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FRANCISCO SORIANO AND PETER CORDENONSI
PRESENT
A MOVIE OF ONE BRAZIL'S DARKEST PERIODS
Hard times... It was a very sad period for each one of us.
We used to get worried about uncle Francisco
due to the concern about someone that had gone through such a trauma, one would
[ Francisco´s niece and sister ]
usually take medicines, visit psychiatrists here and there, but not him. He lives the life.
He is such a zen, playing his accordion, his music. He believes in humanity.
DURING THE DICTATORSHIP YEARS, "THE LEAD YEARS"
YOUNG STUDENTS CHOSE DEFENDING FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY OVER PARTIES
THEY FOUGHT, THEY WERE TORTURED AND MANY DID NOT SURVIVE
ONE OF THEM DECIDED, AS HIS MISSION,
TO TELL "THE STORY OF THE RESISTENT ONES"
HE WAS BORN IN TEÓFILO OTONI, MINAS GERAIS STATE
IN 1964, HE LIVED IN RIO DE JANEIRO
HE STILLS DREAMS OF A BETTER COUNTRY
AND A MORE HUMANE SOCIETY
HE MET MANY FELLOWS WHO SHARED THOSE SAME DREAMS
THE BIG DEPARTURE THE LEAD YEARS
The Brazilian military dictatorship invented a lot of myths during its ruling time.
For instance, the idea that repression was a reaction due to the armed struggle.
It´s complete lie! The Military hard-liners took over the government authority.
They violated the constitution, deposed a legitimate president, established
censorship, coerced the judicial system, dreadfully arrested many people.
All this before the armed struggle. Once the underground political action had its
beginning, they were already using all the violent means, trying to carry all before one.
At the time of the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état, I was a newly graduate lawyer.
[ Lawyer ]
I used to work in a very modest office
I remember one day I went there,
there was a rally that was supposed to be a public meeting to support the government.
Lots of people looking at the sky, looking at the streets.
Suddenly, from the streets there came tanks, and the people applauded them.
They thought they were tanks supporting the government.
Shortly after, they noticed that the Army soldiers were carrying
their fixed bayonets... behind those tanks.
While people were applauding, the tank cannons were rotated.
As soon as people began booing them, soldiers started banishing people from there.
There were protestations against them, some were shouting at them and,
meanwhile, two men shot into the crowd. I saw it happen, a man fell down near me.
The pair who shot ran towards the Military Club,
on the corner of Rio Branco Ave. and Santa Luzia St.
They entered the building and immediately the gates were shut&
and we realized: the Coup had taken the streets over. Exactly on April 1st.
Nobody wants to be neither coupist nor rebellious.
[ Historian ]
That´s why in the beginning, maybe by distraction,
what they called The April 1st 1964 Revolution.
Before long, they realized April 1st was known as the Fools' Day.
It was even invented that that was a redemptive "Revolution". One that saved
the west from the communist expansion, celebrated on March 31st.
Actually, we´re not talking about a revolution. That was a counter-revolutionary
project of some Brazilian capitalist groups, with a kind of commitment to
some military branches, to control the progress of peoples´ rightly struggle -
that in a way was being stimulated by reformist politics of João Goulart´s
populist government. Since the very beginning of our colonization period,
all the Elite politics, leading politics, defended the land property concentration.
It means that if one messed with them, one would have opposed the capitalist society.
That was an idea of someone who would be considered a communist at a later time.
First of all, the Military Coup put an end to people´s dreams,
- dreams about a reformed country.
[ Economist ]
the word "reform" sounded as an order. It is so because we had been
because we had been waiting for Rural Reform, Urban Reform, University Reform
for an improvement of our own sovereignty over our own country and our own riches,
so that these riches would bring us a bettered social equality,
social justice. It was part of the plan,
flowing into a government which had no better perspective. Something interestingly
good in the pre-coup period was a Mining political faction
that we started in Minas Gerais, with Geology and Engineering students.
In February 1964, they organized a great meeting
that was called "No Ore Gives Minerals Twice".
The idea was to discuss Brazil´s own sovereignty over its own resources,
that were already in the hands of transnational corporations,
mainly American, but English ones too.
THE PATH OF THE COUP (FROM GETÚLIO TO GOULART)
- Could Janio Quadros be considered representative of a 64 kind of coup attempt
without weapons?
- Partly, yes.
to the IMF in order to control inflation
In general terms, that´s what happened.
But not from the external point of view. No.
From the external point of view, that was a main cause for the fall of President
Jânio Quadros. He established an independent foreign policy. It is, however,
important to know that attempts at coup had been made for quite some time.
In 1954, the crisis after Vargas´ suicide was part of a coup attempt.
There was even an upper school of war in operation.
Golbery was already working.
even found a way to overthrow João Goulart as Minister of Labor
when he proposed to raise the monthly minimum wage to 100% of it,
which was frozen since the 40s.
They also released "The Manifesto of the Colonels" and
practically removed João Goulart from the Ministry of Labor. President Getúlio
complied with that, but the 100% increase in the minimum wage was approved.
I clearly remember the day Getúlio died. I mean, the suicide,
that actually was a ***.
I had been working before I went to Acre Street, towards the crowd
that wanted to invade the Globo newspaper building.
But there they had their big gateways and it was impossible to enter the building.
So, we attacked their vehicles used for newspaper distribution.
Then we planned a direct attack on
the Tribuna da Imprensa newspaper
When we got there, the building had already been surrounded by the Air Force soldiers
carrying their machine guns and rifles with fixed bayonets. In that case, I went home.
The 60s ground a national development that had been tried since the government of
President JK, purportedly meant for freedom.
Then, we are able to see some improvements in Brazil.
As the process of industrialization starts, a new Middle Class arises from it,
and, expressing the origin of this class, some movements are created.
[ Journalist ]
We had cultural movements such as Bossa Nova, the "Cinema Novo" film movement
and a national pride grounding.
A strong motivation for the development of this national pride awareness took place
when Brazil won its first World Cup,
THE SIXTIES
I have no regrets. I could do everything again. I would have done it even better.
I just wouldn´t have made some mistakes.
- What mistakes are these?
- One mistake is that we were too idealists, such as dreamers.
Sometimes we behaved like sectarians,
[ Lutheran Priest ]
sometimes we discriminated against a comrade who stood for another ideology.
There was a bit of vanity. Some mistakes, you know. A mistake that is also some sort
of ideological purism. Despite being Christian, I considered myself a
Christian-Marxist, and it was
The Marxism, Leninism etc were forms of a kind of dogma. Actually, I would have been
less dogmatic, and would not have behaved like a Manichaean
who would split this country into two parts: pure and impure ones.
The pure ones were the leftists,
and the degree of pureness would depend
on the political-ideological level of the person.
I would have been more humane, probably. Despite being a Christian man,
I also had a hard time, as many others who once said "let´s save the world".
In other words, it was like a triumphalism.
There is a song by Gilberto Gil that says:
"those who did not sleep in a sleeping bag did not even dream".
We slept in a "sleeping bag".
No doubt there were moments of sorrowful experience,
though very rich in meaning, in the sense that we had the opportunity to try.
We thought we could change the world.
The International Conjuncture of the ´60s was progressive.
The fight for Civil Rights and Racial Equality assumed a high-profile role
in the U.S.A, with movements such as the Black Power and Black Panthers
boldly confronting the white capitalist establishment.
The May 1968 took place in France. Actually, there were various
international movements standing for a progressive cultural improvement.
However, the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état was established out of this international way.
In fact, that´s an event that not only happened in Brazil,
but also in other Latin America countries.
[ Sociologist ]
Because in Latin America there were other countries in the same situation,
on the occasion Latin America was passing through changes and
moving towards the solution of its own chronic difficulties and social differences.
In many of these Latin countries, the way of treating this situation was quite similar.
OPERATION CONDOR
Then, there was Operation Condor,
which was the articulation
between all Latin American dictatorships.
Operation Condor did work as an articulation,
in which Brazil was a key component,
in supplying theoretic schemes
of many torture methods. Everyone knows that.
Brazilians were torture teachers to all Latin America.
If you search the Brazilian records,
you'll find Brazil's participation in Operation Condor.
You won't find them in Brazil,
but if you look in Chile, Paraguay,
Uruguay and Argentina
we can find the interface of it all.
For instance, I recall Martin, the lawyer,
showing me Mariguela's biography.
Every record that was found here
had exact copies in other countries.
Modesto, to which extent,
can this help, or even demoralize
the actions of those who want to keep the truth concealed?
We've got signs and proof that such records, abroad,
links Brazil with the whole articulation.
If the Brazilian Government refuses to show their records,
the same records can be exposed from abroad.
This could make the Brazilian authorities look bad
for trying to conceal the truth.
It will be revealed.
Martin himself says that he's got a plethora of documents
having even brought a few as models and examples,
linking Brazilian authorities to Operation Condor,
as well as the torturers and their victims.
The Government keeps stating
that their part in the continental and worldwide torture and killings
is a meager one. That's not true.
Major Pires Sergueira
died during the international articulation of Operation Condor
because he plotted the escape of Col. Gerson de Alencar Osório.
THE FEAR
It´s very difficult to get someone to head an union, to hand out pamphlets.
This is because of a certain kind of cultural habit.
Till nowadays people have this concern over receiving pamphlets
and no fear of giving it away. So, where does it come from? This repressive fear?
That´s the culture of fear. I commented on this when I was discussing
about something that is happening in Teófilo Otoni. Then someone said:
"but I have fear" - this is what is really dangerous.
During the strikes period, we went on our first strike and it was the opportunity
for me to make the jump from
People were afraid of going on strike, and so was I. But we were continuously
struggling with it and making progress. There are two ways to oppress: one way is
to arrest and punish people. It has an end, but it also incites grievances and anger.
And when someone finally escapes maltreatments
it is over.
Even so, there is another kind of oppression that is sweet: If you do that,
you will find yourself in great danger". This kind of oppression is the most harmful.
Due to such an oppression we have such kind of fear.
THE WORKER
I went to work at a factory
aiming to be reborn as a worker.
That's very sane, isn't it?
To move out of my class
and be reborn as a worker
so that I could see how the workman and the workwoman
live in the greatest industrial city of Latin America, São Paulo.
It was a rebirth experience to me,
which made me humbler then when I started,
thinking that I had some "truth" to teach them.
Then, I gradually realized that their lives
were the actual milestones that would pace the changes.
I found out that my goal was to help them
to become self-aware.
Of their rights, their potential,
their dignity,
and develop self-esteem
to become the subjects of their own stories.
That notion gained strength on the exile,
when I worked with Paulo Freire for 4 years.
That was his vision
and that was when I started re-discovering
the meaning of the revolution.
The revolution is not conquering the Government
in order to obtain all the solutions from it.
Rather, it is the construction of a society
in which each individual becomes the subject
of himself, his story and his development.
That was a major learning to me:
to quit my job as a geologist
and become a factory worker for two years,
enduring the awful work conditions,
12 hours a day,
in one of the greatest transnational foundries
in São Paulo.
I t was a Mercedes-Benz subsidiary company.
We had a mandatory 12-hour daily shift
plus overtime.
It was a terrible setting,
a huge hangar, with 150 workers in that section alone.
The factory had a total of 3,000 workers.
It was then that the military coup reason became clear.
So that the capital holders would have the full authority
to crush the working class.
So, to sensitize the workers to join the union
was marred with a plethora of hindrances.
Joining the union was already a big taboo.
It was risking being arrested,
of being seen as one with ties to those opposing the system.
Standard procedures today,
which were then considered great acts of heroism.
Besides the union had been infiltrated,
ran by undercover Government agents.
They organized the council with the Intelligence.
It was a series of risks we undertook
in forming what ended up being
the São Paulo's Metallurgic Opposition Union.
SINDIPETRO RIO DE JANEIRO
The main concern of the dominating classes,
the oppressors,
is the working class.
In the coup of the year 1964,
the first targets were the workers.
Effectively, their allies...
Some call the workers a powder keg,
and the students movement, the fuse.
That immediately hit UNE, because they were allies.
The first issue was considering strikes an anti-government crime.
The first order given to unions
was to extinguish all the communists.
The Workers General Central and other articulations
were shut down or disposed of,
and their leaders, arrested.
All of our five dictators had the same speech:
to crush the social movements and the left-wing party
align Brazil with the US
and a major economy serving the greater capital.
P.C.B. (THE BIG PARTY)
I used to work in quarries, breaking stones, from the age of 8 until 16.
In 1945, when I was about to
the visit of Luis Carlos Prestes to Uberlândia was scheduled.
There were many laborers in Uberlândia and it seemed to be somewhat original.
That´s why the city was known as "The Brazilian Little Moscow".
When the one Bishop in the surroundings knew that Prestes would be visiting
Uberlândia, he went there and called all these influential people - Priests, catholic
high-ups, the authorities - and decided that the Priests should go in procession
in order to discourage the rally that would be organized by communists.
And these were his words:
casting out these demons and bringing this rally to an end". In my case,
instead of joining the procession, I attended the rally, independently.
At the place where the rally took place, there were all kinds of people,
mainly laborers. When Prestes appeared before us, I felt great empathy.
I stared at him and thought to myself: "is he really a child eater ***?
Is he like that dangerous figure of whom people speak at the Church?
He can not be that man, he looks like Jesus Christ".
In fact, he looked like the captive Jesus carrying his cross.
When Prestes spoke to us,
as if he was speaking to me.
The others felt the same thing. Actually, everybody understood what he said.
He spoke about the reality in which I lived. He spoke about my life.
He knew how to describe things and how to show the way out.
That´s how this rally turned me upside down.
Since then, I not only voted Prestes for Senator in 1945, I finally understood
that I was at the wrong Church. In fact, the churches preached the same thing.
That´s how I became a communist, a socialist.
BRAZIL'S COMMUNIST PARTY WAS FOUNDED IN 1922
IN 1961, THE NAME IS CHANGED TO BRAZILIAN COMMUNIST PARTY
I used to study History and I also had connections to PCB,
though I didn´t agree with their political line.
[ Psychologist ]
Later on, I joined the splinter group from PC, there was the famous DI, and, after that,
I got involved with the Revolutionary Movement 8th October (MR-8).
However, I still didn´t fully agree with their political line.
I began disagreeing with the Communist Party, with their pacific way,
with the priority that was being given to the parliamentary position,
and I distrusted the armed struggle too.
wouldn´t lead us to a good end, I didn´t know a good way to go through.
At the time of the Brazilian coup d'état
It was a deeply disturbing event,
[ Journalist ]
Many people were arrested in the city. My father was under arrest.
In 1965, I went to Belo Horizonte
to study and to fight dictatorship.
In short, that´s what prevailed during the 60s. To fight in order to succeed
in bringing down dictatorship. The Resistance, even after the AI-5.
I didn´t get involved with the armed struggle because we believed in another way.
The struggle among laborers. I was affiliated with POLOP,
a group dedicated to workers organization and Labor Policy.
The POLOP defended the armed struggle, but not at that exact moment. It is so
because the idea was that the working class would have to be perfectly organized first,
once they thought the dictatorship was solid and that it would be
impossible to bring it down militarily.
I used to live in Teófilo Otoni, the city that Soriano is from.
My friend, my brother comrade, now it goes.
How are you doing? Good? This is the man.
I was arrested as Vice president of UNE (National Students Union), in Ibiúna,
encircled on all sides by the Military Police from São Paulo,
and by the Civil Police that used to be called DOPS.
[ Engineer ]
We spent 2 years in prison. Either way, I was lucky
because I´ve found so many friends, resisters, and one of them is you.
- I remember when you went to testify and there were those three sergeants with us,
who felt for you and said:
"just want to see whether you´re going to handcuff our comrade Edson".
Isn´t it enough three soldiers and a Doberman dog?
Men armed with machine guns just to take you to the next block.
- The Police came making that hellish noise
and bringing a group of thirteen friends - tied and bloodstained.
Then I started screaming: "Surrender, Corisco! No, I wont surrender!
I'm not a bird to live in a prison."
I only wanted to tell them that
"We were not birds and one day we would leave that place".
All of them said that it was like a balsam for their souls.
They felt relieved: "well, there is someone here. We're all in the same boat".
THE CITY, TEEMING WITH GEMS, WAS PLANNED AND SET UP
IN STRAIGHT LINES, NO ALLEYS AND WINDING LINES FROM THE COURT
WORDS OF TEÓFILO OTTONI, ITS FOUNDER,
A HARSH CRITIC OF THE BRAZILIAN EMPIRE
FRANCISCO'S ORIGIN
What I most admire about my father is the respect...
he´s always had for ideas in general.
[ Francisco´s Sister ]
When he married my mother, she belonged to a traditional Catholic family
and he was Spiritist, despite his Catholic origins. However, they agreed
no religious controversy between them.
She used to say things like: "knowledge is what nobody takes from you",
"better lose the saddle than the horse" etc.
You spoke of our father when you mentioned the idea of religious tolerance.
See that it may be related to the Enlightenment ideas.
During the Age of Reason, the ideas of religious freedom and freethinking...
inspired some rising Masonic ideals.
- I remember my mother once saying: "There are so many friends of Francisco...
coming here to study. He is so studious". This is about the meetings
he used to organize in his room. But one day I suspected there was something more
he was not exactly so devoted to studies.
I was already married and living
He was arrested at home. It was a shock for all of us.
[ Francisco´s Brother in Law ]
At the first light of day ,
by soldiers carrying machine guns and commanded by a Captain or Major.
Mr. Avelino, Francisco´s father, opened the door and, lamenting, received them
and said: "If I had armed myself, you would not have entered this house
without a document issued
As he had always been worried with regards to the social context,
he would only speak about politics.
[ Francisco´s wife ]
By 1968, we had already decided to marry.
Meanwhile, my brother in law tried to persuade my sister
that I should not marry Francisco because he was a communist
and this kind of people was considered dangerous to Brazil.
When my sister came to speak with me, I just said:
You were somewhat aware of it,
"No
but didn't want to know too much, right?
I knew it was something illegal,
that the Government was watching the leftists closely.
But I never thought Francisco would be arrested.
It never crossed my mind.
After his arrest, I felt the shock.
That's when I knew it was the real deal.
I was afraid of being arrested. We went to Paraíba, hidden.
The two of us took a bus, keeping a low profile...
CAMPINA GRANDE PARAÍBA STATE
To me, having this gathering is a miracle,
all of us, alive, now.
After all, we were never arrested,
but kidnapped.
We were dragged from our homes, without any judicial warrants.
I saw you in your cell,
and remember being a moment of great concern,
because your wife, Ivone, was pregnant with your baby.
She was very distressed,
and feared losing the baby.
And you thought she had had a miscarriage.
When you asked, I told you right away:
"Ivone is fine, she didn't lose the baby."
You were moved, and thanked me a lot.
When he was first arrested, they also took me in.
They kept me there from noon until 9 pm that night.
I was pregnant, feeling very depressed,
and Dr. Câmara insisted on me seeing an Army doctor.
He kept insisting, as I refused, afraid.
It was as if he was saying:
"Let's get rid of that little terrorist in your belly."
It's striking that nobody likes to bring up their past.
The past is very important
so that we can live the present and the future.
The Military Era is seen as something of great shame.
Everybody thinks is should be forgotten.
Politicians go out of their ways
to avoid lawsuits against the torturers.
It is crucial to take on our past history.
From our history,
we can face and better our present and future.
Those were very difficult times. Things haven't stopped since.
I think it is extremely important
to remember this part of Brazil's history.
It's something so recent,
so close to us, militants,
but so distant from today's youth.
They must know what happened.
Repression was fierce.
It took four men to kidnap me.
At the time, our greatest fear,
even knowing we were going to suffer,
was actually that our families wouldn't know where we were.
When José was kidnapped,
the whole neighborhood gathered up at our house at night,
demanding the mayor to show up.
The people communicated with each other, took part,
and vouched for it.
What really saddened me
was having snitch classmates.
At the University
we had classmates, Francisco's supporters,
who would say: "I'm in charge, no commies can join."
They'd really delate people.
When we were released from jail,
I went to City Hall and then, to the University,
one of these old classmates said: "Thank God you came back!"
I said: "Funny you are thanking God."
"This must be messing up your mind."
"I mean, I loathe torturers."
"Major Câmara and his followers..."
"But they're paid to do it, it's their role!"
"They were trained for it."
"But you are worse then all of them!"
"Yes, worse."
"After all, you don't represent that institutionalized power."
"You are a teacher, you should be solidary."
"Show some respect,
and don't thank God, for it's a lie."
Threatening school bomb phone calls were made.
-Wow! -That happened a lot.
Secretaries were frightened,
it was a very difficult time to us all, to our families.
We will never forget it,
and this is something I always say:
"Even with all the hardship and the suffering,
I don't regret a single thing I did."
I just regret not being as experienced as I am today.
I'd take better, more planned actions,
with more enthusiasm and drive.
HOMAGE TO JOSÉ MILTON BARBOSA
We used to go for a walk with José Milton Barbosa and Linda Tayah,
to whom Francisco pay homage.
They were lovers and she was deeply involved. I did´t get into those things
so deeply, though I´d let people
@@@@
I met Zé Milton when he was attending a course on Brazilian Realities
at the Faculty of Economics of UFRJ
He trusted me at that time I was his girlfriend, and that´s why he opened his
heart to me in spite of my doubt
[ Psychologist ]
because he was too politicized.
on the military´s side would never be so politicized as he used to be.
I joined ALN directly.
I didn´t get involved with the other preceding parties
and I knew José Milton had already joined the PCB, PCBR
and, later on, the ALN.
Zé Milton and I were fellow members of PCBR
but we grew impatient as time went by,
because we felt PCBR was being too bureaucratic and PCB, too heavy.
Zé Milton had one thing clear in his mind:
he believed that a rural guerilla would shake the dictatorial regime.
There would have been no way to defeat us in the rural areas...
whereas in the city we were already an easy target.
He was a real hero. I owe him my life.
Under arrest, when we were supposed to be together we were not...
He was killed when we were being sent to prison.
However, I was arrested on the same day.
They shot at Zé Milton. He had
but he failed when he tried to use it...
and he was shot.
It seems that he died of three gunshot wounds to his chest.
I was shot too though...
- do you have a gunshot scar? -
Yes, I have.
It´s here, on the left side of my head.
I fainted and... when I recovered consciousness
he was already dead, lying his
I put his head back to the car seat and when I saw his eyes were half-opened...
I thought he was still alive... but there was blood draining out of his nose.
I had been calling for him over and over until I fainted again. I woke up at OBAN.
In December I found out I was pregnant,
that my son would be a boy
and he was named José Milton,
It makes me think of the birth of Anita Prestes in prison.
Your story, fruit of a love that survived torture,
death, the house of death where we had been.
- I was only told of what had happened when I was around 14-15 years old.
My impression is that he was a good person,
a courageous man who knew how to fight for his ideals
[ Systems Analyst ]
and not only this, for he would fight for the others. I´m proud of him.
Everything that happened, not only to my father, but also to my mother...
He died trying to protect her,
even though he did not know she was pregnant.
His body has never been found,
it has never been identified.
- At that period I was still
they told me that his remains were in Perus, but they were never found. They had
transferred other´s remains to Perus, and they were never recognized as being his.
- One of the last things he said:
"When I need to move from one place to another, when I´m in a hurry,
the first thing that I take with me, among the few the things that I have,
is my chessboard, chess pieces and a book by Smyslov".
I gave him a book by Smyslov.
I did not even know the chess
Actually, I´ve always enjoyed playing chess.
Rubaiyat used to speak of poetry and wine.
I prefer speaking of music and chess.
Here in my house everybody has a chessboard and one´s own chess pieces.
I´ve also learned how to play it, but I´m not a very good player.
It has everything to do with the Art of War, the continuity of Politics.
This piece here is a king.
Here it is the Queen, here it is the King.
There are tactics, strategies and even psychological factors in chess playing.
Everybody is going to play seriously against you
if you were known as a strong player.
But if you´re not known, surprise is a factor. Thus, it is different when
when you go to prison and they know who you are, with whom you´re connected.
That´s why we need to comprehend
those who revealed secrets.
It is terrible when they know that we know.
[ Economist ]
the runaround when they do not
It´s the same thing when you´re going to play in a chess tournament,
when your opponent do not know
whether you are a champion. Then you start playing with a stupid face and...
How many times didn´t they think
That´s what I did with them at that time.
I have respect for every and each professional and its category.
Military men have their own role,
and also the Anarchists etc. We need everyone, every role.
The Military Art speak of the surprise factor,
that you should know your enemy very well,
that you need to be trained,
that you must be skilled.
I think our Left-wing organizations did not prepare very well their schemes,
mainly when it comes to a bigger battle such the armed struggle.
ALMOST 40 YEARS LATER,
FRANCISCO SORIANO AND THE LAWYER MODESTO DA SILVEIRA,
GATHER SURVIVORS JARBAS, JEAN MARC RODRIGO AND SEBASTIÃO
AT THE COMMUNITY SOCCER CENTER OF SONGWRITER CHICO BUARQUE
Is your left side any good?
I am two-handed.
We´d rather you use your left.
Chico, you´re a man that experienced all those years of dictatorship.
You were a witness and a victim.
We´ve always felt in your songs, in your work, a prudent language,
somewhat discrete, skillful, almost hermetic.
Well, those who worked with music, movies, theater,
television etc had to deal with censorship.
[ Songwriter ]
and it would certainly interfere with
In this way, one would have to use artifices and tricks
in order to do better than censorship, using metaphors etc. That´s how you´ve said,
a certain kind of language that
There are certain things I wrote that even I have difficulties...
understanding what I had been trying to say behind the scenes.
We were almost obliged to speak in code.
As you are my namesake, I added a footnote to the end of this book
in which the song "Vai Passar" is transcribed in full,
especially that verse in which you say that
"our mother land (...) was in the underground of shadowy transactions".
When it comes to MPB, in this great match you were the chief Striker.
More like a Midfield player, maybe.
BRAZIL'S NAVY BASE USED AS A PRISON FACILITY DURING THE DICTATORSHIP
I assumed a mission, as if it was part of the oath,
a pact with many comrades who died and
among them, José Milton Barbosa, to whom I pay homage in this book.
We sweared that we survivors would tell the story, that is a history
of the resistance to tyranny, specifically against the 1964 Military dictatorship.
There was also a moment of glory during that time we were in prison...
and here we are, the survivors from the Island of Flowers.
What is the importance of these events in your life, mainly those of the 60s and 70s...
Sebastião Medeiros?
A very difficult period, particularly because we were very young, around the age
of 17-18 years old. We did not have the experience to enter the fight right away,
as we intended to do.
[ Bookseller ]
In this manner we made some mistakes,
but we were imbued with the idea of justice.
Contradictions were so tough
that it was indeed a good moment
to fight against Imperialism.
Only one directress of the National Students Union was not imprisoned.
Nine people among ten were imprisoned. Five of these nine were either killed
or disappeared. That´s the directorship of the massacre. It is really painful.
Now one may look through the history of the students movement during that
period and may think:
In fact, I think we prevented the
We did not have the expected success,
[ Economist ]
the free University Education
for those who desire and are capable of undergoing Higher Education in Brazil.
We fought for it, but we didn´t attain such success. However, we prevented the
privatization of the Federal University from moving forward as the Military intended.
The increase in the number of vacancies offered by public universities
was a success. Our fight for the continuity of the Brazilian University was a success.
These were the victories we won.
The plan of the Military Regime
The plan was to bring an end to the public University and academic research.
We lost the war. We lost the essential of what we fought for,
because we fought for a Social Revolution,
a revolution that never took place.
We had some help, even though beneath our expectations,
but the fight for democracy was
A hard-won conquest, and we all have won.
Actually, I think we were militarily defeated.
[ jornalist ]
Either way, the screams of the tortured and
our dead and disappeared friends made way for the current democracy.
Sebastião had a mason father.
It was through masonry that you were located
and your dad could reach you.
That day, no visitors were allowed at Ilha das Flores.
We were halted as soon as we got there.
But through his masonry contacts,
he arranged a short, 10-minute visit.
He spoke to me and to Marcos, my brother,
and, in a flash, he was gone. But at least he made it.
There was a Military officer who became famous for interconnecting
the male and female wards. He used to take messages from one side to the other.
One day he lost a message near
a message written by Solange - the woman from Bahia - and sent to me.
One of the prison guards took the message to the Commander
and we were immediately held in solitary confinement.
Then he began questioning me about the letter, whether I had received that letter etc.
I said I had received no letter.
for 1 1/2 month. At that time they could
Late at night, the guy knocked my door
- and I used to read till late.
He approached the window and said:
"I can´t understand why you
and I said: "I would never turn you in. After all, you showed solidarity with us.
How could we turn you in?"
He continued: "But I am on your enemy´s side, I´m the jail keeper".
And I replied: "That´s not true. You´re just doing your job.
You appeared to be extremely solidary".
and suddenly he asked:
A great number of military men, maybe thousands of them, also suffered in prison.
They were either patriots or legalists, nationalists etc,
from soldiers to General Officers,
living by their ideals they were persecuted too -
may justice be done.
In 1969, at the time of the World Cup qualification match against Paraguay,
Luis and I were being tortured.
The torturer looked at his record, he saw Luis was from Ceará, and said:
"You´re my homey, so I´m gonna
Once the game is finished I´ll be back".
When things were less complicated
more freedom within the prison,
[ Lawyer ]
one of my clients, Dr. Irum Sant´anna, was so excited about a course in Bangu that,
on a Friday when I gave him
he said: "(...) but I have to finish
Please, bring it back on next Monday.
I won´t leave this place without completing this course!"
I read "One Hundred Years of Solitude" at Ilha das Flores
when they stuck me in the solitary,
which was the longest period
in the many solitaries I was sent to.
It was a 10 by 6-feet cell.
On that occasion, they kept me there for 40 days.
It was a cell by the end of the hallway.
Between the last cell and the bathroom,
there was a place known as "the luggage hole",
completely enclosed at dark.
At sunset, our cell hallway was directly illuminated.
Small beams of light would shine through the door.
The inmates sent me, sheet by sheet,
the book, under the door.
I had to read it by standing up,
scrolling it on the light beam,
page by page, during those 40 days.
A long time later, I met García Márquez, the author,
and told him my story.
He said: "Listen, if you don't write about this, I will!"
There is no greater nearness than to live in the same jail cell.
I shared the prison cell with Soriano
[ Theater Producer ]
and he turned into an intimate friend, a brother.
I thank you for this memorable day in which I share my testimony
as I clarify my ideas
with these brilliant comrades.
[ A.L.N - National Liberation Association ]
The ALN has its origin in
The Government of Cuba used to discuss matters concerning the survival
of its political ideal that was being established.
Here in Brazil, Marighella was already a member of the PCB,
and he was kind of a militant leftist,
so that he represented the party at the Congress of Ollas.
[ Librarian ]
They decided that centers of resistance had to rise up,
guerilla centers in Latin America.
He used to think the members of the party had an addictive habit...
of avoiding armed struggle.
For that reason, he´d rather deal with people outside the party,
so he could teach them how to carry out the armed actions.
This is quite different from the usual idea of leftist organization
which used to waste a lot of time with theoretical ***.
The great quality of that movement was the thought, the work and the fight for
social equality. As time went by, those slight differences of thought
increased in such a proportion...
that it should never have existed.
Apart from Marighella´s technical leadership, we may also see that
he had a great affection for people, and people had a great affection for him.
He was a learned man and many things were in his hands.
We´ve lost a leader, almost a father.
It was a period of orphanhood.
two moments of orphanhood:
We had to finish all the process
but there was Toledo,
Shortly before the death of Marighella,
the A.L.N. had had great influence on the Left-wing politics
due to its impressive action in
to kidnap Elbrick, the American ambassador,
in September 1969.
On that occasion, I was in touch with the people responsible for the kidnapping,
mainly with Carlos Alberto Muniz
and Franklin Martins.
José Roberto Spliegner had stayed at my house for some time
and left a little while before Gabeira, dying in São Paulo later on. During that period,
there had been an anonymous accusation against me and my husband.
We were under arrest but we thought there were no counts on their files.
[ Psichologist ]
We were tranquilly taken to DOPS.
However, we had no idea they would find a document related to security matters.
That´s the irony of fate.
Two days later we were taken to DOI-CODI,
and that´s when things got still worse. We were covered with a hood,
and the first thing we had to do was to take off our clothes, mainly women.
There was a *** torture, and also the torture of seeing my husband under torture.
Things that for a long time I haven´t
Truthfully, our power of speech is like a fight weapon. May there not be
any misunderstanding such as that I am either a victim or a self-promoter.
It is a struggle, indeed. One of the most dreadful things in the world is torture,
so much so that our struggle is an ethic one, beyond and against any kind
of torture. There is no justification for torture. Not even a poisonous animal
should be tortured, there is no reason.
Much less reason there will be when it comes to human beings.
Torture is restricted to the poor. It´s neither meant for the middle-class nor for the elite.
I think there has to be a need for speaking
of those things we felt deeply and personally under torture.
We have power of speech, we are visible,
but poverty has never had power of speech, it has never been noticeable.
Poverty has always been ignored
That´s when feel like not being human and
the other sees you as a non-human.
That´s what I deeply felt when I was being tortured.
UNREASON
It is said that once there had been an ecumenical meeting in Recife,
at Princesa Isabel theater,
[ Lutheran Priest ]
the social revolution that would take place.
Actually, there really was a reunion and censorship was already in operation.
That´s when those who would
should submit their words
A Methodist priest submitted his speech and began addressing the audience.
Shortly after, he stopped speaking and improvised another speech.
"Thus spoke Isaiah: Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field,
until there is no more room, so that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
Thus spoke James! Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields,
which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped
have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies! And thus spoke Amos (...)"
He continued quoting the prophecies from the Bible and, after he´s finished,
a military man called him and said: "Reverend, you are under arrest
till you give us the address of those men called Isaiah, James and Amos".
We want their addresses.
Such events reveal the stupidity of the censor.
These were demonic characters: The censor, the stoolie, the torturer etc
in the worst sense of the word demonic!
Words such as "demo" and "diabolical" have their roots in Greek,
and have meanings such as "all that divide, separate, diverge etc".
Back then, Pernambuco's bishop was Dom Helder Câmara.
I had already defended him and other people in Pernambuco.
On that occasion, a catholic leadership couple came to Rio.
The National Bishop Conference got them a job over here,
discreetly.
Internal Defenses from Pernambuco tracked them down here,
and sent them to Rio.
I was only able to set them free two or three months later.
They had nothing on them.
They were just a New Church progressive Catholics,
with maybe a small tendency to support popular action.
Yes, they preached.
They preached about their views on humanism,
the Bible, Christ, brotherhood, equality.
Right? Well, then...
After being released, she came to my office, by herself.
She said: "Help me, Dr. Modesto."
"While in jail, I was tortured in front of my husband."
"They had us facing each other."
"They were so mad that we didn't say anything
that they took him away and *** me, one after the other!"
"I passed out on the second man,
but I saw the face of the first one and a bit of the second."
"Now, I'm pregnant. What should I do?"
"Of course I, like everybody else, am against abortion,
but I find it, in this case, completely justifiable,
and maybe even warrantable."
"However, I know you are a devout catholic,
and have serious religious doctrine issues with that..."
-"Have you told your husband?" -"No."
"Tell him, as well as your bishop."
"Once you're past the religious matters,
I will help you however I can."
She didn't tell her husband.
She went straight to the bishop.
She later told me the bishop walked around,
with sweaty hands, not knowing what to say.
He then said: "Child, did you tell your husband?"
-"No." -"Then, tell him!"
"Come later, if you want to!"
She told her husband, he listened.
He was the quiet type, from the countryside.
I thought: "I might have given her wrong advice."
Well, not wrong advice,
but if him, being the way that he is,
the quiet, married, north eastern type,
won't take it, and will go after the torturers,
try to kill them, and die by doing so.
I thought: "Her husband is going to die!"
I wondered if I would be partly guilty of it.
Well, he listened, quietly, to her entire story
When she was done,
he quietly put her arms around her and said:
"Honey, a child is a child!"
"Go ahead and have her, I'll help you make her a decent being!"
"We'll know how to make her a decent person!"
Well...
In the end,
for hers, the bishop's and everyone's sake,
she went through such a physical and psychological relaxation
that two days later, she had a miscarriage!
That's when she said that God jumped in.
"God did it for me!"
"Fridge"... that´s an instrument of torture made in England
and it does not leave marks on bodies.
It could kill a person. It is a dark room around eight by eight feet
[ Historian ]
in which they could maintain any temperature they wanted.
I don´t know any victim of the heat. Everyone suffered from coldness.
That´s why it was called fridge.
You had to keep on jumping because
Some of the tortured people used to say that they also felt something
moving and biting.
non-poisonous snakes, but the person
and would go mad. It didn´t happen to me.
Another kind of torture was to hear the screams of our comrades
being torture at full volume.
So, what happened? Just a few did not come clean. I confessed.
But I was one of the last prisoners, they already knew everything.
And those who didn´t come clean died under torture.
Once a comrade said: "we´ve learned how to fight and how to die
but we haven´t learned how to tolerate torture".
He was the most injured fellow,
virtually crushed by the torture machine.
We didn´t know each other and we didn´t speak much. We were cautious
for anyone could be an agent.
But he saw me after being tortured,
"What do I do now, fellow?"
"They are also torturing me as the have done with you".
Then he taught me a lesson: "Take heart!
That man deeply touched me when he said that the glory of Tiradentes was not in that
he had tried to do a revolution. He was glorious because he had carried all
the consequences and released people from their guiltiness.
He was a fellow who selflessly
to save lives.
Our pain has to be turned into a fight instrument.
This pain is marked on our bodies and it will never be forgotten.
Wretched pain, humiliation...
the pain of subjection, nakedness,
the pain of *** abuse,
It´s a method to turn you into an object...
that´s what they said when I was taken to see Novaes being tortured.
I´ve been hearing his screams
I had never heard his scream before that.
Silence would be more natural. Silenced are those who think that
what happened was not worth it.
more we state it to be true
is to break obliviousness, and therefore
Despite our mistakes,
it´s essential that the generations to come learn what´s happened in the recent past.
The "Authorized History" they taught us,
that is a story told by the dictatorship
and strengthened by the mass media,
has always been the viewpoint of the winners.
Even so, we try to break these rules
the other version of this kind of "History", the viewpoint of the defeated.
That´s what you try to present in this movie and what we try to tell.
It must have been difficult for you to write this book.
- Some psychology is needed...
[Dead and missing since 1964]
Despite our divergences, we took part in a solidary movement
that is kind of being destroyed
Individualism, every man for himself,
at most for his family. These conditions currently prevail.
But we have lived by other ideas
and it is important to remember them.
It´s possible to live a fraternal life.
a solidary economy. And now I remember Marcos Arruda´s words.
My friend, you are already a hope.
is a lively proof that it is not
[ Economist ]
These men haven´t understood that their world is already dead -
a world that is on the opposite side of the human evolution,
that is against evolution.
The patriarchal system that is also hierarchical, authoritarian,
capitalist, materialistic, consumerist... overpowers reality
due to a kind of culture subsisting on inertia, despite being already dead,
and turning everything into merchandise.
People may be rich though unhappy, lonely, maybe suicidal...
And you may ask yourself: "How can that be? They have everything." It´s not true.
We can have everything even when we do not have what to wear.
We take part in a world of hope
that is taking place in each gesture,
that is leaving behind our old patterns of man and woman.
The time I died under torture, I profoundly revisited my faith
and it happened to be too deep.
Every religion that adheres to a belief in an outside God
has lost its sense of meaning
since I had to review my understanding of the experience I had had.
I´m living that same way of life Jesus lived,
climbing my Calvary. This is what is higher and more profound.
And who is to say that I´ve lost the war?
They´ve lost the war, not me.
They may kill me, my body may die,
but my spirit is unbeatable
and they are powerless.
This is what I learned during those moments of torture,
violence and death face to face.
Once I had survived, I was full of gratitude for life
and feeling a great sense of responsibility.
My God! Why me?
So many wonderful people were killed...
How could I be worthy of the grace and the gift of remaining alive in this world?
I may have some sort of mission to fulfill...
PRODUCED BY FRANCISCO SORIANO
SCREENPLAY, DIRECTED AND EDITED BY PETER CORDENONSI
PRODUCTION AND RESEARCH VERA MODERNO
CINEMATOGRAPHY AND CAMERA OP THIAGO SCORZA
SOUND (LOCATION) THIAGO SOBRAL
SOUNDTRACK FRANCISCO SORIANO
ARCHIVE FOOTAGE CALIBAN FILM PRODUCTIONS
Quoting Cecília Meirelles:
"Freedom is not enough.
BASED ON FRANCISCO SORIANO'S SELF-TITLED BOOK
IN TRIBUTE TO CAPTAIN JOSÉ MILTON BARBOSA