Carlos Marighella: Theory and Practice of Revolutionary Nationalism in Brazil

Teoria e prática do Nacionalismo Revolucionário no Brasil

Abstract

The article reconstructs the political and intellectual trajectory of Carlos Marighella as an expression of Brazilian revolutionary nationalism, articulating socialism and sovereignty. Drawing on a Marxist framework and Gramsci’s notion of the “organic intellectual,” it argues that Marighella united theory and practice by proposing a revolution that was simultaneously socialist and patriotic, rooted in the contradictions of a dependent country. It highlights his critique of the PCB’s stagism, the formulation of urban guerrilla warfare as a tactical instrument subordinated to popular mobilization, and the influence of Cuba and Vietnam on his strategy. It contends that revolutionary violence responds to the structural violence of the bourgeois state and that breaking with imperialism, the latifundium, and the associated bourgeoisie is a condition of sovereignty. The “Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla” is examined as a theoretical-practical synthesis, along with his denunciation of the armed forces’ role in preserving class order. Emphasis is placed on Marighella’s militant ethic, his coherence between word and deed, and the ALN as the materialization of his project. It concludes that his legacy remains relevant in the face of neoliberalism, militarization, and dependency, proposing that he be repositioned within Latin American Marxism as a strategist, educator of the people, and martyr of a revolution that links national liberation to social emancipation.