Citation

Williams JW. Terrorism 1989; 12(1): 1-20.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989)

DOI

10.1080/10576108908435757

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Two decades ago Carlos Marighela, the Brazilian revolutionary, was killed by Brazilian security forces. Known as "the father of urban guerrilla warfare," Marighela laid out his theories in his Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla. He is noted for espousing urban‐based revolution over a "rural foco," militarization of the political process, and manipulation of the media. He broke with the Brazilian Communist Party, which historically wavered between cooperation with the government and rural‐based guerrilla warfare. With the failure to transplant a Cuban‐style revolution in South America, Marighela turned his attention to the growing urbanization of the continent. For him, the city would be the primary battleground. In his Minimanual, Marighela argued for the militarization of the political process. As violence was escalated, the forces of law and order would be forced to become more repressive. The "soft center" would be eliminated as the sides were polarized. Eventually, the masses would join the revolutionaries in reaction to the oppression of the government. Marighela also argued for manipulation of the media, both as a vehicle to reach the urban masses and as a tool to goad the government into escalation. As evidence of his belief, he tried to put his precepts into practice--raiding banks and payrolls, kidnapping a U.S. ambassador, and seizing radio stations. However, his struggle was for naught. Marighela died having failed to foment an urban revolution, and it appears that his tactics have failed to bring success to anyone else.

Language: en