Apolônio de Carvalho (9 February 1912 – 23 September 2005) was a Brazilian socialist and military officer important in the history of the

Workers' Party (Brazil) The Workers' Party (, PT) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Brazil, political party in Brazil that is currently the country's ruling party. Some scholars classify its ideology in the 21st century as social demo ...

. Due to his communist ideals, Carvalho was expelled from the

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

and left for Spain to fight alongside the republicans in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and afterwards against the Nazis in occupied France, reaching the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the French Army. Considered a hero in France, he was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

among other decorations for bravery.

Biography

Carvalho was born in

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

into a military family of working-class origin. His father was from northeastern Brazil and his mother was a gaucha from the south of the country. At the age of 18 he joined a military school and became an officer, but his sympathy for the common people led him to take part in an unsuccessful insurrection with the , which he had joined in 1935. He was arrested and imprisoned, and upon his release in 1937 he became a member of the

Brazilian Communist Party The Brazilian Communist Party (), originally the Communist Party of Brazil (), is a communist party in Brazil, founded on 25 March 1922. Arguably the oldest active political party in Brazil, it played an important role in the country's 20th- ...

. Soon after his release Carvalho joined the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

in Spain, thus using his military training to fight

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. In 1939, after General Francisco Franco's victory, he fled to France and soon became involved with the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. Though he was at one time captured and tortured by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, he later escaped and became a

leading 2000 men, and at the end of the War was awarded the

. Carvalho returned to Brazil and partook in an attempt to depose dictator Getuilo Vargas, and was subsequently stripped of his position as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

. After the 1964 military coup he criticised the Brazilian Communist Party for refusing to engage in guerilla warfare, as well as for their authoritarian and instrumental methods. In 1967 he was finally expelled and founded the Brazilian Revolutionary Communist Party a year later to continue armed struggle against the dictatorship. He was arrested and tortured, but released and sent into exile in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in 1970 in exchange for , the German ambassador who had been taken hostage by leftist guerillas. In 1979 Carvalho returned to Brazil as the military dictatorship had become weaker, and took part in forming the Workers' Party (PT) the following year. He was also for a time its vice president. He died in 2005, at a time when his party was in power but had accommodated neo-liberal economics and was accused of corruption. The week he died, many members of the Workers' Party were tearing up their membership cards – of which his was the first (0001). He himself, however, believed that the party could be reclaimed.

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* * * 1912 births 2005 deaths People from Corumbá Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians Brazilian expatriates in France Brazilian expatriates in the Soviet Union Communist members of the French Resistance {{Brazil-politician-stub Brazilian expatriates in Algeria 20th-century Brazilian military personnel International Brigades personnel Brazilian communists

Biography

See also

Footnotes

External links