Carlos Marighella (; 5 December 1911 – 4 November 1969) was a Brazilian politician, writer, and Marxist–Leninist militant. Critical of

nonviolent resistance Nonviolent resistance, or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, construct ...

to the

Brazilian military dictatorship The military dictatorship in Brazil (), occasionally referred to as the Fifth Brazilian Republic, was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against presi ...

, he founded the Ação Libertadora Nacional, a Marxist–Leninist urban guerrilla group, which was responsible for a series of

bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

and high-profile kidnappings. He was killed by police in 1969 in an ambush. Marighella's most famous contribution to revolutionary literature was the '' Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla''.White, Jonathan. "Ideological Terrorism." Chapter 12 in Terrorism and Homeland Security, 5thEdition. Mason, Ohio, Cengage Learning, 2006. Page 218.

Biography

Marighella was born in Salvador,

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, to

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

immigrant Augusto Marighella and

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

Maria Rita do Nascimento. His father was a

blue-collar worker A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labour, manual labor or Tradesman, skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, Warehouse, warehousing, mining, ...

originally from Emilia, while his mother was a descendant of enslaved Africans, brought from the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

( 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 Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, in order to become an active member of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB). He then moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

to work in the restructuring of PCB. Son of an Italian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

father and a mother of African

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

background, Carlos was raised in a Catholic household, eventually becoming atheist in his early 20s.

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 Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

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 Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the Central committee, highest organ when the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, national congress is not ...

, Marighella visited China between 1953 and 1954 in order to learn more about the

Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution was a social revolution, social and political revolution in China that began in 1927 and culminated with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The revolution was led by the Chinese C ...

. In May 1964, after the military coup, he was shot and arrested by agents of the Department of Political and Social 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

In 1966, he wrote ''The Brazilian Crisis'', opting for the armed struggle against the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

. 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 Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

and made public by ''

Jornal do Brasil ''Jornal do Brasil'', widely known as ''JB'', is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest extant Brazilian paper, after the ''Diário de Pernambuco'' and ''O Esta ...

'' on 5 September 1968. That same year he was expelled from PCB, and founded the Ação Libertadora Nacional (ALN) in February 1968.

''Ação Libertadora Nacional''

The Department of Political and Social Order (DOPS) attributed the assassination of Charles Rodney Chandler to Marighella and nine others according to the at the time.

1969 kidnapping of the United States Ambassador

In September 1969, ALN members kidnapped the U.S. ambassador

Charles Burke Elbrick Charles Burke Elbrick (March 25, 1908 – April 12, 1983) was an American diplomat and career foreign service officer. During his career, he served three ambassadorships: in Portugal, Yugoslavia and Brazil, in addition to numerous minor postings ...

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.

Assassination

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 8:00 pm on 4 November 1969 at 800 Alameda Casa Branca,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. 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 Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...

, 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 Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

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.

Notes

References

External links

"Pattern of Terror"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', 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 Anti-revisionists Brazilian communists Brazilian revolutionaries Revolution theorists Brazilian guerrillas Brazilian Communist Party politicians Far-left politics in Brazil Terrorism in Brazil Politicians from Salvador, Bahia Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian people of Sudanese descent Urban warfare 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 Assassinated Brazilian politicians Politicians assassinated in 1969 Brazilian anti-fascists