Membership Required: Juventude Brasileira and Fascist Education in Brazil’s Estado Novo Dictatorship

Abstract

Brazil’s Estado Novo dictatorship (1938-1945) saw the establishment of a new national youth organization called Juventude Brasileira (Brazilian Youth). Founded by Hitler Youth-inspired bureaucrats, the organization’s operations show how profoundly fascism pervaded the inner-workings of this regime, and more generally, how much educational policy reflects the most foundational priorities of an authoritarian government. However, the persistent dissent against Juventude Brasileira, from within the Ministry of Education and ultimately by a dissatisfied public clamoring for democracy, also illustrates paths of resistance against authoritarianism.