About bombs and deportations

portugueses anarchists and the labour movement in Rio de Janeiro (1918-1921)

Abstract

Between November 1918 and March 1921, 69 bombs exploded in Rio de Janeiro, causing seven deaths and 50 injuries. In most cases (30), the targets were bakeries, but several other commercial establishments and public buildings were also hit. The responsible for the attacks, in most cases, were not found. However, the police pointed out a link between the explosions and anarchist militancy, strongly linked to union associations. The investigations also pointed out the protagonism of immigrants, mainly Portuguese who, under the accusation of anarchism, were deported. They would be 37 of the 59 foreigners deported for political offenses between 1919 and 1921. Research on such events, carried out in the documentation of the Ministry of Justice, mapped the phenomenon, but reading newspapers of the time point to new (and eventually discrepant) information about the role of the anarchists, as well as the leading role of the Portuguese proletarians, in the biggest wave of attacks ever witnessed in the then capital of Brazil.