Chronicle of a Resurgent Event: A Kaleidoscope of Censorship in Brazil

Abstract

Alfredo de Carvalho (1870-1916) has been placed in the Brazilian historiography among the critics of the obscurantism practiced by the Portuguese colonizers 1. His reasoning was that by imposing on Brazil a “regime of systematic reclusion”, Portugal created diffi culties for the sedimentation “of our current nationality” and retarded “the synchronic evolution of many of its cultural elements”2. For this very reason he became the harbinger of preservation of the memory of the press, an indispensable source for the comprehension of our civilizing process. Reiterating Carvalho, many others have declared that, since the arrival of Cabral on Brazil´s northeastern shore in 1500, the “gag syndrome” was projected over our territory. Consequently, it has impeded economic development, made political autonomy impractical and inhibited the fl ourishing of culture.