Communist uprising of 1935

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Communist uprising of 1935
The 3rd Infantry Regiment barracks in Rio de Janeiro on fire after the Communist insurrection.
Date 23 – 27 November 1935 (4 days) Location Natal, Recife and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Result Government victory
Belligerents
Brazil Police Corps Brazilian Army Brazilian Navy Brazilian Marine Corps	National Liberation Alliance Brazilian Communist Party Supported by: Communist International
Commanders and leaders
Getúlio Vargas	Luís Carlos Prestes
Casualties and losses
At least 30 dead	At least 120 dead

The Communist uprising of 1935 (Portuguese: Intentona Comunista) was a military revolt in Brazil led by Luís Carlos Prestes and leftist low-rank military against Getúlio Vargas's government on behalf of the National Liberation Alliance (Portuguese: Aliança Nacional Libertadora, ANL). It took place in the cities of Natal, Recife, and the capital Rio de Janeiro between 23 and 27 November 1935. The uprising was supported by the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), then called the Communist Party of Brazil, and the Communist International.^[1]

Background[]

In July 1934, with the approval of Brazil's new constitution and the election of Vargas, the country entered a period of constitutional normality, although no one was satisfied. President Getúlio Vargas declared himself against the constitutional regime despite his authoritative role, meanwhile, other opposing factions of Brazil's politics shared his point of view that the new government was weak and thus began to plot. The plot to overthrow the government began in 1934 by disgraced military officers who lost power and prestige as a result of collaborating with former Brazilian president Artur Bernades during the Brazilian Revolution of 1930.^{[citation needed]} Using their position within the military, conspirators began an effort to siphon military weapons from police forces and recruited military men of Sergeant rank and below to form a combat force. These efforts gave the revolutionaries connections to most garrisons in the country by October 1934, although three factions would form within the revolutionary movement causing a clash of ideas. The revolution was divided into three groups, the first group based in São Paulo was led by military officers and civilians seeking social reform. The second faction was made up of military personnel who shared authoritarian ideals, while the third was composed of communists within the military both enlisted and officers.

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 Comintern, Johann Heinrich Amadeus de Graaf of British intelligence, and by Vargas' government. Vargas' army officer Filinto Muller, based in the 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, Catholics, 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.^[2]

In April 1935, Luís Carlos Prestes would be sent back to Brazil following a winter season in Moscow with his wife, fellow communist 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 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.^[3]

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: 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 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.^[4]

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, 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.^[5]

Without the support of the working class, and restricted to the three cities, the rebellion was quickly and violently put down after several weeks of fighting. Rebels would eventually lay down their arms and were sparred from execution by Vargas who sought criminal trials against leaders of the movement and collaborators. From then on, intense persecution affected not only communists but also all government opponents. Thousands of people were arrested across the country for their direct or indirect involvement in the uprising. Congressmen, senators, and even the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Pedro Ernesto Baptista would become incarcerated. President Getúlio Vargas accused the revolutionary conspirators of being against God, against the motherland, and against the concept of family demonizing those who participated.

Aftermath[]

Monument to the Victims of the Uprising, at Praia Vermelha, Urca, Rio de Janeiro

Despite its failure, the Communist revolt had provided a justification or pretext for assigning more power to Getúlio Vargas. After November 1935, The National Congress of Brazil approved a series of laws that restricted its own power, while the executive gained almost unlimited powers of repression. This process culminated in the coup of November 10, 1937, which closed the National Congress of Brazil, canceled the upcoming 1938 presidential elections, and made Getúlio Vargas rule as a dictator. This period of Vargas dictatorship is called the Estado Novo, which lasted until 1945.^[6] In early 1936, in an attempt to find those responsible for the failure of the uprising, Prestes ordered the 18-year-old Elza Fernandes, girlfriend of the PCB's secretary general, to be assassinated. Prestes suspected that she was a police informant, which later proved to be a mistake.^[7]

List of casualties[]

There is no complete assessment of the victims, with loyalists and insurgents joining in all the events that took place. Among the insurgents it is difficult to find a complete list with the names of the victims, but it is estimated that at least one hundred died only in the Recife uprising and another twenty in the Praia Vermelha uprising in Rio de Janeiro, and it is still necessary to account for the deaths occurred in Natal and other barracks in Rio de Janeiro.^[8][9]Among the loyalist troops involved in the fighting there were 22 fatalities. The Brazilian Army lists a total of 30 victims without, however, disclosing whether they were loyalists or insurgents.

Gallery[]

• 

  Loyalist troops.

• 

  Barracks of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, epicentre of the communist uprising.

• 

  Rio de Janeiro Police Corps near the seat of government.

• 

  Brazilian Marines arriving to hold back advancing Communist troops.

• 

  Communist civilians and rebel soldiers stand guard near the captured aircraft.

See also[]

• Vargas Era

References[]