Carlos Marighella

Carlos Marighella (; 5 December 1911 – 4 November 1969) was a Brazilian politician, writer, and guerrilla fighter of Marxist–Leninist orientation. He was accused of engaging in "terrorist acts" against the Brazilian military dictatorship, which itself was engaged in assassinations, egregious acts of torture, and other forms of state violence. Marighella's most famous contribution to revolutionary struggle literatureWhite, Jonathan. "Ideological Terrorism." Chapter 12 in Terrorism and Homeland Security, 5thEdition. Mason, Ohio, Cengage Learning, 2006. Page 218. was the ''Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla''.

Biography

Marighella was born in Salvador, Bahia, to Italian immigrant Augusto Marighella and Afro-Brazilian Maria Rita do Nascimento. His father was a blue-collar worker originally from Emilia, while his mother was a descendant of African slaves, brought from Sudan ( Hausa blacks). He spent his young life at a house in Rua do Desterro, at the Baixa do Sapateiro neighbourhood, where he would graduate from primary and secondary education. In 1934, he left the Polytechnic School of Bahia, where he was pursuing a degree in civil engineering, in order to become an active member of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB). He then moved to Rio de Janeiro to work in the restructuring of PCB.

Arrests

Marighella was first arrested in 1932, after he wrote an offensive poem about the administration of Bahia intervener Juracy Magalhães. On 1 May 1936, during the Getúlio Vargas time in presidency, he was once again arrested for subversion. He was arrested again by the political police led by Filinto Müller. He remained in jail for a year. He was released by "macedada" (the measure which freed political prisoners without pressing charges against them). After his release, he once again entered clandestinity, along with all members of PCB. He was recaptured in 1939. He was not released until 1945, when an amnesty during the democratization process of the country benefited all political prisoners.

The following year, Marighella was elected constituent federal deputy by the Bahian branch of PCB, but he lost his office in 1948 under the new proscription of the party. Back in clandestinity, he occupied several offices in the leadership of the party. Invited by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Marighella visited China between 1953 and 1954 in order to learn more about the Chinese Communist Revolution. In May 1964, after the military coup, he was shot and arrested by agents of the Department of Social and Political Order (Departamento de Ordem Política e Social - DOPS), the political police, at a movie theater in Rio. He was released in the following year by a court order.

Writing, founding the Ação Libertadora Nacional

In 1966, he wrote ''The Brazilian Crisis'', opting for the armed struggle against the military dictatorship. Later that year, he renounced his office in the national leadership of PCB.
In August 1967, he participated at the 1st Conference of Latin American Solidarity in Havana, contradicting what party had determined. In Havana, he wrote ''Some Questions About the Guerrillas in Brazil'', dedicated to the memory of Che Guevara and made public by '' Jornal do Brasil'' on 5 September 1968. That same year he was expelled from PCB, and founded the Ação Libertadora Nacional (ALN) in February 1968. In September 1969, ALN members kidnapped the U.S. ambassador Charles Burke Elbrick in a coordinated move with the Revolutionary Movement 8th October (Movimento Revolucionário 8 de Outubro – MR-8). The group was responsible for several executions as well.

Death

After a series of successful robberies and kidnappings, the police force was determined to eliminate him. He was shot by police at an ambush at 8pm on 4 November 1969 at 800 Alameda Casa Branca, São Paulo. This ambush was organized by police deputy Sérgio Paranhos Fleury, known for his work inside DOPS.

Marighella was buried at Cemitério Público da Quinta dos Lázaros, a cemetery in Salvador, Bahia. His tombstone was designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, and is the only grave monument designed by the architect. It bears a quote from Marighella: "I didn't have time to be afraid" (''Não tive tempo para ter medo'').

Legacy

Marighella's most famous contribution to revolutionary struggle literature was the ''Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla'', consisting of advice on how to disrupt and overthrow a military regime as part of a Marxist revolution. Written shortly before his death in late 1969 in São Paulo, ''Minimanual'' was first published in North America by the '' Berkeley Tribe'' in Berkeley, California in July 1970 in an English edition.library of congress.gov/chronicling america/berkeley tribeUniversity of Michigan.gov/archives/underground newspapers/microfilm collection

In popular culture

In the 2006 biographical drama film '' Baptism of Blood'', Marighella was portrayed by Brazilian actor and musician Marku Ribas.

In the 2019 drama '' Marighella'', Marighella was portrayed by Seu Jorge; the film was accomplished actor Wagner Moura's directorial debut. The movie was exhibited at international film festivals, but Brazil's Agência Nacional do Cinema (National Agency of Cinema), during Bolsonaro's government, barred it from distribution in Brazil, citing "subversive elements"; it finally appeared on Brazilian screens in November, 2021.

References

External links

"Pattern of Terror"
''Time'', 24 August 1970

''Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla''
by Carlos Marighella

"Estratégia para matar o terror"
'' Veja'', 12 November 1969

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marighella, Carlos
1911 births
1969 deaths
Brazilian people of Italian descent
Stalinism
Anti-revisionists
Brazilian communists
Brazilian revolutionaries
Revolution theorists
Brazilian guerrillas
Brazilian Communist Party politicians
Far-left politics in Brazil
Terrorism in Brazil
People from Salvador, Bahia
Brazilian people of African descent
Urban guerrilla warfare theorists
Guerrillas killed in action
People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Brazil
Dead and missing in the fight against the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964–1985)
Assassinations in Brazil