Are those involved with the Araguaia Guerrilla from the State of São Paulo?

Abstract

The Araguaia Guerrilla was a rural guerrilla in southern Pará, linked to the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB). Between 1972 and 1974, fought with the Armed Forces. After their defeat, the hegemonic narrative began to propagate that the guerrillas were from the state of São Paulo. This study questions this almost naturalized reasoning, presenting ten justifications for the relevance of the topic. The methodology consisted of surveying the names, data and biographies of everyone involved with the Araguaia Guerrilla, which appear in two works on the subject and in the third volume of the final report of the National Truth Commission. With several maps among the results, it is noted that those involved with the guerrilla - whether in the preparation or during the fighting phase - are from different states. There is even a foreigner. It is a fact that Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are the states with the largest number of representatives, but that was not an armed experiment carried out only by São Paulo residents. To exemplify the flows of PCdoB militants during the Military Dictatorship, two maps are presented, developed from interviews with members of the Araguaia Guerrilla. The interviews took place in 2022, 2023 and 2024.