Brazil: The Troubled Land

I was blown away to discover this 1964 TV special just now after seeing it a social/political commentary YouTube channel suggesting view while debating some current theme on Brazil's politics or something to that effect. A little bit of research and it came the fact that a) this was made for American audiences, which would hard to be seen here by Brazilian audiences back in the day and b) the special was banned by the military regime and only would surface on the internet in the early 2000's. It's easy to understand why the banning of such informative and critical piece around the dictatorship years; if broadcast to audiences it would be a chaos to the establishment and the ruling classes as the poor, rural workers would have their rights granted, a more fair society, or to the conspiracy theorists who would believe Brazil could turn into another Cuba with a successful communist revolution.

Helen Jean Rogers documentary "Brazil: The Troubled Land", made for ABC network, tackles the issue of land reform through the actions of the Ligas Camponesas (Peasant Leagues), a socialist initiative led by a state deputy and his associates that educated workers about politics, the good use of land, the fight for better life and working conditions, and against the tyranny from exploitative farmers and bosses. It wasn't just about the basic needs workers needed to provide for their families and have a decent pay, it also revolved on the right of assembling and negotiate with their bosses, and those weren't open to any kind of dialogue or wouldn't accept any complaints, as evidenced by a tough farmer who brandishes his gun and firing in the air, all smiley in front of camera. "Here, the gun is the law, all is solved by the bullet" he says.

It's interesting to notice how a unique perception of an issue can translate differently depending on who's watching the film: Rogers' film presents the relevance of the Leagues and the challenges they faced while helping the poor, a sense of union and progress of poor communities, and it's never critical about it being a socialist/communist thing; crossing the ocean with the exact same presentation it could said that the American public and politicians of the 1960's at the height of Cold War would see it as a potential threat and some intervention should be done (and they supported the '64 coup that terminated Goulart's presidency and brought the military to take over). Open minded people from both countries probably saw in the Leagues work something interesting and worthy of notice.

This great register came out before the 64 coup, so there was a good chance of leader/statesman Francisco Julião and his league to give some hope to workers and maybe change would come - but the elite and the power establishment were already making their moves and warning Washington about what Goulart and his politics were going for, with his countless dreams of social reforms. A proof of how clueless the political administration were comes in the form of minister Celso Furtado and his rejection on the leagues initiative, and believing that only in a critical last case scenario that he would favor the U. S. intervention in the country. Barely he knew that when things changed he'd be one of the first people to get sacked from office and live in exile for a decade.

Many has been said and filmed about the military regime in Brazil and its circumstances that it feels redundant and exhaustive at times.

But this foreign special is a mindblowing and eye-opening document that register a close moment before the events so audiences can get a sense of the Brazilian problems, what was done for such problems to be solved (in an apparently easy and sober manner), and for a brief moment, as we don't see the aftermath and the coup to come, one can dream about what this country could've turn out if the leagues had succeed, or the land reform was put into effort. My idealistic side thinks it'd be different, better, with a more fair society and without two wasted decades of repression and barely no improvement about the reform topics. My realistic side can only see the usual and endless social clashes. We're still under that last part. 10/10.