Memories – theory and practice

15/07/2024

Culture • Education • Books • Socialism

By VICENTE CARLOS Y PLÁ TREVAS*

Preface to the recently released book by Rubens Pinto Lyra

It was with immense satisfaction that I received the invitation from Rubens Pinto Lyra to preface his new book. Rubens is a long-time friend and companion. We were actors and protagonists of the “Generation 64”, formed by social, political and cultural activists who formed the praxis social.

Militants who fought for democracy, social justice, socialism and a nation project capable of confronting the structural ills of Brazilian society: inequality, poverty, dependence, underdevelopment, social exclusions, racism and the subaltern attitude of the dominant elites towards the countries hegemonic.

A generation of generous young people who, at the cost of personal sacrifices – political persecution, police persecution, revocation of student rights and even banning the exercise of their profession – defended democratic legality against the coup and fought the military dictatorship while it lasted.

Young people who also fought, in 1964, for Basic Reforms, resisting the dictatorship, with many of them enduring exile for sometimes long periods.

They committed themselves to the redemocratization of Brazil, participating in the reconstruction of the union movement and creating new political parties, one of which had unprecedented characteristics: the Workers' Party.

In the next stage, they remained committed to social and political change, participating in left-wing governments, directing unions, participating in social movements and being part of the management bodies of public universities.

Today, in the twilight of their lives, they propose to recount their trajectories, expanding knowledge of their legacy which, it is hoped, can contribute to illuminating the challenges of the present time.

Rubens Pinto Lyra and I have been present, since the late 1950s, in the prime of our youth, active in Catholic Action, which contributed strongly, at the time, to the renewal of the student and university movement. A trajectory spanning sixty-two years, more than half a century of our history, lived in a period of great transformations in geopolitics, the economy, ways of life, clashes between States, classes, ethnicities, religions.

A period full of great hopes, great frustrations and threats. It is in this scenario that Memoirs: theory and practice of a political scholar is located, written by a militant thinker and a militant thinker.

The events, characters and contexts reported by Rubens Pinto Lyra reveal to us, based on his experiences in the social and political field, the dimensions of an era, helping to understand the meaning of social movements in the dynamics of Brazilian society. In this case, through the analysis of the author's participation in the student, university and teaching movements, and in the defense and promotion of citizenship and human rights, to which Rubens Pinto Lyra dedicated the best of his energies.

Democratic resistance, the struggles and achievements of rights and the consolidation of citizenship in Brazil owe much to these movements, which functioned as a great school for training political leaders and staff.

Rubens Pinto Lyra's narrative also rescues his academic performance, and the relentless monitoring of this, as well as his other public activities, since 1965, by the military regime, especially through the Air Force Intelligence Service (that's right!), only ceasing this surveillance with the entry into force of the 1988 Constitution.

Memoirs: theory and practice of a political scholar reconstructs the trajectory of the progressive, left-wing, socialist and libertarian segment. It describes the motivations, forms of organization and content of the political, cultural and ideological clashes in which he was involved.

Rubens Pinto Lyra also worked tirelessly in the defense and construction of a democratic, public, free and quality university, teaching without supervision, based on the commitment to the country's development, permanent agendas of the National Association of Higher Education Teachers, the ANDES.

Pinto Lyra also participated in initiatives aimed at establishing mechanisms necessary for the democratization of the State and the defense of citizenship rights, committing to the creation and consolidation of instruments of participatory democracy, such as human rights councils and public ombudsman offices. .

He also contributed, as one of the ANDES representatives, with proposals for the Constituent Congress. I am grateful to my friend and companion Rubens Pinto Lyra for giving me this opportunity to discuss his memories, which reveal the work of a prolific intellectual, author of considerable academic production.

A production focused on knowledge of the Brazilian social and political reality and suitable instruments that allow us to bring it closer to the ideals of democracy and socialism, which continue to give meaning to our lives.

For the reader, the challenge is to extract Memoirs: theory and practice of a political scholar, in addition to the account of a time, the meanings and trends of an ongoing historical process.

Good reading.

*Vicente Carlos and Plá Trevas is coordinator of the publication Public Consórcios and Agendas of the Brazilian State of the Perseu Abramo Foundation.

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