Labor and the Left in Brazil, 1890-1921: A Movement Aborted

Abstract

iiis essay examines the forces that retarded and ultimately destroyed early trade unionism in Brazil. Studying the inefficacy of the Brazilian movement, however, raises a broader question: why have some working-class movements failed, while others under apparently similar circumstances have survived and even flourished? We still lack the information for a definitive answer to this question. But insight is gained by viewing Brazil and making some comparative references to labor movements in general. Such references are also made to the particular experience of Argentina, a nation whose trade union development most closely approximated that of Brazil. The central focus will be on Sdo Paulo, Santos, and Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian cities that formed the center of industry, commerce, and working-class unrest during the period under consideration. European immigrants dominated Brazil's first labor movement. From the beginning of the movement, immigrants, principally from Italy, Portugal, and Spain, constituted the majority of the working class in Sdo Paulo and Santos and a sizeable minority in Rio de Janeiro (then the federal capital). In all three cities immigrants comprised the major part of the rank and file as well as the leadership of the trade unions.' The Brazilian labor movement can be dated from the 1890s when a