Chronicle of a Resurgent Event: A Kaleidoscope of Censorship in Brazil

Ano: 2007 | Volume: 3 | Número: 1

Autores: José Marques de Melo

Palavras-chave: censorship, control of the media, democratic guarantee.

Resumo Inglês:

Alfredo de Carvalho (1870-1916) has been placed in the Brazilian
historiography among the critics of the obscurantism practiced by
the Portuguese colonizers 1. His reasoning was that by imposing on
Brazil a “regime of systematic reclusion”, Portugal created diffi culties
for the sedimentation “of our current nationality” and retarded “the
synchronic evolution of many of its cultural elements”2. For this
very reason he became the harbinger of preservation of the memory
of the press, an indispensable source for the comprehension of
our civilizing process. Reiterating Carvalho, many others have
declared that, since the arrival of Cabral on Brazil´s northeastern
shore in 1500, the “gag syndrome” was projected over our territory.
Consequently, it has impeded economic development, made political
autonomy impractical and inhibited the fl ourishing of culture.