Faces do sindicalismo rural brasileiro: o Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Rurais de São Lourenço do Sul (1966-1985)

Abstract

Understanding that all subjects are historical and that all human groups on Earth deserve to have their history told, this master’s thesis aims to present a segment of Brazilian rural unionism still underexplored by History and other areas of the Humanities: the rural unionism linked to the FAG, a representative front for rural workers in Rio Grande do Sul, created in 1962 by Catholic bishops with the purpose of bringing together small landowners and rural employees from that state, advocating for their rights, and mobilizing them to fight against communism, supposedly promoted by more combative leftist peasant organizations, such as MASTER. This context materialized after the Civil-Military Coup of 1964, when unionism promoted by the Catholic Church became the only one allowed by the Dictatorship, enabling the foundation, in 1967, of the entity specifically analyzed here: the São Lourenço do Sul Rural Workers’ Union, one year after obtaining its union charter. In this regard, using Social History and certain aspects of Political History as theoretical frameworks, as well as Microhistory and Oral History as methodological tools, and through the analysis of meeting minutes, membership records, articles published in local newspapers, and oral accounts, this study seeks to explore the trajectory of the aforementioned union during part of the Civil-Military Dictatorship (1966–1985). The research examines the reasons that enabled its emergence in that community, strongly influenced by German culture, the leaderships involved in its creation and maintenance, the mechanisms employed to recruit members, achieve goals, and meet demands, as well as the relationships established by the group within and outside the organization.