
• Lecture 8: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exc7oo56aKE O PCB e o golpe de 1964. O VI Congresso do PCB e as cisões da luta armada.] Profª Dulce Pandolfi.
• Lecture 9: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq41bapkyVw O PCdoB e o golpe de 1964. A sexta conferência, as cisões. Prof. José Reinaldo.] Prof. José Reinaldo Carvalho.
• Lectures 10 and 11: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXaVE5xictQ A luta armada urbana e o Araguaia. Parte 1]. Prof. Valter Pomar; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jl-qxdkFvo Parte 2]. Prof. Wladimir Pomar.

{{South America in topic|Communism in}}

Category:Far-left politics in Brazil