Brazilian communist uprising of 1935: Difference between revisions

The Brazilian Communist Party, which was back then called the Communist Party of Brazil, would take control of the movement by January of 1935 after the uprising caught the attention of the [[Soviet Union]]. Communist agents identified these political divisions within the movement, particularly the differences between officers who rallied with ''Artur Bernades'' and those who wished for social reform. The movement during this time would find itself infiltrated by the [[Communist International|Comintern]], Johann Heinrich Amadeus de Graaf of [[MI6|British intelligence]], and by Vargas' government. Vargas' army officer [[Filinto Müller|Filinto Muller]], based in the [[Federal district|Federal District]], learned of the conspiracy against the government as early as October 1934. Moscow would slowly penetrate the conspiracy in January 1935 with the communists taking full control of the movement by March 1935 after expelling unsympathetic officers from the cause. This would act to hinder the movement which had initially intend to begin the uprising during Carnival week in 1935, however, senior military leaders were rightfully fearful that the communist element in their midst would take over their movement.▼

During this time the National Liberation Alliance was created in Brazil, inspired by popular fronts that emerged in Europe to prevent Nazi-fascist political advance. The ANL would serve to expand the conspiracy by incorporating the masses attracting many military personnel, [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], [[Socialism|socialists]], and liberals into the mass movement under a unified front alongside numerous unhappy worker's unions. Members of the ANL viewed Vargas as a revolutionary who would continue to further plunge the country towards an authoritarian regime. The movement's platform was the fight against the exploitation of Brazil by international capital, the struggle for land reform and the struggle for democracy: for Bread, Land and Freedom. [[Luís Carlos Prestes]] was publicly announced as ANL's honorary president following the party's formation announcement, this decision made in part due to his involvement in leading the revolutions of the 1920's and his high esteem among military officials. A revolutionary forerunner of [[Che Guevara]], "Cavalier of Hope" Prestes became a staunch communist in 1930, publicly acknowledging his allegiance to the plight of the proletariat in 1931 following a visit to Moscow. Prestes' requests for membership into Brazil's communist party were ignored for years while away from Brazil until a directive was issued by the Comintern directly requesting his acceptance into the organization.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Santana|first=Marco Aurelio|title=“Re-Imagining the Cavalier of Hope: The Brazilian Communist Party and the Images of Luiz Carlos Prestes.” Twentieth Century Communism, 2009|pages=1}}</ref>▼

In April 1935, Luís Carlos Prestes would be sent back to Brazil following a winter season in Moscow with his wife, fellow communist [[Olga Benário Prestes|Olga Benario Prestes]], along with communists Harry Berger, Argentine Rodolfo Ghioldi, León-Julles Vallée, Franz Paul Gruber, and American Victor Alan Baron who would join the Comintern's delegation to Brazil. The delegation from the Comintern was accompanied by a [[GRU (G.U.)|GRU]] agent who saw to their security during and after the trip to Brazil. Upon his return, thanks to his reputation among military officers, Prestes assumes control of the conspiracy and shape the revolution to come. With Prestes heading the conspiracy, the Comintern felt confident in financially supporting the movement allowing the movement to grow exponentially allowing the party to among other things, produce new propaganda and new communist youth programs.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sarmento)|first=Pinheiro, Paulo Sérgio de M. S. (Paulo Sérgio de Moraes|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/26067080|title=Estratégias da ilusão : a revolução mundial e o Brasil, 1922-1935|date=1992|publisher=Companhia das Letras|isbn=85-7164-165-X|oclc=26067080}}</ref>▼

Thanks to information provided to Vargas by Filinto Muller, Vargas was able to attach the conspirators of the plot to the ''National Liberation Alliance.'' In retaliation Vargas successfully urged the National Congress of Brazil ([[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''Congresso Nacional do Brasil'') to pass the 1935 National Security law outlawing the political alliance formed by the ANL. This legislation inhibited Prestes' ability to rally widespread support from the masses who worried about becoming targeted by the government. At the time, Vargas' government had acknowledged the threat of revolution posed by members of the ANL, reaching the same conclusion as the Comintern when they decided to back the conspiracy. This crackdown against the communists made Prestes changed his tactics, forcing him to spread additional agents throughout the army to recruit new conspirators and bolster his forces while continuing to defy Vargas by having the ANL continue to host their illegal rallies throughout the summer of 1935. By August 1935 Prestes had completed drafting his plans for the installation of a communist regime by way of military uprising in several regions to trigger strikes and revolution.▼

== Outbreak of Uprisings ==▼

The first military uprising broke out on November 23, 1935, in [[Natal, Rio Grande do Norte|Natal]] where communists successfully created a provisional government just outside the city for some time. The next day, another military uprising took place in [[Recife]]. On the 27th, a revolt broke out in [[Rio de Janeiro]], the then capital of the country. From Rio de Janeiro, Luís Carlos Prestes the day before was still attempting to rally support from other high ranking military officials including Newton Estillac Leal who would ignore his plea and inform the government of these attempts at communication. Citizens in Natal and Recife were distributed military surplus to fight along with the insurgent revolutionaries against loyalist troops.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sa Motta|first=Rodrigo|title=On Guard Against the Red Menace|year=2020}}</ref>▼

In Rio de Janeiro, the 3rd Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Infantry Regiment, would have indiscriminately wounded and killed their comrades who slept if extra precautions weren't taken by military leaders after the revolutionary uprisings in the north of the country. The most dramatic episode of the communist uprising was the attempt to conquer the Aviation Regiment in [[Campo dos Afonsos, Rio de Janeiro|Campo dos Afonsos]], at the time part of the army (the Brazilian Air Force would only be created in 1941), with the aim of obtaining aircraft to bomb the city of Rio de Janeiro. The loyalist military soldiers managed to install artillery pieces to bomb the runway and preventing any such bomber planes from taking off. The final assault was carried out with an infantry charge supported by artillery, which overtook the captured installations. Despite uprisings in three major urban centers, other populated centers like [[São Paulo]] and [[Minas Gerais]] with present communists elements failed to act. This a result of orders destined to communist cells in both cities being intercepted in Rio de Janeiro by the Military. The Brazilian military confined the insurgents to The Federal District, cutting off communications between the rebel cells, isolating the uprisings to their respective cities and preventing communist leader's from organizing cohesively.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Waack|first=William|title=Comrades . In the Moscow archives: the secret history of the 1935 Brazilian revolution.}}</ref>▼