The Sailors' Revolt was a conflict between Brazilian Navy authorities and the Association of Sailors and Marines of Brazil (AMFNB) from 25 to 27 March 1964, in Rio de Janeiro. AMFNB members, a welfare and trade union organization, were not armed and revolted to demand changes in the navy, counting on the mutual support of left-wing movements. The navy besieged them at the Metalworkers' Union, and the crisis spread to the Navy Arsenal and ships. Its outcome, negotiated by president João Goulart's government, outraged the perpetrators of the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état, just a few days later, and was thus one of its immediate antecedents.
The AMFNB was part of the in Brazil's Armed Forces (low military ranks) in the early 1960s, also responsible for the 1963 , in which many of its members participated. It was a class association for a poor sector, with hard working conditions, deprived of rights such as voting and marriage, and marked by social inequality in relation to the officers. Founded in 1962, its president in 1964 was the sailor José Anselmo dos Santos, known as "Corporal Anselmo". In those two years it acquired thousands of members and a more combative leadership, coming closer to president Goulart and leftist organizations, as well as becoming interested in issues outside the navy, such as the . Officers were afraid of their possible indiscipline, and their politicization was not tolerated, unlike the political activities of the officialdom.
The association's second anniversary, on the 25th, was celebrated at the Metalworkers Union. Upon receiving news of the arrest of its directors for statements made on the 20th, those present at the celebration decided to remain in an assembly until a series of demands was fullfiled. The Minister of the Navy, , decreed strict readiness, which required the sailors' presence in their units, but they disobeyed. This disobedience did not constitute an armed movement. On the 26th, the minister decided to invade the union with marines reinforced by the army. The Marine Corps commander, admiral , was dismissed from office due to his refusal to attack. Subsequently, the first attempt failed as some marines joined the rebels, while the second attempt was cancelled to allow the president to negotiate. There were clashes and sabotage on ships, and sailors were shot at in the Navy Arsenal. The left was generally in favor of the rebels, while the officialdom was against them. Goulart ended the confrontation by giving amnesty to the sailors and appointing to the Ministry of the Navy. Together with his attendance on the 30th at the meeting at the Automóvel Club, his decision was harshly criticized by the opposition and seen by officers as connivance with the breakdown of military discipline, thus strengthening the support base for the military coup that overthrew him at the end of the month.
The revolt is related to the 1910 Revolt of the Lash, as was already felt at the time. After the coup, those involved were expelled or retired from the navy and prosecuted in the Military Court. A politicized nucleus, led by former directors, joined the guerrilla organizations against the military dictatorship, but without losing the cohesion of the AMFNB times. "Corporal Anselmo" collaborated with repression bodies during the period, raising the accusation that the revolt in 1964 was the work of agent provocateurs working for the coup plotters; this is disputed by more recent historians. After the , former sailors and marines fought for years in court and in Congress to obtain compensation and reinstatement to the paid reserve with promotions, organizing themselves into the National Mobilization Unit for Amnesty (UMNA). Demands from the AMFNB, such as the right to vote and marriage, ended up being met later, and the status of low-ranking officers changed.
Background
Recruitment in the navy
The 1964 rebels joined the Brazilian Navy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. At that time, the lower ranks were organized into the Navy Lower Personnel Corps (CPSA), responsible for manning the ships, and in the Marine Lower Personnel Corps (CPSCFN). The CPSA, more numerous, recruited young men through volunteering, conscription and mainly through the Seaman Apprentice Schools, located in Pernambuco, Ceará, Bahia and Santa Catarina. Thus, the majority of sailors came from poor families, with relatives in the countryside, from Northern and Northeastern Brazil, seeking social advancement in the navy. Recruitment was publicized in the countryside. Sailor Antônio Duarte recalled the pamphlets with the following message, which he considered misleading: "in the navy you will have the opportunity to see the world. Through promotions, reach the officialdom".
At the Seaman Apprentice Schools, education was both military and technical, and the pressure was great. The sailors of the 1960s were "specialized workers", involved in calculations, maneuvers and complex machines, and therefore, belonging to a diverse body, divided into many specializations. Just like in 1910, at the time of the Revolt of the Lash, the navy was undergoing re-equipment. Although the new equipment was second-hand, it already represented a technological advance, and therefore, required greater qualification of sailors.
The sailors' condition
Most of the ships, and therefore the enlisted men, were in Rio de Janeiro. The reality in this city, where they lived without support from their families, was different from what they had expected. The working conditions, housing, and food were harsh. The sailors lived in rented rooms, in groups, in poor neighborhoods (especially near the port area) or inside military units, especially on the ships, where the "chronics" or "barnacles" resided, as the on-board work required absolute availability. During vacations, since their earnings were very small to visit their families, they sought temporary jobs. On the other hand, there was a romantic fascination with this adventurous life; for example, Avelino Capitani recalled the pride with which he was received when he returned to his hometown in Rio Grande do Sul's countryside, dressed in his sailor uniform.
Leisure options were scarce. Many got involved with drugs, prostitutes (the "low prostitution"), and petty crimes. The stereotype of the sailor was that of an "individual detached from society with dubious morality, a frequenter of brothels, violent, a drug addict, and an alcoholic". This negative image was old, and the prejudice was accentuated by the large number of black and mixed-race sailors. In November 1964, the Minister of the Navy mentioned, in a document to the President of Brazil, the "concentration, here in Rio – the main support base of our naval forces – of single sailors and marines, away from their families, without the convenient social and family environment, and thus exposed to the known deviations of frequenting places that are not conducive to the development of young people's formation".
The reference to singles is linked to a restriction: sailors, soldiers, and corporals could only marry after years of service and with the officers' permission. The restrictions went beyond work. In public, the enlisted men were required to wear their uniform, even off-duty, exposing them to social stigma. They had no right to vote or run for office. Violating the Navy's Disciplinary Regulations was not punished with physical punishment, as in 1910, but the demands remained strict. Career continuity depended on the subjective evaluation of the officers, who could even require details of their subordinates' personal presentation. Thirty points lost in the record book resulted in exclusion from active service. Accounts from sailors emphasized how punishments could be arbitrary; an officer's favor or interests could be decisive.
For officers, the rigor was less. The social gap between them and the enlisted men was wide. Officers historically had an elitist recruitment and aristocratic profile, and maintained their privileges in food, accommodation, and other aspects of daily life. Even non-commissioned officers and sergeants were above of corporals and sailors, enjoying a much higher pay. A system of courses allowed for advancement in the hierarchy, but studying was difficult, especially for those on board. Promotion to 3rd sergeant depended on a professional and military knowledge exam, with a high failure rate. Only two attempts were allowed for corporals.
When promoted to sergeant, the black shoes and belts of the lower ranks' main uniforms were replaced by new white ones. The Sailors' Revolt would occur within the "black shoes" segment. For one of them, Avelino Capitani, the conflict with the naval authorities originated in the perpetuation of the "old and archaic social command structure," while another, Antônio Duarte, did not believe in the navy's discourse, which exalted the institution's revolutionary transformation over time. Frustration, discontent, unity, and the habit of resisting the adversities of naval activity led this segment to organize.
AMFNB and the navy
The "fuzinauta" association This period, the first half of the 1960s, was a time of great mobilization in Brazil, with groups such as students, trade unionists, artists, organized peasants, communists, and the Catholic youth. As part of this social unrest and linked to other forces, movements emerged from the lower ranks of the Armed Forces, such as sergeants, corporals, and soldiers. Typically left-wing, with nationalist and reformist ideologies, they organized themselves into class associations, including the Association of Sailors and Marines of Brazil (AMFNB), founded on 25 March 1962 by sailors and marines, up to the rank of corporal. This group is also referred to as the "fuzinauta" association or movement, emphasizing the common cause of sailors and marines. Several of its founders were more educated and politically informed individuals who followed the example of the sergeants’ and stewards’ associations, already recognized by the navy.
The "fuzinauta" movement was initially disconnected from left-wing movements, and its focus was "more on demands than politics". Of the seven objectives listed in its statute, five were social welfare-related. It provided "medical and legal assistance, the development of educational incentive projects with partnerships that enabled access to classrooms, basic etiquette courses, English language courses, recreational activities (dances, football, and city tours), and help for those wishing to abandon vices such as gambling and alcoholism", in addition to housing for those who missed transport. Only two of the goals were specific to members; the rest were aimed at the lower ranks as a whole.
This social welfare activity filled the gap left by the navy's almost nonexistent social assistance. A milestone in the development of the AMFNB was the involvement of social worker Erica Bayer in Roth, starting in October 1962. As director of the Social Service Directorate, she turned to public services and volunteers and organized a legal department and sections on Health, Family, and Education. With the permission of the secretary of social services of the State of Guanabara, Sandra Cavalcanti, the members renovated a state school, where they began receiving night classes from university students. Roth herself taught philosophy. She earned the nickname "godmother of Brazil’s sailors".