O mito da democracia racial : cultura política na ditadura militar brasileira a partir do jornal A Tribuna - SP

Abstract

This research analyzes the myth of racial democracy as a strategic tool for political legitimacy during the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985). The study argues that the rhetoric of racial harmony was utilized by the regime to conceal structural racism and silence social movements, labeling denunciations of discrimination as acts of "subversion" against national unity. The investigation focuses on the city of Santos (SP) and the role of the newspaper A Tribuna. Santos was a target of intense repression, symbolized by the use of the prison ship Raul Soares. While competing newspapers were shut down, A Tribuna thrived by aligning its editorial line with military interests and the National Security Doctrine. A critical discourse analysis between 1964 and 1970 reveals how the periodical validated the myth. The study concludes that the military regime deepened institutional racism under the cloak of cordiality. Brazil's democratic transition is characterized as unfinished, as the persistence of this myth and the structures of violence inherited from the dictatorship continue to hinder the consolidation of a full, anti-racist democracy today.