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Strikes and Pickets in Brazil: Working-Class Mobilization in the “Old” and “New” Unionism, the Strikes of 1957 and 1980

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2013

Paulo Fontes  and
Francisco Barbosa de Macedo
Paulo Fontes
Affiliation:
Fundação Getulio Vargas, Brazil
Francisco Barbosa de Macedo
Affiliation:
Universidade of Sao Paulo, Brazil
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Abstract

This article analyzes the role of pickets in two of the most emblematic strikes in Brazilian labor history during the twentieth century: the “strike of the 400,000,” which involved several industry categories in São Paulo and neighboring cities in 1957, and the “forty-one days strike” in 1980 involving the metalworkers of the industrial belt, known as ABC Paulista, in the metropolitan region of the city of São Paulo. Both strikes broke out at a time of profound reconfiguration of Brazilian society, marked by industrialization, migration, and urbanization processes. Although separated by a time gap of almost twenty-five years, both the “strike of the 400,000” and the “forty-one days strike” reveal important aspects of the performance of workers in that crucial period of Brazilian history.

Type
Special Issue: Strikes and Social Conflicts
Information
International Labor and Working-Class History , Volume 83: Strikes and Social Conflicts , Spring 2013 , pp. 86 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © International Labor and Working-Class History, Inc. 2013 

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References

NOTES

1. Folha Bancária 5. 140, São Paulo Bank Workers Union, October 14, 2008. During the national bank workers strike of 2008 most of such injunctions favored the banks.

2. See Fausto, Boris, “A Concise History of Brazil (Cambridge, 1999), 321–333Google Scholar; and Berquó, Elza, “Evolução demográfica” in Brasil: Um Século de Transformações, ed. Pinheiro, Paulo Sérgio (São Paulo, 2001)Google Scholar.

3. See, among others, Fortes, Alexandre et al. , eds., Na Luta por Direitos. Estudos Recentes em História Social do Trabalho (Campinas, 1999)Google Scholar; Mattos, Marcelo Badaró, Novos e Velhos Sindicalismos. Rio de Janeiro (1955–1988) (Rio de Janeiro, 1998)Google Scholar; and Santana, Marco Aurélio, Homens Partidos: Comunistas e Sindicatos no Brasil (São Paulo, 2001)Google Scholar.

4. Exceptions to this are the analyses of some sociologists. See, for example, Sandoval, Salvador, Os Trabalhadores Param. Greves e Mudanças Sociais no Brasil, 1945–1990 (São Paulo, 1994)Google Scholar; and Noronha, Eduardo G., “Ciclo de greves, transição política e estabilização: Brasil, 1978–2007,” Lua Nova 76 (2009)Google Scholar.

5. See Correa, Larissa Rosa, A Tessitura dos Direitos. Patrões e Empregados na Justiça do Trabalho, 1953–1964 (São Paulo, 2011)Google Scholar.

6. One of the most important and controversial political figures in Brazilian history, Getúlio Vargas, served as president of Brazil twice, first from 1930 to 1945, and again from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. He was brought to power as the leader of the so-called “Revolution of 1930.” In 1934, Vargas was indirectly elected president by the state representatives during the elaboration of a new constitution. Three years later, with the support of the military, he led a coup that installed the “Estado Novo” (New State) corporatist dictatorship until 1945. Vargas favored nationalism, industrialization, centralization, social welfare, and labor rights. In 1943, he promulgated a national labor code, which regulated labor relations for many years after his death. Very popular, Vargas was elected president democratically in 1950. He was supported by nationalistic forces and by the majority of the trade unions, but his second administration was fiercely opposed by the conservatives and a great part of the media, leading to his suicide in 1954.

7. This type of argument is found in Rodrigues, Leôncio Martins, Conflito Industrial e Sindicalismo no Brasil (São Paulo, 1966)Google Scholar; Munhoz, Fabio, Sindicalismo e Democracia Populista: a Greve de 1957 (São Paulo: 1977)Google Scholar; and de Paula Leite, Márcia, “Trabalhadores, sindicatos e partidos: a greve de 1957 em São Paulo,” in El sindicalismo latino americano em los ochenta (Santiago, 1985), Leite, Marcia Paula and da Silva, Roque Aparecido (eds.)Google Scholar.

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9. A classic analysis of economic development in this period can be found in Baer, Werner, The Brazilian Economy: Growth and Development (London, 2001)Google Scholar.

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13. Notícias de Hoje, October 16, 1957.

14. O Estado de S. Paulo, October 16, 1957, “The São Paulo Strike of October, 1957,” Amcongen, São Paulo, Brazil, National Archives, GRDS, RG59, Box 4308, 832. 06/3-1058, page 6, Informative Bulletin FIESP/CIESP, October 28, 1957.

15. Notícias de Hoje, October 25, 1957.

16. Information Bulletin FIESP/CIESP, October 28, 1957.

17. Interview with “Picket Leader,” Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de São Paulo, November 5,1958. Fundo Fábio Munhoz, Cedem-Unesp.

18. Notícias de Hoje, October 16, 1957.

19. Lopes, Juarez Brandão, “O ajustamento do trabalhador à indústria: mobilidade social e motivação,” in Mobilidade e Trabalho: um Estudo na Cidade de São Paulo, ed. Hutchinson, Bertram (Rio de Janeiro, 1960), 407Google Scholar.

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21. Ibid.

22. de Souza Martins, José, Uma Arqueologia da Memória Social. Autobiografia de um Moleque de Fábrica (São Paulo, 2011), 409–11Google Scholar.

23. Analyzing a series of cases of this type, Murilo Leal, presents the hypothesis that the majority of violent actions in the strike of 1957 were the result of this kind of reaction on the part of the bosses. Cf., Murilo Leal, A Reinvenção, 280–81. Other similar situations were told of by Antonio Luigi Negro, Linhas de montagem, 105–9.

24. “The São Paulo Strike of October, 1957,” Amcongen, São Paulo, Brazil, National Archives, GRDS, RG59, Box 4308, 832. 06/3-1058, page 6.

25. Interview with “Picket Leader,” Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de São Paulo, December 5, 1958. Fundo Fábio Munhoz, Cedem-Unesp.

26. Antonio Luigi Negro, Linhas de Montagem.

27. Interview with José Luiz dos Santos, apud Murilo Leal. op. cit., 338.

28. “The São Paulo Strike of October, 1957”, Amcongen, São Paulo, Brazil, National Archives, GRDS, RG59, Box 4308, 832. 06/3-1058, page 6 e AESP, setor DEOPS, 50Z-591-44. Specifically about the strike of 1957 in the district of São Miguel Paulista, see Fontes, Paulo, Trabalhadores e Cidadãos. Nitro Química: a fábrica e as lutas operárias nos anos 50 (São Paulo, 1997)Google Scholar.

29. Report of an informal conversation that took place with “picket leaders.” São Paulo Metalworkers Union, December 1958. Fundo Fábio Munhoz, Cedem-Unesp.

30. Interview with “picket leader,” São Paulo Glassmakers Union, October 1958. Fundo Fábio Munhoz, Cedem-Unesp.

31. Notícias de Hoje, October 23, 1957.

32. Última Hora, October, 22, 23, and 24, 1957. See also, Murilo Leal, A Reinvenção, 275–6; and Antonio Luigi Negro, Linhas de Montagem.

33. In the late 1970s, seven different municipalities formed the ABC region. The most important cities were Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, and São Caetano do Sul e Diadema.

34. Ricardo Antunes, “As Formas da Greve: o Confronto Operário no ABC Paulista (1978–1980)” (Ph.D. diss., Universidade de São Paulo, 1986); and Alves, Maria Helena M., State and Opposition in Military Brazil (Austin, 1985)Google Scholar.

35. In 1980, for example the richest ten percent of Brazilian society appropriated fifty percent of the total income. Cf., de Mello, J. M. C and Novais, F., “Capitalismo Tardio e Sociabilidade Moderna,” in História da Vida Privada, ed. Schwarcz, Lília Moritz (São Paulo, 1998), 633Google Scholar.

36. See Humphrey, J., Capitalist Control and Workers' Struggle in the Brazilian Auto Industry (Princeton, 1982)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Maroni, A., A Estratégia da Recusa: Análise das Greves de Maio/78 (São Paulo, 1982)Google Scholar; e Antonio Luigi Negro, Linhas de Montagem.

37. FUNDACENTRO. “Conceito de Acidentes, Suas Causas Segundo o Ponto de Vista Prevencionista,” 1973.

38. Skidmore, Thomas, The Politics of Military Rule in Brazil, 1964–1985 (New York, 1988)Google Scholar.

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40. L. F. Rainho, Os peões do grande ABC (Petrópolis, 1980).

41. The Catholic Church had enormous importance in this process. The churches were vital for the workers assemblies and meetings. Several times, both in the ABC region and in the city of São Paulo, the churches were the main space for opposition gatherings. Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, the São Paulo archbishop, played a pivotal role during the late 1970s strikes and would be internationally recognized as one of the leading Brazilian human right activists of the 1970s. See Skidmore, The Politics of Military Rule, and Macedo, F. B., “A Greve de 1980: redes sociais e espaço urbano na mobilização coletiva dos metalúrgicos de São Bernardo do Campo,” Mundos do Trabalho 3 (2011), 136–165CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

42. A Vanguarda, April 5, 1980.

43. Ibid., April 19, 1980.

44. Ibid., April 26, 1980.

45. Ibid., May 10, 1980.

46. Report of the police precinct of ABC. Ref. Reunião na Sede do SMSBCD, em April 1, 1980. s/data. Dossiê 50-Z-341 (Pasta 22) e ABC DA GREVE. Director: Leon Hirszman. Brazil, 1979. DVD. (75 minutes).

47. Folha de São Paulo, August 6 and 8, 1980.

48. Relatório I.P. n. 15/80. Divisão de Ordem Social-DOPS/SP. 29/04/1980. Assinado pelo Delegado de Polícia Titular da DOS-DOPS/SP, Edsel Magnotti. Prontuário 149.689 (v. 1). fl. 5.

49. Relatório I.P. n. 25/80. Divisão de Ordem Social-DEOPS/SP. 16/05/1980. Assinado pelo Delegado de Polícia Titular da DOS-DOPS/SP, Edsel Magnotti. Prontuário 149.689 (v. 2). fl. 11.

50. Cf. Diário do Grande ABC, April 17, 1980, Auto de prisão em flagrante delito de Manoel G. V. Del. Pol. de São Bernardo do Campo. April 29, 1980. OS–0099, Termo de declarações de Manoel Abílio Brandão. Del. Pol. de São Caetano do Sul. April 30, 1980. OS–0097, Termo de declarações de Isaías C. V. Pol. de São Caetano do Sul. April, 30, 1980. OS–0097, BO nº 1.642 emitido pela Chefia de Segurança Industrial da Volkswagen. May 2, 1980. OS–1148 e Nádia Aparecida Lopes de Camargo, “A geografia das lutas metalúrgicas no ABC paulista na virada dos anos 70 do século XX” (Master's Diss., Universidade de São Paulo, 2003).

51. Document of FIESP orienting their members on how to proceed in the hypothesis of new strikes (1979). See Rainho, L. F. e Bargas, O. M.. As lutas operárias e sindicais dos metalúrgicos em São Bernardo (1977–1979). v.1. (São Bernardo do Campo, 1983), 213Google Scholar.

52. Cf., Relatório para a Delegacia Seccional de Polícia do ABCD. Ref. Assembléia dos Metalúrgicos de SBC e Diadema, em May 7, 1980. OS–1148 e Folha de São Paulo, May 6 and 7, 1980.

53. In some of his speeches during the strike, Lula was explicit about some aspects of the actions of the pickets. Cf., for Folha de São Paulo, April 4, 1980.

54. Folha de São Paulo, May 13, 1980. and ABCD Jornal, June 17,1980.

55. Sader, Eder, Quando novos personagens entraram em cena: experiências, falas e lutas dos trabalhadores da Grande São Paulo (1970–1980) (Rio de Janeiro, 1988)Google Scholar.

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57. Greve! Director: João Batista de Andrade. Brasil, 1979. Video. (37 minutes), ABC DA GREVE. Director: Leon Hirszman. Brazil, 1979. DVD. (75 minutes), Linha de Montagem. Director: Renato Tapajós. Brazil, 1982. DVD. (90 minutes).

58. M. C. G. Silva, “O cinema na greve e a greve no cinema” (PhD diss., Universidade Federal Fluminenese, 2008).

59. Relatório nº 035/80 de Fox 9 para Delegacia de Sindicatos e Associações de Classe do Deops. Ref. Ronda pelo ABCD em observação a movimentos grevistas nas indústrias metalúrgicas. March 20, 1980. OS–1147. Aesp, setor Deops.

60. A Vanguarda, April 6, 1980.

61. DGABC, April 19, 1980. The security forces of the state directly involved in the repression of the strike were Deops, Federal Police, Civil Police, Fire Brigade, and the Army.

62. Folha de São Bernardo, April 19, 1980.

63. Interview with José, conceded to H. H. T. S. Martins, H. Pereira, and C. A. Ricardo em 26/06/1980 and June 28, 1980. See. “A Igreja na greve dos metalúrgicos–São Bernardo, 1980,” Religião e Sociedade 6 (1980): 38Google Scholar.

64. See 41 Dias de Resistência e Luta. Cadernos do Trabalhador 1. São Bernardo: ABCD Sociedade Cultural.

65. All of the police precincts of greater São Paulo informed the Deops (Political Police) of the detention of any person suspected of involvement in the ABC Paulista Metalworkers strike. Around 290 people were arrested.

66. For a significant episode involving an identity card, see Ficha de identificação. Secretaria de Estado dos Negócios da Segurança Pública. Polícia Civil de São Paulo. April 18, 1980. Prontuário 149.689 (v. 1).

67. BO nº 2592/80. Del. Pol. de São Bernardo do Campo. April 30, 1980. OS–0099 e Mensagem 2383/80, Telex da Del. Pol. de São Bernardo do Campo ao Deops de São Paulo e à Seccional do ABCD. Ref. BO 2595/80. April 30, 1980. OS–0099.

68. Auto de prisão em flagrante delito de João S. L. M. e de Leonardo R. C. Del. Pol. de São Bernardo do Campo. May 5, 1980. OS–0096.

69. Interviews with Djalma Bom, granted to the author on October 28, 2008, and October 30, 2008.

70. The approach suggested here for the use of violence by the pickets is not original. Since the 1960s, research in social history, principally in the US and in Europe, insist on the “rational and instrumental character” that the use of violence can take on during collective struggles. The relationship between morality and violence, on the other hand, reminds us of the “link between culture and violence,” which has been considered real by social science since the first half of the twentieth century. Cf., Wierviorka, Michel, “Violência Hoje,” Ciência & Saúde Coletiva 11 (2007)Google Scholar.

71. According to the formal complaints submitted by the Chief of Industrial Security of Volkswagen, until April 30, three buses had been stoned. In May, the number increased to twenty-nine. BOs emitidos pela Chefia de Segurança Industrial da Volkswagen. OS–1148.

72. Tilly, Charles. “Contentious Repertories in Great Britain, 1758–1834.” Social Science History 17 (1993), 264Google Scholar.

73. Hall, Michael, “O movimento operário na cidade de São Paulo: 1890–1954,” in História da Cidade de São Paulo, v. 3, ed. Porta, Paula (org.) (São Paulo, 2004), 289Google Scholar.

74. Salvador Sandoval, Os Trabalhadores Param, 211.

75. For a bibliographical treatment of the debates over the importance of interpersonal linkages in collective movements, cf., Kitts, J., “Mobilizing in Black Boxes: Social Networks and Participation in Social Movements Organizations,” Mobilization: An International Journal 5 (2000)Google Scholar. Duas seminais investigações sobre o tema são: McAdam, D., “Recruitment to High-Risk Activism: The Case of Freedom Summer,” American Journal of Sociology 92 (1986)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Gould, R. V., Insurgent Identities: Class, Community and Protest in Paris from 1848 to the Commune (Chicago, 1995), 241–257Google Scholar.

76. See the interesting analysis of the images of the pickets in the film Lula, Filho do Brasil. Director: Fábio Barreto Brasil, 2009. DVD. (128 minutos) in French, J. e Negro, A. L., “Politics, Memory, and Working Class Life in the Commercial Biopic Lula, Son of Brazil,” A contra corriente 8 (2011)Google Scholar.