Tempos sombrios e de resistência: a experiência das mulheres nas Forças Armadas de Libertação Nacional em Ribeirão Preto

Abstract

This research seeks to analyze - in the light of historical experience - aspects of the memory of female militancy against the Brazilian civil-military dictatorship (1964- 1985), based on the oral testimonies of Áurea Moretti Pires and Leila Bosqueto, former militants of the FALN, organization which operated in the city of Ribeirão Preto between 1966 and 1969, when it was dismantled by the repressive bodies of the dictatorial State. By entering clandestine organizations, women broke, at once, two hierarchies: gender and power and to do so, there were many barriers they faced. Imprisonment, torture, humiliation, sexual violence and forced disappearance were part of the female experience in resisting the civil-military dictatorship. The work is divided into four chapters; in the first, they contextualize the political issue of the 60s, covering everything from the coup to the establishment of the civil-military dictatorship, also emphasizing its consequences in Ribeirão Preto. We will also address, in general, the behavior and actions of the Brazilian left during this period, their projects, divergences, etc., giving greater focus to armed resistance, the result of this process. The second chapter covers the history of the FALN, its emergence, activities, struggle and dismantling project. It seeks to understand how the emergence of the FALN is the result of the extreme conservatism of the city of Ribeirão-Pretana. The third chapter seeks to analyze the female experience in armed struggle and the different facets of this action, highlighting the most varied forms of oppression to which they were subjected as they faced not only the dictatorship, but an extremely conservative and patriarchal society. Finally, in the fourth chapter we come into contact with the testimonies of Áurea and Leila, highlighting their trajectory and activism in the FALN. Their experiences, actions and life stories will be highlighted. We will also discuss the relationship between this dictatorial past and this present that brings reminiscences of this difficult period for women activists. Emphasizing how the last period of the Brazilian political situation were years of physical and emotional illness for these women, as they remembered a past where the wounds still bleed.