“Coisas da democracia e do autoritarismo”: a campanha das “Diretas Já” em São Sepé-RS através do Jornal a Palavra

Abstract

Two distinct processes marked the recent history of Brazil: the Civil-Military Dictatorship and the Political Opening. After the 1964 Coup d'Etat, the military usurped power and occupied the highest position in the Federal Executive Branch, President of the Republic. And, with indirect elections, through an Electoral College, they remained in charge of the country until 1985, when the first civilian president, after long 21 years of Dictatorship, assumed the presidency. The process of Political Opening began in 1974, when the then dictator General Ernesto Geisel was indirectly elected President of the Republic, through a self-appointed project of “slow, gradual and safe transition”, when the military and conservative civilians tried to control the process. of Political Openness in the Brazyl. But, when, on March 2, 1983, a young deputy presented a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution, the Brazilian scene, which was already buzzing with social mobilizations, whether for better wages or Amnesty, exploded around a single mobilization, the biggest so far since the beginning of the Civil-Military Dictatorship: the Campaign for Direct “Diretas Já”. It was during the fight for direct elections that several social groups and political parties came together to defend a common good: democracy. Through large rallies and huge marches, popular movements showed their strength. However, it was not only from these large mobilizations that the Campaign sustained itself. Small municipalities, even those far from capitals and large urban centers, also contributed to the success of the Movement. An example of this was the city of São Sepé, located in the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The objective of this monograph will be to analyze the dissemination and mobilization regarding Diretas Já in the city of São Sepé through the local newspaper, A Palavra, in the first months of 1984.