Encontro com Prestes
- 1987
- 12m
The short film covers two speeches from Communist leader Luis Carlos Prestes during the festivities of Labor Day on May 1st, 1987. In the two events where he attended in São Paulo rallying a... Read allThe short film covers two speeches from Communist leader Luis Carlos Prestes during the festivities of Labor Day on May 1st, 1987. In the two events where he attended in São Paulo rallying about the union of workers for a common cause and protesting against the current government... Read allThe short film covers two speeches from Communist leader Luis Carlos Prestes during the festivities of Labor Day on May 1st, 1987. In the two events where he attended in São Paulo rallying about the union of workers for a common cause and protesting against the current government.
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And there's also an important and memorable leader here in Brazil, which was Luiz Carlos Prestes. A man who survived everything as one of the main figures of the Communist Party in Brazil, a man who challenged many political leaders (including Vargas, who sent him to the prison and deported his pregnant wife to die on a concentration camp in the Nazi Gemany); then when Vargas government ended he returned to the country and was one of the key oppositors of any government that wasn't working for the left cause; then came the military regime and he had to disappear for long periods of time - he stayed a whole decade in the URSS. After the transition to democracy, he became a champion for human rights and the workers cause, joining unions movements like CUT (Central Única do Trabalhador) and some approximation with PT (Workers Party) and ally PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil), of which he was a veteran member back in its inception many decades ago. That's the exact moment where we meet the man in this movie.
What I just told is just a small context about the figure you're about to meet, so you can form a sort of understanding of his importance and the words he says in this particular event. On labor day holiday there's a whole celebration in major cities around the country, and here in São Paulo there are several festivities, concerts and events destined for workers of all kinds, and in this particular short film what we get is two appearances from Mr. Prestes (in his 80-something years old, very active) where he said some words about the workers fight and their cause, a clear opposition of the current political administration from Sarney (a critical period in Brazil history due to being the first civil government after the miliary regime, and the corruption charges were rampant just like the inflation, the many changes in the nation curerncy, etc). Speeches were filmed in Sé Square on São Paulo's capital and another one was made in the ABC region where there's major concentrations of auto workers and auto industries.
And you can tell by the man's presence that the crowd loved the man. Back then, people respected figures and recognised their importance and influence on life, politics, their work for social causes and such. I don't imagine a similar reception for a man like him in the current era. The division lines between right and left are far more extreme these days and doesn't allow the crossing of lines, because there's always hatred speech, violent acts and too much criticism instead of trying to listen to what one side has to present or debate about.
Enough of history, the movie then. It's a nice way to remember a figure from a long gone day who had plenty of importance for good causes and to see the extent of his legacy and power, even though he never got elected for any kind of office. The event happens every single year and there's always new faces who preach the exact same thing about the workers cause, the fight for justice and better payments for the working class, but it's not exactly like it was after the regime, a main cause for communists or just the left (even though we don't the right wingers doing the same things). It's an universal cause and one that must be addressed. Had Prestes being alive now he'd be ashamed of the countless changes done when it comes to workers benefits. Plenty of things that were assured to workers were extinguished and ignored in the past six years, and we simply had to accept it. With a man like him alive and also others that came after him things wouldn't be exacly like they are today. As shown here, the crowd loved him and along with shouts of order and yeah's thrown here and there, it all ended with a great round of applause. Prestes was that kind of man, who deserved all the applause possible for all the work he had done. We don't applaud our leaders anymore. 8/10
P. S.: For those interested in knowing about his life and legacy I suggest watching "O Velho: A História de Luiz Carlos Prestes", an incredible documentary.
- Rodrigo_Amaro
- May 28, 2022
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- Runtime12 minutes
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