Brazilian Integralist Action

Brazilian Integralist Action (A.I.B) →
God, Fatherland and Family
Political position	Fascism Integralism Third-Position
Leader	Plínio Salgado Gustavo Barroso Miguel Reale
Country	Brazil
Existence	1932–1937
Succeeded by	People's Representation Party
Affiliation	between 600,000 to 1 million members

The Brazilian Integralist Action (Portuguese: Ação Integralista Brasileira), abbr. AIB, was a political movement aimed at national renewal, a social movement with a fascist and traditional Catholic bent, and a third-positionist. It was inspired by Italian Fascism of Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile, Catholic Social Doctrine, and Lusitanian Integralism. Being founded by Plínio Salgado, a Brazilian writer and journalist, on October 7, 1932, along with the release of the manifesto with the same name, shortly after his visit to Europe.

Integralist Doctrine

The AIB doctrine advocated for the unity of classes living in harmony, asserting that each individual is valued for their work and sacrifice in service of society, the nation, and the family, without distinguishing people by race, "but by study, intelligence, honesty, progress in sciences, arts, technical skills," thus being corporatist. It also supported an authoritarian state based on the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church, arguing that the State should be free from international interests, which would be foreign to the Integral Family way of life, and instead be confined to the will of the people who would entrust the State with fraternal feelings, trust, respect, esteem, and prestige, contributing to corporatism.

The nationalism present contributes to the view that the Integral State should be free from any unhealthy foreign influence, without excluding the "sons of other countries" and their descendants who are in Brazil and work with the aim of contributing to the Brazilian Nation. The Action saw the problem as the excessive alien way of life that was endangering Europe and North America and was beginning to endanger Brazil, to the point where citizens no longer saw national authors and, as a result, "acquired cosmopolitan habits," conflicting with "all the difficulties and heroisms, all the sufferings and aspirations, the dream, the energy, the courage of the Brazilian people", causing the people themselves to devalue their own origins and glorify the foreigner. They also implicitly accuse separatists, stating that such individuals "prefer, in the face of the nation's disasters, to accuse Brazilians of being incapable, instead of confessing that the regime is [...] incapable." This nationalism also breeds resentment against communism ("which represents Soviet capitalism") and its imperialism. According to the Action, this nationalism is "to affirm the value of Brazil and everything that is useful and beautiful in Brazilian character and customs; to unite all Brazilians in one spirit [...] all those who still have in their hearts the love of their ancestors and enthusiasm for Brazil," invoking the "glorious traditions," asserting themselves as a strong, united people ready to claim a "deep awareness of our needs, character, tendencies, aspirations of the nation, and the value of a people".

It was against all kinds of secret conspiracy, stating that there is no idea that marches in the name of clear ideas that requires masks, but rather carries them "openly" and "proudly," saying that Brazil is already full of "conspiracies" in contrast to this, affirming that governments and politicians are dealing with momentary and immediate problems, therefore, in this way, they conspire. They argue that civilians and the military revolve around individuals due to the lack of clear programs, concluding that all programs are the same and individuals are separated by personal motives, leading to plotting against each other, while communism plots against them, confirming that they are extremely in favor of frankness and mental courage, family, property, religious morality, and direct participation of intellectuals in government. They emphasize the family as the foundation of the State, as for Integralism, the family is a "perpetual source of spirituality and renewal, simultaneously a projection of human personality," and they reflect that a man without a "family" is merely an economic entity associated with the State, causing his transcendental essence to cease to exist and forming only an automaton.

Relationship with races

The Brazilian Integralist Action viewed the issue in Brazil not as an 'ethnic question' but as an 'ethical question', thus it did not contribute to segregation or eugenics in the country, further distancing itself from the racial policies present in Italian fascism and German National Socialism. They still believed in a national unity composed of diverse races and ethnicities, based on Catholic values for the heterogeneous formation of national sovereignty and unity.

According to Gustavo Barroso, a prominent Brazilian writer and one of the three leading members of the Brazilian Integralist Action: "between us, anti-semitism cannot stem from a racist feeling, because the Brazilian is fundamentally opposed to any racism; however, precisely from this anti-racist sense. What keeps the world in constant shock, undermined by revolutionarism and terrorism, is exactly Jewish racism."

He still argues that Brazilians want the immigrant who assimilates into their environment and not the one who will live a "perfectly organized existence", that is, "forming a State within the State" and "offending" the Integralist "anti-racism" with their jewish "invulnerable racism".

Jewish question

Gustavo Barroso, being the greatest anti-Semite not only of the movement itself but also of Brazil, defines Integralism as a "fight against materialism and Judaism." However, it is important to analyze that he also suggests, quoting Fazekas Pal, that "if the Jews wanted to escape the curse and the wrath of the world, which increases day by day and marches against them, they should renounce their duplicity, their religious camouflage, their indecisive Zionism, seeking their salvation in integral Zionism."

He believes that Zionism (international Judaism) should be dealt with harshly and should not operate in the shadows of the country, forming the often-mentioned "State within a State." Instead, if the Jews residing in the country wish to continue living there, they must abandon this shadowy Zionism and align their interests with the sovereign national interests. This would be an "integral Zionism" from a strictly nationalist, anti-globalist, anti-communist, and anti-Masonic perspective, both organizations and ideas that the author repudiates and discredits as being, "documentedly" servants of the Jew.

Barroso was the translator of the very famous, "authentic," and "well-proven" book "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" into Brazilian Portuguese and the author of numerous documented books on the Jewish question in Brazil, being one of the ideologues of the doctrine. He defined that "reshaping the study, moralizing it, and airing it out to prepare generations of a different kind, capable of working for the greatness of Brazil." He exposed that "ignorant young people are agitated by unscrupulous communist demagoguery," and these individuals are "easily prey to cheap ideologies and work for their own enslavement, thinking they are acting for the demands of the masses." He references the protocols, citing them: "in order not to destroy Christian institutions before their time, we will touch them with skillful hands, securing for ourselves the driving springs of the mechanism. These springs were arranged in strict and just order; we replaced them with arbitrariness and disorder. We have reached: the judiciary, elections, the press, individual freedom, and above all, instruction and education, the cornerstones of free existence. We have mystified, imbecilized, and corrupted Christian youth through an education based on principles and sciences that we know to be false, but which we inspired."

He presents international Judaism as "undermining Christian society," and also says that "we live in a world invaded and parasitized by Israelites" and that, to end this, we need to prepare "the Brazilian people with documented evidence to understand the Jew's subterranean, hypocritical, and malevolent actions so that they can defend themselves from his insidiousness and gradually close the doors to him, in a way that forces him to leave our homeland, until this can be done more quickly and formally."

National Symbols

Sigma

The first notable symbol of the movement is the uppercase Greek letter "Sigma" (Σ), present on both the flag and the armbands. Its meaning consists of the "sum of the infinitely small". In the Roman alphabet, it represents the letter "S". This letter was chosen because it was an early representation of the word "God" for early Greek Christians, and also because it is the name of the South Pole Star. The symbol expresses the movement's sense of integrating the country's social forces into a "supreme expression of Nationality".

Flag

The movement's flag is subordinate to the Brazilian National Flag and can only be hoisted alongside it, on the left side of the observer (cf. Art. 16 & 17).

The Action's flag consists of a royal blue background, which means that integralism does not submit to petty political limits, evoking distances and symbolizing integral thinking, and a white sphere at its center, demonstrating the "purity of feelings and the sincerity of integralist purposes", with the Sigma symbol in black at the center of the sphere.

Green-Shirts

The uniform was one of the main characteristics of AIB members, consisting of a green English-style shirt with a buttoned collar, two breast pockets with buttoned flaps, and on the middle third of the left arm, a 9.5 cm white sphere with the Sigma symbol at its center. It was forbidden to wear the uniform in a sloppy or disheveled manner, and sleeves were not to be rolled up. The uniform also included a black tie, a green cap with a similar insignia to the shirt, black or white pants (khaki pants were allowed in rural areas), and black belt and shoes.

The girls wore the same uniform, but instead of pants, they wore black or white skirts in a "tailleur" style, and could also wear a "green-blouse".

For the Plinians (youth wing), the tie was replaced by a white scarf with a green leather or fabric passant, but they still wore black or white pants and a green cap.

The uniforms were mandatory for members holding positions in the movement while attending meetings or official events, or while exercising their duties. For ordinary integralists, the uniforms were only required during parades, concentrations, or when deemed necessary by the authorities.

Furthermore, when wearing the integralist uniform, members were prohibited from:

• Consuming alcoholic beverages in public places;
• Dancing (except for integralist gatherings where they were allowed to wear the green-shirt);
• Playing or watching games of chance;
• Frequenting dubious places.

It should be understood that even when not wearing the green shirt, an integralist who engaged in such activities was considered to be lacking in consciousness, and those who did so while wearing the uniform were seen as lacking respect, consciousness, and discipline. Above all, the Action was strict about the uniformity of its members.

See also

• Brazil - On anti-White policies starting in the 1930s.
• Integralism

Bibliography

• Ação Integralista Brasileira. "Protocolos e Rituais". 1937.
• Barroso, Gustavo. "Judaísmo, Maçonaria e Comunismo". 1937.
• Barroso, Gustavo. "O Integralismo e o Mundo".
• Salgado, Plínio. "Manifesto de 7 de Outubro de 1932".