Delations and everyday life in Brazil during the civil-military dictatorship

Abstract

The formulation of complaints and denunciations against individuals, groups or situations considered suspicious has been a recurring practice in modern times. Specifically, dictatorships and authoritarian regimes of the twentieth century largely encouraged such behaviors. This article proposes to analyze the accusatory practices in Brazil during the 1964 civil-military dictatorship. In this regard, it seeks to understand the ways in which citizens resorted to the state and its institutions in order to denounce local authorities, neighbors, acquaintances, co-workers, etc. Considering the plurality of denunciation practices, in addition to the complaints provided by regime informants, the article proposes to analyze the motivations of “eventual informants” and, more broadly, aims to understand how society's daily life was invaded and shaped by language and modes of action deemed appropriate by the dictatorship.