The secrets and myths about the Araguaia Guerrilla War (1972-1974)

Authors

  • Janaína de Almeida Teles Universidade de São Paulo

Abstract

In this paper we consider the Araguaia Guerrilla War experience from a mythological perspective, which allows us to gain a broader understanding of that war and its symbolic legacy. The origins of imaginary representations compiled from interviews with participants of the movement and peasants are profoundly related to the ways in which the guerrilla war was developed and fought and with the silence that followed. This context favored the spreading of myths about the guerrillas that continue up to the present. By retrieving these myths, we propose a new interpretation of the guerrilla war and its symbolic universe, which was forged in the relationship with the local population and on the basis of the dissemination of repressive violence.

Keywords: Araguaia Guerrilla War, armed struggle, military dictatorship, political disappearances, memory.

Author Biography

Janaína de Almeida Teles, Universidade de São Paulo

Programa de Pós-doutorado do Depto. de História/FFLCH, USP

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Published

2014-10-02

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 3 (2014): September/December

Section

Dossiê: A ditadura brasileira: história e historiografia

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