Brazil: The Northeast.

     All across the north coast of South America, from Colombia to the northeast of Brazil, there are thousands of impoverished peasants, who are the target of all kinds of trouble-makers, domestic and foreign (including Castro). In Colombia, the latest episode has been the kidnapping of the priest and members of his congregation in a Cali church.
     Brazil is "celebrating"· the centennial of a civil war which scarred Brazil as the Civil War did the United States. It is described in Brazil's great literary work, Os Sertóes (1902) of Euclydes da Cunha. The term refers to the dry northeast of Brazil. I once flew over it in a DC 3; it reminded me of the Mexican desert. A century ago, a group of desperate peasants, led by a religious fanatic, revolted against the Brazilian government, which sent several military expeditions there until the revolt was brutally suppressed and the village destroyed. Brazilains wondered how this could have happened. The question is: Will it happen again?
     Brazilians are still very conscious of this tragic affair. A film has been made about it, and Brazilian television has run a series of reports on the present drought-caused crisis. The crops have been devastated, and thin peasants have again turned to religion for consolation. Peasants mumble prayers to the saints asking for help.
     The series ends on an upbeat note, showing how irrigation has flourished in the western area close to the Tocantins River. However, that simply emphasises the misery in the main area, where artificial lakes have dried up. The series avoided going into the political dangers implicit in this misery.
     In the eastern area of Brazil, especially in the major cities, poverty has led to crime waves. However, Brazil manages to use religion to feign happiness. Before Lent, it was carnival. Now, sixty days after Easter, comes Corpus Christi, celebrated with beautiful flower displays in most cities. They show the more beautiful side of Catholicism.

Ronald Hilton - 06/04/99

More on Brazil: The Northeast.

     Stanley Payne questions my account of Os Sertóes. He writes:
     I don't believe that Conselheiro's group ever "revolted." Their community offended the Brazilian authorities, because of its uniqueness and apocalyptic character, who demanded that it disperse, and then destroyed it. The best book is the relatively recent one by Robert Levine.
     My comment: Well, it is a question of definition. The English translation is entitled Rebellion in the Backlands. It is not light reading and, despite the fuss over the centennial, it is unlikely that it will be read by the masses. The Levine book (i995) is entitled Vale of Tears. Rdevisiting the Canudos Massacre in Northeastern Brazil.
     Stanley is right in that it was not a typical Latin American revolt. In order to appease God, the peasants sacrified babies by beating their heads against a "beautiful rock" until the area was covered with blood. As in the Northeast today, there was a strange syncretism of primitive religion and Catholicism.
     Today the revolts in Brazil are further down the rainy coast among mullato groups. The peasants of the northeast sertáo are largely of mixed Indian blood. Those who stay pray to God and the saints, many go south to the Sáo Paulo area.
     There is a parallel with Mexico. The revolts are in the rainy south, notably Chiapas. The northern states along the U.S. border are suffering from a terrible drought. Cattle are dying by the thousands. The desperate people are migrating to the United States.

Ronald Hilton - 06/08/99