Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjil20

Samba with fascism: Ação Integralista Brasileira

and its relations with the New State of Getúlio
Vargas

Gabriela de Lima Grecco

To cite this article: Gabriela de Lima Grecco (2021): Samba�with�fascism: Ação Integralista
Brasileira and its relations with the New State of Getúlio Vargas, Journal of Iberian and Latin
American Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14701847.2021.1939528

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14701847.2021.1939528

Published online: 13 Jun 2021.

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JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
https://doi.org/10.1080/14701847.2021.1939528

Samba with fascism: Ação Integralista Brasileira and its

relations with the New State of Getúlio Vargas
Gabriela de Lima Grecco
Departamento de Historia Contemporánea, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The aim of this paper is to study the rise of fascism in Brazil, focusing Ação Integralista Brasileira;
on the most important fascist movement in Latin America: Ação Brazilian dictactorship;
Integralista Brasileira (AIB). Additionally, the article analyses the ties fascism; Getúlio Vargas; New
State; radical right
between the New State of Getúlio Vargas and the AIB, pointing out
the complex and conflicted relations that exist between authoritar­
ian dictatorships, on the one hand, and fascist movements on the
other. The creation of the AIB situated fascist political culture in an
elevated position in the Brazilian political scene. At the same time,
the integralists sought to differentiate themselves from the
European form of fascism. In this sense, this study also highly
relevant in that it can reveal the political commonalities between
European and Latin American fascist movements, as well as the
importance of fascist ideology as a source of inspiration or as
a political point of reference for other dictatorships or anti-liberal
movements.

Introduction
A fascist political culture1 existed on a transnational and transatlantic level, although not
homogenous shape in the various relevant countries. Current historiography recognises
that fascist movements were not a phenomenon exclusive to the continent of Europe.2
The network of existing of economic, cultural and political relations between European
and Latin American countries was deep-rooted and the impact of fascist ideas was
significant. This was the case particularly in Brazil, where the main Latin-American fascist
movement was born, the Ação Integralista Brasileira or AIB (Brazilian Integralist Action).
According to Trindade (2004), integralism was a generational response to the Brazilian
República Velha (Old Republic) crisis, to its liberal principles and to the political agitations
at the beginning of the 1930s in Brazil. The integralists incorporated new forms of political
action and defined themselves as a program for political regeneration, in search of
a synthesis between fascism and the latent spiritualism, which according to them, existed
in the country´s mestizo (mixed-race) culture. In an international climate where the liberal
system was being discredited, and a movement was taking place towards totalitarianism
as a new emerging model, integralism justified itself as an immediate exit from the liberal
experience and as a rejection of the modernity that liberalism defended.

CONTACT Gabriela de Lima Grecco gabrielalimagrecco@gmail.com Departamento de Historia Contemporánea,

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Plaza de Verín, 13, 1, 2. CP: 28029, Madrid, Spain
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 G. DE LIMA GRECCO

In Latin America, fascism was a fundamental ingredient for the formation of new
political alternatives in the period between the First World War and the Second World
War. Despite the fact that many of the post-liberal regimes incorporated fascist symbo­
lism, such as Gétulio Vargas and Juan Domingo Perón´s regimes, none of these author­
itarian systems can easily be classified as fascist, if we are to avoid converting this
adjective into a mere pejorative reference. Yet movements that were clearly fascist did
exist, such as Brazilian integralism, which attracted a sufficient number of people to raise
alarms, though did not manage take power. However, in the Brazil of 1937, the develop­
ment of political alliances came close to uniting a fascist mass movement (integralism)
with the authoritarian regime of Getúlio Vargas.
In this regard, it is important to examine the relationship between fascism and
reactionary dictatorships, because this can provide “the leading elements in all the
most significant [Latin America and] European dictatorships of the far right” (Saz et al.
2019, 7). As such, the relationship between AIB and Vargas´ regime was complex,
sometimes porous, with influences and inter-influences between them. The New
State of Getúlio Vargas, as we will analyse, cooperate with integralist, but only with
the aim of co-opting them and neutralizing them. Following the arguments of Ismael
Saz, we can characterized Getúlio Vargas´ regime as a fascistized nationalist dictatorship,
which is a form of hybrid counter-revolutionary dictatorship with a certain level of
fascistization, or, in other words, with fascist components and points of reference (Saz
et al. 2019, 11).
Certain authors, such as Payne (2014, 210), claim that as a result of circumstances
specific to the Latin American context, fascism failed to adapt itself and the landscape
changed in such a way that instead there existed “a few specific movements which were
fascistisized”. Yet other authors, such as the Brazilian Trindade (2004), claim this was not in
fact a characteristic of Latin America alone. In Europe, many of these movements also met
with failure or underwent significant transformation, adapting themselves to their society
in order to survive. Contrary to Payne´s position, this study would argue that fascist
movements did in fact develop in Latin America (such as the AIB), if fascism is understood
not as direct replica of Italian fascism, but rather as an ultra-nationalist, revolutionary, anti-
liberal, anti-socialist, and totalitarian mass movement.
Between the turn of the twentieth century and the 1930s, certain ideological currents and
a number of Brazilian intellectuals came to defend an authoritarian stance. They justified the
need for a strong State in Brazil and expressed their rejection of liberalism with its connection
to oligarchic practices, electoral fraud, and a poor level of political participation among the
population (Fausto 2012). The 1930 revolution, and the dissolving of the República Velha (Old
republic) opened space for the emergence of new groups and new leaderships that aimed to
break ties with the liberal past. In a context in which new agendas were taking shape, and
aspiring political leaders proliferated, the new anti-liberal ideological approaches provided
arguments and key ideas for the formation of a new “radical Right”. From this breeding
ground various organizations materialized, such as the Propaganda Nativista (National
Propaganda), Pátria Nova (New Homeland) and the Ação Social Nacionalista (Nationalist
Social Action). Innovative theories on “authoritarianism” were disseminated, such as those
 JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 3

formulated by the intellectuals Azevedo Amaral, Oliveira Viana and Francisco Campos. Their
written work appeared in important magazines from the right-wing intellectual scene, such
as Hierarquia, Gil Blas, Cultura Política, A Razão and Revista de Estudos Jurídicos e Sociais, which
served as a cohesive platform for intellectuals´ reflection and propaganda.
Evidently, the fascism that emerged in this specific context coincided with a general
period of authoritarian politics (Payne 2014, 26). The crisis with the liberal republics and
international order in the post-war period favoured radicalization of the Right, resulting in
radical nationalist politics. As previously mentioned, Brazil was no exception to this
process of radicalization. Additionally, in Brazil, a process of fascistisization of specific
sectors of the radical Right began to take place, alongside the appearance of fascist
organizations. These changes represented a radical break with the traditional patterns of
the Brazilian Right. These organisations included the Partido Fascista Brasileiro (Brazilian
Fascist Party), the Legião Cearense do Trabalho (Cearense Legion of Labor), the Partido
Nacional Fascista (National Fascist Party), the Partido Nacional Sindicalista (National
Syndicalist Party) and, most importantly, the main fascist group in Brazil: Ação
Integralista Brasileira. According to Trindade (1979, 106), the founding of the integralist
movement was not an isolated incident, but rather the result of a consolidation of radical
ideas from the Brazilian Right in the 1930s, and the convergence of previously existing
movements which Plínio Salgado coordinated as a single unified entity.
The most radical groups from the authoritarian Right were highly influential in the
formation of a Brazilian fascist political culture. This development allowed a shared reading
of the past as well as the future, and provided a set of values, codes and attitudes that
underlined a set of practices and discourse in line with international fascism.3 Of course,
fascism in Brazil was both a distinctly national political culture, as well as closely aligned to
foreign models (such as Italian fascism). As such, one could argue that it was a political culture
with hybrid elements. If we apply the concept of hybridization to the analysis of political
culture, then the strength of Brazilian fascism becomes evident. Integralism was as much
a movement rooted in the socioeconomic, cultural and political traits of Brazil, as it was the
local variation of an international movement which had originated in other parts of the world
between the First World War and the Second World War. It was, as such, the result of a process
of intercultural hybridization. Certainly, the claim that Brazilian fascism possessed its own set
of distinct traits is essential to understanding fascism as both a Brazilian national variation, as
well as a variation of international forms of fascism. One could say that fascism was an
ideology with a generic intellectual core, but also with distinct historical expressions and
national mutations.
The creation of the AIB situated fascist political culture in an elevated position in the
Brazilian political scene. It quickly became a party for the masses and developed all aspects
of a distinct political culture, through both its discourse and practice. Integralism distin­
guished itself from other anti-liberal forms of politics through its insistence on a complete
transformation of societal life in Brazil and in the world. This objective was based on
a revolutionary vision of rupture with previous traditions; it was anti-liberal, identified
with international fascism, and strongly integrated the modernism of intellectual fascists.
At the same time, the integralists sought to differentiate themselves from the European
form of fascism, reframing their particular form of fascism in a more positive light.
4 G. DE LIMA GRECCO

The paths of Plínio Salgado: from modernism movement to political

mobilization
Celebrated in the city of São Paulo in February 1922, the Modern Art Week was a cultural
event that set the stage for the beginnings of the modernist movement in Brazil. It was an
artistic event that strongly influenced a form of nationalism concerned with identifying
the primitive origin of Brazil, and its concept of “Brazilianess” was key in the construction
of many aspects of integralist nationalism. Nevertheless, the very first symbolic episode
inspired by the aesthetic and cultural revolution that these artists advocated was an
individual exhibition by the artist Anita Malfatti (Figure 1), held some years previously in
1917. Her expressionist paintings led to strong upheaval among the São Paulo public and
was a turning point for Brazilian art. Malfatti spread the seed of the modernist movement
and assigned to it the principle of unity of action. Her aesthetic rupture, however, met
with resistance from certain members of the intellectual community (Grecco 2018).
Among these was the writer Monteiro Lobato, who wrote a vehemently critical article
addressed to Malfatti, claiming this new art had emerged from “paranoia and mystifica­
tion”. For Lobato (1917), modernist art was a product of decadent times, interpreted
through ephemeral theories and with nothing revolutionary about it. For him, nothing
was more archaic than abnormal or “teratological” art.4
In spite of these criticisms as well as a number of others, modern art was extremely
successful, and as a result of the Modern Art Week two modernist movements
emerged, the Pau-Brasil, and the Verde-Amarelo (Green-Yellow), in which Plínio
Salgado played an important role. The issue of nationalism became the focal point
for debates between intellectuals and artists in these movements, whose very name

Figure 1. “A boba” (1916), painting of Anita Malfatti. Source: https://www.wikiart.org/en/anita-

malfatti/a-boba-1916.
 JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 5

Figure 2. State of São Paulo Public Archive – record 040583/iconographic collection. Group of
integralists posing for a photo.

(Verde-Amarelo referring to the green and yellow colours of the Brazilian flag) stated
their position on nationalism. The modernists expressed their artistic and ideological
stance through manifestos, and Plínio Salgado was one of the writers of the Manifesto
do Verde-Amarelo (“Green-Yellow Manifesto”), in which he presented the artistic move­
ment´s objectives: “we must build this great nation, integrating our shared nation in
all historical, ethnic, social, religious and political expression, through the centralizing
force of the element of tupi5” (Picchia 1995, 148). However, the Manifesto Pau-Brasil
(1924), which later became the Manifesto Antropófago (1928) also attempted to
reinterpret national art. In the Manifesto antropófago, the phrase Tupy or not tupy,
that is the question summarizes the group´s objectives: European culture was to be
absorbed in order to integrate its virtues aspects, while Brazilian culture was to be
strengthened Figure 2.
During the 1930s, although Plínio Salgado considered the Verde-Amarelo group the
most viable channel for his nationalist conception of culture, he also believed it was
necessary to deepen the ideological debate and radicalize the movement. However, his
verde-amarelo colleagues, Candido Mota Filho, Menotti Del Picchia and Cassiano Ricardo,
did not follow this path to political radicalization. As such, Plínio Salgado created the ultra-
nationalist group Anta, which was the precursor to the latterly formed group: Ação
Integralista Brasileira.6 According to Gonçalves (2009), this was the moment when
Salgado truly broke with the modernists and the verde-amarelos, and his thinking became
6 G. DE LIMA GRECCO

radicalized. From this point onwards, he began to build a radical political movement with
fascist aspirations: integralism.
Nevertheless, the verde-amarelo writer del Picchia (1934) revealed in a newspaper article
in 1934, titled “Resolveria o Integralismo o problema nacional?” (“Would integralism solve
the issue around nationalism?”) a political position closely aligned to Salgado´s. The latter
was his companion “in the first systemized movement that sought the famous Brazilian
reality”, according to the writer himself. Del Picchia (1934) believed integralism would calm
the turmoil of the liberal period, “attack face-on the essence of the liberal and democratic
regime, and create an integral State”. For him, Plínio Salgado´s movement was quite
possibly the ultimate solution for Brazilian politics. The verde-amarelo writer Candido
Mota Filho also maintained an ideological affinity and relationship with Salgado, and in
1938 was interrogated about his direct ties to integralist figures as the political police
suspected he was a member of the AIB movement.7 Evidently, both of these movements
(the artistic as well as the political) were closely tied in terms of ideology.
Based on a new vision set forth by the modernists, specifically by the verde-amarelos,
Brazil would become a new synthesis of the primitive and the innovative. This new
national consciousness led by the vanguard implied the politicization of art during the
1920s and 1930s. According to Pômpeo (1935), an integralist, Brazilian art was a union of
poetry, music, architecture, painting and sculpture with a unified aesthetic, marked by
nationalism and traditionalism. Art was to embody this overall vision and doctrine, rather
than arise from separated ideas. Salgado, in fact, was possibly one of the most prolific
intellectuals of all the fascist ideologists, due to his mythological construction of Brazilian
history, titled síntese brasileira (“Brazilian Synthesis”), which was a fusion of primitive
indigenous and creole traditions.
The verde-amarelo modernists also highlighted what they considered the issue at the
heart of modern life, which they described as “urban evil”. The urban pace of life had led
to exacerbated levels of individualism,8 where each person sought to maximise their own
level of comfort regardless of others. For Plínio Salgado, the Brazilian caboclo, “straightfor­
ward, poor and honest people”, represented the true citizens of the nation, removed from
the materialism of metropolitan elites. Inland inhabitants, especially from the sertão,9
would be the embodiment of the nation´s primitive spiritualism. The influence of cosmo­
politan life and its rejection of tradition had destroyed the national conscience. A solid
representation of these ideas is found in the novel by Plínio Salgado, O estrangeiro (“The
foreigner”) (1926), which explores Brazil´s racial origins in the assimilation of diverse
cultures, and describes and analyses rural and urban life from a nationalist perspective.
According to Gonçalves (2008, 5), this text is considered the greatest literary expression of
the verde-amarelo modernist movement and of Plínio´s ideas, and as such is considered
the beginning of Brazilian integralism. In fact, Salgado (1935) himself considered the novel
O estrangeiro the first integralist manifesto. According to Trindade (1979, 48), Salgado
valued his commitment to literature more than his political work. The nationalist ideal,
developed first through literature, gained political significance when it moved beyond
a mere questioning of the dominant forms of thought and system of values, to a fight to
overcome them.
 JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 7

Ação Integralista Brasileira: its development and core ideology

On 7 October 1932 through the Manifesto de Outubro (“October Manifesto”), which was
presented at the Municipal Theatre in São Paulo, Plínio Salgado founded the AIB. Salgado
was heavily influenced by the ideas of Charles Maurras, Gil Robles, Oliveira Salazar, Haya
de la Torre and, above all, Benito Mussolini. The Brazilian Duce, following his visit to
Europe in 1930, returned to Brazil captivated with fascist Italy and claimed “the concept of
fascism would be the shining light for a new era” (Salgado 1932, 203–205). In a meeting
Mussolini informed Salgado that Brazil first needed a movement of ideas, more than the
formation of a political party with fascist elements (Trindade 1979, 75). Salgado, con­
vinced it was urgent to establish an alternative regime to democracy, returned to his
country ready to organize and coordinate the country’s intellectual forces.
The integralist movement arose during the second wave of fascism and arrived as the
consequence of a national crisis (the 1930 Revolution). At this stage, the creation of
political parties was regulated by the Brazilian Republican constitution, which did not
impede political associations and permitted the founding of the AIB, and this new
organization proceeded to attract new members at an extremely fast pace. From this
strong position, the AIB initiated political negotiations with the president Gétulio Vargas,
gaining greater government support for integralism. As a result, societal support grew for
the organisation, and its ties to important State institutions was strengthened. The AIB
became the first Brazilian political party to be established at a national level alongside
mass popularity, and in a population with close to 41.5 million inhabitants, it had close to
half a million members in 1937.
In terms of its propaganda, organisation, symbolism, and projects, the integralist
movement closely followed in the footsteps of European fascism. It strove to represent
a “lifestyle” in which symbols and rituals played a vital role, and for this reason, it adopted
the Greek letter Sigma (∑) as its equivalent to the swastika (in aesthetic terms) and the
Italian fascio littorio (in terms of its meaning: the “uniting of forces”). The sigma was the
mathematical symbol for addition, and the sum of infinite elements. In addition, the
movement incorporated the Roman salute, alongside the indigenous cry Anauê,10 the use
of green shirts, the moto Deus, Pátria e Família (God, the Homeland, and Family), and the
organisation of complex political integration rituals, such as assemblies and parades. The
concept of the “integral” was related to a “whole” and organic vision of the movement.
Fascist ornamentation was also displayed at the party´s headquarters (a photograph of
the movement´s leader at the centre of the main room, surrounded by other important
figures from the movement) and libraries were created containing books and other texts
on integralist political ideology. All of the above cult aspects highlight the importance of
fascist elements in the Brazilian movement, and its bid to organically renew society and its
moral configuration to strengthening a sense of “belonging” and social solidarity. The
historian Griffin (2010) points out that as a result of this sense of belonging, members
found themselves immersed in a revolutionary experience, believing they were at the
crossroads of history and could change its course.
The movement´s first major public event was held in 1933 in São Paulo, when nearly
forty thousand followers gathered. At the same event, Miguel Reale (one of the main
integralist leaders and ideologues) launched his candidacy for the 1934 Constituent
Assembly. Later, in 1934, during the first national congress organized by the AIB, Plínio
8 G. DE LIMA GRECCO

Salgado was elected the foremost official leader of the movement, and Gustavo Barroso
was appointed head of the integralist militia (Chor Maio and Cytrynowicz 2003, 42).
Throughout the 1930s, integralist parades became increasingly frequent in the country
´s principle cities, due to the accelerated growth of the movement´s membership. As
a result of the 1936 elections, the AIB attained positions for close to 500 city counsellors,
20 mayors and 4 state deputies, with almost 250,000 votes.
What distinguished the AIB from the different European and Latin American forms of
fascism, was its attempt to create a synthesis of ideas based on Brazil’s pluri-cultural and
multi-racial characteristics, while also including Catholic spirituality Thus, Brazil´s particu­
lar version of fascism was characterized by the strong presence of Catholic elements,
while avoiding subordination to fundamentalist or reactionary Catholic positions. The
traditional character of this movement, led by Salgado, was based on the social doctrine
of the Church and on the fundamental proposal set forth by political Catholicism for
a renewal of the elite. Hence, a great number of Catholic intellectuals and practicing
Catholics supported the movement (Trindade 1979, 2). Similar to other fascist move­
ments, particularly in Spain, integralism produced a synergy of cultural and political
elements based on authoritarianism and Catholicism. Its ideologues proclaimed them­
selves defenders of spirituality in the face of the evils of modern materialism and urban
society that liberalism and communism represented.
From the outset, the integralists openly espoused a political philosophy based on the
revaluation of Christian spiritualism and the desire to spiritualize the people. In the
Manifesto de Outubre (“October Manifesto”), the movement referred to the divine figure
as responsible for the future of humanity, beginning with the words “God leads the
destiny of nations”.11 Similarly, Pômpeo’s (1935) book Por que sou Integralista? (“Why
am I an integralist?”), published in 1935, explained that affiliation to the movement
required one to “believe in God, love Brazil, and defend the Christian family”. The move­
ment´s doctrine emphasized the exaltation of values supporting a spiritualist conception
of life, such as belief in God and in the immortality of the soul, and the union between
faith and nationalism.
Based on this form of spiritual humanism, Plínio Salgado formed an ideological synth­
esis between Catholicism and nativism. He emphasized the egalitarian spirit of the
Brazilian nation, which was evident to him in the impressive “racial democracy” that
already existed, a fusion of three distinct groups: indigenous, Afro-Brazilian, and white
communities. In fact, a number of contemporary intellectuals from the Modernist
Movement also expressed this view, such as Gilberto Freyre in his book Casa-Grande &
Senzal (The Masters and the Slaves). However, “racial democracy” is a myth, based on
a supposed harmony between races that never existed in Brazilian history.12
The cabocle (a mixed-race individual) was the representative par excellence of this racial
fusion and its innate spirituality, and made the Brazilian nation a unique place, ideal for
the formation of a spiritualist movement. According to integralism, the nation´s mixed-
race character had originated in the colonial period, when a fusion of cultures and
ethnicities had taken place. Brazil was presented as a sacred site, where all races had
come together to merge and complement each other, the result of which was the most
perfect example of human unity in existence. The integralists, as such, propagated a myth
of origin and of a lost national essence, where the latter could be rescued through
a dynamic vision of the future.
 JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 9

For this reason, Brazilian society was comparatively different from European society
because of its multi-racial composition, which for some integralist leaders was none­
theless compatible with anti-Semitism.13 Contrary to what Stanley Payne has argued, this
contradiction did not dilute the national identity, but rather proved to be a unifying
component of Brazilian fascism. Thus, while integralist racism was based on a form of
“exclusion by integration” through ethnic-racial mixing, Nazism was based on exclusion
alone according to race and culture (Reis Cruz 2004). Miguel Reale denied racism, “seen as
a German question” (Devoto 2019, 113). The participation and inclusion of Afro-Brazilians
in its rhetoric and ranks of the AIB was fundamental (Sentinelo 2010, 146–147). Despite
their low numbers, members of these minority groups, such as João Cándido, occupied
important positions within the movement. In this way, the significance assigned to the
idea of mixed-race must be understood in terms of its position within an overall nation­
alist agenda, the objective of which was to unite the nation in the form of a “single spirit”,
and create a certain type of racially-mixed man in the future.
Thus, Plínio Salgado’s greatest aim was to build an organization capable of disseminat­
ing spiritual values correctly, and liberating the people from liberalism’s despotic, materi­
alistic, and individualist ideology. This “spiritual revolution”, according to Salgado, had
already begun to take place in other countries, and had been highly successful in Italy and
Germany. With the triumph of this spiritualist conception of existence, a new universal
order would be established: integralist humanity (Araújo 1988, 63). This idea of the rebirth
of the nation following a period of decadence was tied to the utopian concept of the
construction of a new world, and the regeneration of civilization.
Both Plínio Salgado and Gustavo Barroso developed a global interpretation of the
history of humanity in their texts A Quarta Humanidade (“A Fourth Humanity”) and
O Quarto Império (“A Fourth Empire”). Fascist theorists associated the growth of the AIB
with the onset of a “fourth era” for humanity, which was a variation of the three-fold
historical evolution that fascist ideologists from the Third Reich and the Third Rome
proposed. This “new era”, emerging in Latin America, was a utopian myth rather than
a geographical reality; it proposed the construction of a new civilization based on the
spiritualist principles of integralism, which would impose a harmonious morality on the
material world (Griffin 1995, 234–235). This “era” would become possible through
a “spiritual revolution”, and a return to the true spirituality at the foundations of the old
medieval values (Barroso 1935). In this sense, integralists positioned the core of future
history in Latin America rather than in Europe; the declaration of a “new era” came hand-
in-hand with the construction of a new society and a culture rooted in the Latin American
continent. Although integralist ideologists believed in a new order at the international
level, they emphasized the central importance and particularities of Brazilian integralism.
The fact that a shared common framework existed did not mean each country lacked its
own particular characteristics that could be transferred to its political culture.
The integralist theorist Reale (1983) argued that liberalism had completed its historical
cycle. Following three centuries of territorial and linguistic unity in Brazil, liberalism had
imposed itself on the country and applied a policy that was detached from nationalism
and which had negative consequences for the historical development of the country.
Liberalism, as a rationalist, disintegrating and fragmentary form of thought had revealed
its limitations and should now give way to a new phenomenon, a new form of rejection of
the old liberalism: fascism. According to Reale, this exhaustion of liberal democracy had
10 G. DE LIMA GRECCO

led to a crisis in both Europe and Latin America, and what was at stake was the resulting
victory of either communism or fascism, as the two truly global revolutions of the modern
world. In this sense, according to Reale, society had to move towards a new policy of
reinforcing the state, the ultimate objective of which would be the construction of an
organic international unity. Reale considered Bolshevism to be the indirect yet final
consequence of liberalism; for this reason, fascism was considered to be the most appro­
priate alternative, as it re-established full sovereignty through its identification of the
nation and an organic integration of society. Reale (1934, 23) also argued that fascism had
not only emerged as a reaction to communism, but also as a new conception of life as
spiritual, determined, deeply moral, and heroic.
In order to advance this new policy, an effort was made to generate ultra-nationalist
sentiment among its members, alongside awareness of their “Brazilianness”. This ideolo­
gical movement sought a complete regeneration of Brazilian society in order to create
a new type of civilization: the tropical civilization, imbued with Christian spirituality (Reale
1983, 168). At a time of social, political and economic crisis, these ideas were well-received
and many people adopted the integralist ideals, convinced they were immersed in a new,
revolutionary experience. Those who joined the party entered an autonomous subculture,
almost a counter-society, an organization that had its own laws and a structure that
encompassed various aspects of the social life of its members (such as education, culture,
arts, health, family, etc.). The movement´s bureaucratic and overall organizational struc­
ture was parastatal in nature, since it was designed to form a model for an integral State.

The New State of Vargas and the integralist movement

Getúlio Vargas´ New State was characterized by explicitly authoritarian policy, supported
by the creation of centralized institutions and ministries, the concentration of executive
power, the dissolution of parties, and the state´s elaboration of legitimatizing speeches
(the main inspiration for which derived from Italian and German fascism). Many of the
most prominent politicians supporting the regime, such as Francisco Campos, Lourival
Fontes and Filinto Müller,14 sought the introduction of various elements of fascist ideol­
ogy to new-state policy, while adapting them to the Brazilian context (Trindade 1979, 84).
In a letter to Getúlio Vargas following a trip to Berlin, Luis Simões Lopes, a cabinet official
at the Presidential Secretary, expressed how impressed he had felt with the Nazi govern­
ment´s propaganda work.15 He found the level of organization within the Ministry of
Propaganda so impressive that he suggested creating “a miniature version in Brazil”.
Nevertheless, while fascism was an important component of the regime´s ideology,
and had a direct influence on central government figures, the relationship between the
New State and the AIB fascist movement was somewhat contradictory, conflicting, and
turbulent. In the end, the more traditional politicians,16 and theorists of New States
rejected fascism, which placed the AIB and the New State on opposing sides, though
their ties did not become entirely severed (Bertonha 2011).
It should be noted that the AIB movement actively supported the Vargas Government
and its plan for political, cultural and social centralization. With the establishment of the
Provisional Government (1930–1934), a collaborative phase between the president and
Salgado commenced, and in 1931 Salgado expressed the opinion that Getúlio Vargas was
the rightful guardian of the “childlike” Brazilian people. However, it was in August 1931
 JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 11

that this support truly became direct and open, when Salgado affirmed that “a continued
dictatorship was the true revolutionary´s desire” (Calil 2010); he also publicly circulated
a series of messages addressed to the president titled Directrizes à Ditadura (“Guidelines
for a Dictatorship”). During the months preceding the coup d’état, the integralists carried
out demonstrations in support of Vargas, directly contributing to the diffusion of his anti-
liberal, anti-party ideology and argument for a “strong” state; moreover, in preparation for
the coup, Plínio Salgado offered his support through the provision of integralist militia
and the movements´ military members (Calil 2010).
One could argue that until 1936 the relationship between Vargas and the AIB was
marked by mutual recognition and support. However, with the formation of the New
State (1937–1945), and the consequent approval of a decree which abolished all political
parties, a divisive stage between both commenced. In a letter from Salgado to Vargas,
dated 28 January 1938, a level of distance was already evident: the result of Vargas´
demand that Salgado step down as national leader of the integralists and that the
movement´s symbolic practices (uniforms, salutes etc.) cease. This would later lead to
an attempted coup by the integralists, and eventually to a definitive rupture between the
AIB and Vargas.17
According to historian Carone (1988), a large number of the integralists accepted their
secondary role in the regime, since the creation of the New State meant the end of
liberalism, the persecution of communists, and the implementation of the doctrinal tenets
defended by the integralists, such as corporatism. For Plínio Salgado, support for Getúlio
Vargas was a natural progression, since in addition to adopting the integralist tenets,
Vargas drew upon Salgado´s ideas to write the Constitution of 10 November 1937,
including elements such as restricted autonomy for Brazilian member states; the elimina­
tion of political parties and of the individual state flags; the suppression of universal
suffrage; and the strengthening of centralized power, among others.18 Thus, in 1942 the
Greenshirts19 formulated a plan to establish the “Legião Nacionalista” (Nationalist Legion),
which would represent the New State´s Party. The negotiations mentioned above, how­
ever, were somewhat unsuccessful (Abreu 2008). As the New State ideologist Oliveira
Viana pointed out, unlike other fascist regimes, the single party system would not fit well
with the Brazilian context. Brazil required a single president, the legitimate representative
of the nation and above all its political parties (Calil 2010, 84).
This rupture between the New State and the caboclo fascists culminated in an integr­
alist attempted coup d’état in May 1938. After the failed coup, about 1,500 integralist
members and their travelling companions were arrested and, of these, some 300 integr­
alists were sentenced to prison. During this political persecution, however, the movement
´s most prominent figures remained unscathed, with the exception of Plínio Salgado, who
went into exile in Portugal20 (albeit with the help of the government who sent him
a passport and provided financial support).21 This marked the end of the AIB,22 and in
exile Plínio Salgado developed a rhetoric far more closely tied to Catholic discourse,
through innumerable conferences on political and religious topics and through the
publication of books such as Vida de Cristo (“Life of Christ”) (1942), O conceito cristão de
democracia (“The christian concept of democracy”) (1945) and O mistério da Ceia (1945)
(“The mystery of the supper”). According to Calil (2011), these publications and confer­
ences were not solely concerned with the expression of religious ideas but were part of
a strategy formed in light of developments in the Second World War, where fascism´s
12 G. DE LIMA GRECCO

defeat was becoming increasingly evident. Thus, Salgado chose to present himself as
a spiritualist and Christian leader.
All of the above, however, did not prevent a new collaborative relationship from
developing between the integralists and state power. While situations involving extreme
conflict and friction arose frequently, it was nevertheless possible to reinitiate the nego­
tiation process, and as a result of these negotiations many integralists joined the New
State bureaucratic infrastructure. For example, in 1942 the jurist Miguel Reale was
appointed advisor to the Departamento Administrativo do Estado de São Paulo
(Administrative Department of the State of São Paulo), a position he occupied until
1945. This office included “approximately twenty ex-integralists, including important
individuals such as Almeida Sales and Lauro Escorrel”.23 Reale evidently shaped his own
network of support, obtaining positions for several of his prótegés who regularly sought
his advice. A genuine network of relationships existed, which despite the disagreements
that threatened to damage the bonds of solidarity between the integralists and Vargas,
supported new ties and transcended existing conflicts. These reconfigured relationships
guaranteed the survival of certain integralists after the later conflict and definitive rupture
with Vargas.
Despite the fact that integralist doctrine was to a certain degree convenient for the
government’s authoritarian agenda, Getúlio Vargas was aware that the AIB was a highly
mobilized and active mass movement, and for this reason, could represent a risk for his
personal power; the political mobilization that the AIB promoted might compromise the
alliance Vargas had already established and now presided over, and the existence of
a parallel and autonomous political force could lead to unpredics consequences for the
government. Integralism, which embodied certain paramilitary characteristics, and gath­
ered almost a million members, was undoubtedly seen as a threat to Vargas’ hierarchical
power structure, which was a form of demobilizing authoritarianism. Vargas, therefore,
opted for a split with Brazilian integralism, excluding it from the process of establishing
the New State: fascism would no longer form part of the Vargas regime´s “political
culture”. This betrayal of the integralists is yet another testimony to the complex relation­
ship that often existed between authoritarian regimes, which often incorporated fascist
elements in their praxis and doctrine, and fascist organisations and nationalist revolu­
tionaries such as the AIB.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that in terms of doctrinal principles, integralism
and the central government shared many common tenets. As Almeida (2001, 26) has
pointed out, integralist theories such as those of Gustavo Barroso, Plínio Salgado, and
Miguel Reale, among others, formed part of a theoretical repertoire that inspired the
social and cultural policies of the New State. The emphasis placed by the integralists on
themes such as: homeland worship; civic practices; policy fuelled by heightened nation­
alism; the search for “Brazilianness” and a nationalist culture; the rejection of liberalism
and universal suffrage; identification with a strong and corporatist state; restricted indi­
vidual state autonomy; and the need for cultural regulation and anti-communism, were
coherent with the New State´s political agenda. In fact, Vargas entrusted an analysis of the
Constitution to Salgado,24 and on 7 September 1941, in a letter to the integralists, Plínio
Salgado pointed out that the Movement’s doctrine had inspired the 1937 Constitution,
affirming that “there has never been any divergence regarding doctrine between the
integralists and the regime”.25
 JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 13

However, the definitive break between the New State and fascism, from a pragmatic
point of view, and above all in terms of foreign relations, took place in 1942. As ties with
the US government intensified, a “second stage” of the regime began to emerge, and
included a departure from its previous model. Before establishing relations with President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Vargas had maintained an “equidistant” foreign policy, which
allowed him to negotiate and strengthen commercial ties with different countries regard­
less of their government´s ideological standing. In 1942, Vargas definitely severed ties to
the Axis nations.26 This came as a result of the U.S. government’s continued efforts to
promote commercial cooperation and political ties with Brazil through loan concessions
and the transfer of technology, with the aim of impeding Vargas from “mussolinizing or
hitlerizing himself entirely”.27 Between February and August 1942, Adolf Hitler’s govern­
ment torpedoed several Brazilian merchant navy ships in retaliation for the cooperation
between the U.S and Brazil. In August 1942, President Getúlio Vargas signed Decree nº
10,358 declaring a state of war, which meant, among other things, that Brazil would now
collaborate with the allied troops through the dispatching of the Força Expedicionária
Brasileira (Brazilian Expeditionary Force). Through Brazil’s cooperation with the ally cause,
Vargas transformed his previous image as a dictator “sympathetic” to the cause of fascist
governments, and thus initiated a new stage that would continue until October 1945,
when the New State finally came to an end.

Conclusions
Fascist regimes served as important role-models and impacted, to varying degrees,
policies which the New State of Getúlio Vargas implemented. Clearly, fascist principles,
values and symbols were adopted in Brazil, to the degree that many organized move­
ments, sectors of the Right underwent a process of radicalization and renewal of their
political repertoire. This process was a fundamental element in the constitutions of
Getúlio Vargas´ new dictatorship. In Brazil, although fascism was an important reference
point for Getúlio Vargas, in breaking with the fascist movement (integralism), Vargas
blocked a process of fascisticization in the New State. Nevertheless, the Vargas regime did
not resist fascist influence entirely. In this sense, the ties between the Vargas and the
fascist movement reveal the complex and conflicted relations that exist between author­
itarian dictatorships, on the one hand, and fascist movements on the other.
In line with this perspective, a study of the Brazilian Right during the 1920s and 1930s is
here considered key to understanding the process of fascisticization, and the social and
political support for the Vargas regimes. New State established a strategic alliance with
fascist movement. Its main objective was to use this movement to its own political
advantage without losing control. On the one hand, Vargas opted to break with
Brazilian integralism, excluding it from the process of establishing the New State.
Although this was not a complete rupture, fascism no longer formed part of the Vargas
regime´s cultural policy. Yet ultimately, in the Vargas´ regime the interrelationship of
forces at the centre of conservative alliances did not benefit the fascist sector.
On the other hand, according to Griffin (2010) and Gentile (2004), fascism was an
important political and ideological point of reference for many intellectuals, as it sought
to instigate a spiritual and material revolution against modernity. Brazil was no exception
to this international phenomenon, and the leader of the AIB, Plínio Salgado,
14 G. DE LIMA GRECCO

a distinguished writer, journalist, and modernist, openly affirmed his belief in the mission
to renew the modern world and national identity through a process of political and
literary fascistisization. This analysis supports a novel and alternative theoretical frame­
work as the basis for a critical approach within the field of “fascism studies”. On the other
hand, literature was an important tool for the development of integralist ideas. In fact,
integralism as a movement emerged through the cultural elite and was led by the writer
Plínio Salgado. While he recognized in the people the spirit of the nation, he also believed
they should be guided by the intellectual elite and the nation´s politicians. His vision
presented the intellectual as the subject most prepared to drive the nation into a new era.
Intellectuals had the mission of “revealing” the essence of Brazilian nationality in an
authoritarian context. As they were seen to be the only true conduits of knowledge,
they were to guide the social and cultural process of identifying, discovering and accept­
ing the national identity.
A study of the AIB is also highly relevant in that it can reveal the political commonalities
between European and Latin American fascist movements, as well as the importance of
fascist ideology as a source of inspiration or as a political point of reference for other
dictatorships or anti-liberal movements.

Notes
1. This concept enables us to include “those elements who, on the one side, had a shared vision
of the world and interpreted the past, read their present and conceived the future in similar
terms, and who, on another, also shared and accepted a series of representations and
perceptions made up of -and, in turn, expressed in- particular forms of discourse, rituals
and forms of sociability” (Saz et al. 2019, 6–7).
2. See: Finchelstein (2010, 2019) and Nuñez Seixas (2015).
3. The AIB had an innovative social and organizational structures, unique forms of ritual politics
(green uniforms and the fascist salute with an indigenous symbolism, “Anauê”), theory of the
emergence of a “fourth humanity”, and stress on a unique blend of races rather than racial
purity.
4. The modernist project was most notably expressed was in the artistic and cultural sphere,
reflected in different “isms” such as futurism, expressionism, surrealism and Dadaism.
However, it also transcended artistic frontiers and left its mark on certain social and political
phenomena. It is precisely here, within this context of challenging 19th Century culture, that
an understanding of fascism should be situated. The most important example of Fascist Italy
was the poet Filippo Marinetti, who provided the building blocks for a new art inspired by
violence, war, and aggressive nationalism. About Corporativism, see: Schmitter (1979).
5. “Tupi” is a person who belongs to a collection of tribes formed around the nucleus of the
family tup-guaraní.
6. An animal with a mythical function in tupi culture.
7. State of São Paulo Public Archive: Criminal Record 78489.
8. The idea of the collective was explored especially through the idea of corporatism. As Pinto
(2020) has argued, Latin America was an integral part of a global movement that saw
corporatism as a new element of authoritarianism and organization of society, as well as
a possible response to left-wing labor unionism. Corporatism inspired Spanish, Bolivian,
Brazilian, Portuguese, Colombian, Chilean, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Ecuadorian fascism, etc.,
which shows the great impact, acceptance and transnational diffusion of corporatist ideas in
Latin America.
9. This is a vast inland semi-arid geographical region in the North-East of Brazil which contrasts
with the coastal region with its abundance of flora and fauna.
 JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 15

10. Anauê is a word orginating from Tupi which means “you are my brother”.
11. CPDOC Archive: GC-122f.
12. See: Hasenbalg and Huntington (1982).
13. For further reading on antis-semitism see: Chor Maio (1992), Caldeira Neto (2011) and
Cytrynowicz (1992).
14. During the government of Getúlio Vargas, Francisco Campo was Minister of Education,
Justice and Interior, as well as was the lawyer who most influenced the writing of the
Constitution of 1937; Lourival Fontes was the General Director of the Press and
Propaganda Department; and Filinto Müller was Chief of Federal Police, Cabinet Officer of
the Minister of War and President of the National Labor Council.
15. CPDOC Archive: GCg 1934.09.22.
16. Some politicians were more connected with positivist ideas, others with a more traditional
idea of authoritarianism that rejected the modernist ideal of fascism.
17. CPDOC Archive: GV confid. 1938.01.28.
18. CPDOC Archive: FC tp 38.05.12 II-63 and FC tp 38.05.12 II-76.
19. Members of the AIB were referred to as Greenshirts.
20. About relations between Portugal and Brazil in this period see: Santos (2006).
21. CPDOC Archive: GV c 1939.06.15.
22. Nevertheless, many integralist continued to work clandestinely. As the historian Caldeira
Neto (2013) has pointed out, the end of the AIB did not necessarily mean its activities entirely
ceased, as later the Partido Popular Representación (1945–1965) was created.
23. State of São Paulo Public Archive: Criminal Record 40682.
24. CPDOC Archive: GV confid. 1939.02.04.
25. CPDOC Archive: FC 38.05.12 tp.
26. CPDOC Archive: GV c 1937.11.24/3.
27. CPDOC Archive: GV c 1937.11.24/3.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
This work was supported by the Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid-Spain) under the
Multiannual Agreement with Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in the line of action encouraging
youth research doctors, in the context of the V PRICIT (Regional Programme of Research and
Technological Innovation) under Grant [SI1/PJI/2019-00257].

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