Letters to Vargas: Between favors, civic rights and the political struggle for survival (1937-45)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss Vargas' power project - especially between 1937-45, known as "Estado Novo" (The New State) - from the viewpoint of its effects, that is, of the men and women dat welcomed, and in this sense communicated with the regime's discourse. Therefore, some letters from the abundant correspondence sent by normal people. "simple people” from the working class, who lived and felt the Vargas government have been analyzed. It is supposed that, when "reading” the organization and control of society drawn up by the “vargist” power, these people interpreted it according to their own cultural code, which was marked by a demard for advantages and rights, as opposed to a merely resigned and passive stance.