Racial (In)justice in Brazil: Reconstructing the Subaltern Memories of Poor and Black Women in the Brazilian Dictatorship

ABSTRACT

The Brazilian military-corporate dictatorship faced the resistance and mobilization of several marginalized groups. In this article, we reconstruct the subaltern memories of Black and poor women from the outskirts of São Paulo who participated in Christian Base Communities and the Cost-of-Living Movement, and we show how their mobilization was supported by social movements across the country. Despite their dimension and impact, a report by the Brazilian National Truth Commission fails to recognize their role in the country’s democratic transition and the violence suffered by marginalized groups. These memories support a reflection on the myth of ‘racial democracy’ in Brazil as a general denial of racial violence throughout the country’s history, which leaves intact its structures of injustice. We argue that the reconstruction of subaltern memories can have a significant impact on transitional justice and recover their critical role in democracy.