João Batista Damasceno, TJ judgedisclosure
Published 05/04/2024 00:00
The 1988 Constitution states that the Federative Republic of Brazil is formed by the indissoluble union of States, Municipalities and the Federal District, constituting a Democratic State of Law whose foundations are, among others, the dignity of the human person and political pluralism. . These foundations of the Republic are under discussion at a time when the National Congress will include the name of Sailor João Cândido Felisberto in the Book of Heroes of the Fatherland. João Cândido led the Revolt of the Whip on November 22, 1910, demanding an end to whipping in the marujada, even after 22 years of the abolition of slavery and 21 of the Proclamation of the Republic.
The reason for the revolt was the 250 lashes on Marinheiro Marcelino. Admiral José Carlos de Carvalho, the only authority admitted to board, reported as follows: “They sent to my presence, Mr. President, a square that had been punished the day before yesterday. I examined that square and brought it with me ashore to be taken to the Navy Hospital. President, this companion’s back resembles a mullet speared to be salted”.
The Republic was proclaimed on 11/15/1889, and the following day Decree 03 was published, abolishing corporal punishment in the Navy. The decree was not accepted by officials. On 04/12/1890, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca issued Decree 328, creating the “Companhia Correcional”. The return of the lash to sailors was reinstated. Still in 1890, on June 28, the president issued a racist decree prohibiting the entry of African and Asian immigrants into Brazil.
João Cândido cannot be treated in light of indiscipline and the breakdown of hierarchy, when common sense in favor of human rights prevailed. In the same period, the officers were experiencing turbulent revolts and many of the officers who broke the hierarchy are today considered heroes by the Brazilian Navy. On 11/23/1891, we had the pro-monarchist Armada Revolt. On 12/13/1891 we had the Deodorista Uprising on the warship 1º de Março. On 09/05/1893, the battleship Aquidabã started the Armada Revolt, also of a monarchist nature.
I could cite dozens of military uprisings throughout the Republic, commanded by officers, which resulted in a breakdown of hierarchy and discipline. From the First Republic, we only need to remember the Tenentista Movement of 1922 and the Revolution of 1932. From the middle of the 20th century until now we have had the attempt to prohibit the inauguration of Juscelino Kubistchek, the uprisings during his mandate, the opposition to João Goulart’s inauguration in 1960, the coup of April 1, 1964, the attempted deposition of general-president Ernesto Geisel by his Army minister Silvio Frota until the Riocentro Case, in addition to many other acts, such as the transformation of barracks into torture centers, murders, disappearances, etc. .
The murder of Euclides da Cunha in August 1909 had inflamed the spirits of the 1910 electoral campaign. On one side was Rui Barbosa with his civilist campaign and on the other was Marshal Hermes da Fonseca, nephew of Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca. Rui Barbosa spoke about civil rights, which is why his campaign was civilist. This was opposed by the discourse of the use of force, espoused by the military and the militias of the existing National Guard. Electoral passions interpreted the civilist and militarist campaigns as if they were civilians against the military.
Hermes da Fonseca took office on November 15th. On November 22, while receiving foreign delegations at a dinner in Tijuca, around 2,400 sailors rebelled, led by João Cândido. They didn’t want to be whipped anymore. To the astonishment of the racist officers, the Black Admiral maneuvered the fleet with precision and elegance. This is what jurist Evaristo de Moraes wrote in his book ‘Reminiscências de um Rábula Criminalista’:
“When, at the beginning of Marshal Hermes’ government, the revolt led by João Cândido broke out, I admired, like all people free from prejudice, the technical skill of the improvised ‘admiral’, making the ships evolve, his disciplinary capacity, avoiding the drunkenness of his companions, and the generosity of which he demonstrated abundantly, not cruelly shooting at the capital of the Republic”.
The Battleship Minas Gerais, commanded by João Cândido, was the largest warship in the world. Upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro, at the beginning of April 1910, bringing the body of the Brazilian ambassador to the USA, Joaquim Nabuco, it was not the deceased nobleman that the press spoke about. Ambassador Gilberto Amado was excited about the arrival of the ship, more than the body of his deceased colleague. And the song adapted in honor of the battleship is the anthem of the State of Minas Gerais, the only state in the federation that does not have an official anthem. “Oh Minas Gerais! Oh Minas Gerais! Whoever knows you will never forget! Oh Minas Gerais!”
An attempt was made to eliminate João Cândido and his memory. On 12/05/2006, the newspaper O DIA revealed that the photograph on the cover of the book ‘João Cândido, O Almirante Negro’, published by the Museu da Imagem e do Som, in 1999, was of another sailor; by André Avelino. The error was maintained in other works. João Cândido, descendant of people who had been enslaved, is the part of real Brazil that insists on living without whipping. And he will live!
John the Baptist Damascene
PhD in Political Science
