Out of the Shadows

Abstract

In March 1985, the reins of government passed into civilian hands in Brazil after 21 years (1964-1985) of military rule. The 686-member Colegio Eleitoral (Electoral College) in Brasilia, the capital, had voted into the presidency in January Federal Deputy Paulo Maluf. Neves, a former governor of the state of Minas Gerais, was gravely ill at the time and his vice president, Jos6 Sarney, assumed the oath of office in March. Neves eventually died in April, and his death cast a shadow over the future of the so-called Nova Republica (New Republic) for millions of Black, Brown, and White Brazilians (Visdo, January 14, 1985; Washington Post, April 25, 1985). This article will attempt to retrace the trials and travails of Afro-Brazilians under the authoritarian Regime Militar apos 64 (after 1964). There has been a paucity of scholarship in this area, and one of the results is that Afro-Brazilians have become practically invisible (Veja, February 1, 1984; Retrato do Brasil, 1984). Scholars who are indispensable for dealing with this period include Carl Degler (1971), Florestan Fernandes (1971), Thomas Skidmore (1974), Carlos Hasenbalg (1979), Clovis Moura (1983), and Abdias do Nascimento (1982). Although Skidmore (1974) covers the period between 18701930, his work is still invaluable for its insights into contemporary Brazilian society. This work holds that Brazilian intellectuals and