PCB ACTIVITIES SINCE ITS ILLEGALITY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002600650002-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 26, 1999
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: April 27, 1949
• Content Type: REPORT

CLASSIFICATION 50-,Pdt::;l0_ TROT,
Approved For F,eW 1p.19%ECAVb~&P82-00
x,OUNTRY Brazil
:SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF INF
INFORMATION REPORT
CONFIDENTIAL
PCB Activities Since Its Illegality
25X1A
CD NO.
DATE DISTR.!
NO. OF PAGES 3
iii' 'R 1049
NO. OF ENCLS.
(WSTED BELOW)
ry, CIA L{b SUPPLEMENT TO
DEPORT Nn
The directors of the PCB opened an office at Rua 13 de Maio, the EdiIicio
Darke, in order to have a place to contact loyal members. The office serves
as headquarters for the 1Sovenent for Aid to Political Prisoners,' which is
directed by Abel Cherreont. This office and the office of the Frzceao
Parlamentar of the PC1 at 'lvenida Rio Branco 2577 server] as replacer-ents for
the following P0.:B groups which functioned in Rio de Janeiro prior to 1-lay 1947:
y
nature, they were not a - we
aimed at destroying the cells. PCB directors decided to eliminate cells in all
the large organizations and replace them by Commissions which would urge the
workers to demand raises and create an atmosphere of unrest.
3. An intensive program to Worm fronts under the guise of charitable, athletic?
recreational, and fer^inine organizations was followed. These groups have
served as substitutes for the cells. Within a y-ar the number of these
organizations, which were legally registered as civil societies, had reached
,100 throughout Brazil. The avers,-e number of members in each society is fifty
persons, of whom some are non-Co nnunists who were attracted by the ostensible
purposes of the organizations.
PCI'S activities.
2. With the closing of the PCB, the morale of its mmembers regis-
tration per cent of the members and sympathizers
tration '?r?s cancelled, the Party numbered 60,000 members and 300,000 sympa-
thizers. The Communists decided to carry on their activities through
"InDrovenent Committees" and "Progressive Committees" which took their names
from the section or suburb in which they ,-rere or anized. The number of these
comLAttees rose to about 350. Since these organizations w .re of a civic
the Electoral Court's decision, which was
f-' ted b
25X1X
1. When the registration of the Corrunist Party of Brazil (PCB) was cancelled on
7 11ay 1947, its members and directors were so intimidated by the new law and
by repressive police action that they acted with the utmost caution. However,
during the last three months of 194.8, in obedience to instructions issued by
Luiz Carlos Prestos in a manifesto, Communist agitators became openly active.
Party members abandoned their passive attitude in favor of ar essive and
boldly threatening measures. This change in polioy, which reached its climax
in December 1948, affected all the publications and extended to all clandestine
nrnnNTIAL
NSRB
FBI
daccmTerrtis-tn~rebp
CONFIDENTIAL in accordance with
letter of 1$ Octebsr 1978 frora
Director of Central Intelligence to
Archivist of the United States.
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Date: f By:
CLASSIFICATION
OFFICIALS ON3Tf!
 Approved For R'$`9/~'9?C'J4
b 57R00.26006500
ONFiDENJJA4
The National Corrtittee, together with the National Secretariat, the
Deliberative Council, and auxiliary groups.
b. The Metropolitan Committee.
c. Fifteen "fundanental" cells, directly under the National Co.-^Mittee.
d. Thirty-three district committees.
e. Two hundred thirty-seven shop cells.
f. Two hundred nine neighborhood cells.
5. The PCB has a group of fifty lawyers which it uses to assist any member who
is in difficulty with the courts of the political police. The attorneys work
closely with the Movement to Aid Political Prisoners.
a. Unable to elect representatives under its own name, the PCB has infiltrated
all other political parties with the exception of the Partido de Representacao
Popular (Inegralist Party). By doing this, it still has about fifty Party
merbera in various state or municipal governments. Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro,
the Federal District, Sao Paulo, I.ir_as Gerais, and Bahia are the states in
which the greatest Communist influence exists.
7. The Youth Resistance Movement was formed by the Communists to replace the
Juventude Commuiata which was outlawed with the Party. Justin Prestos, a
cousin of Luis Carlos Prestos, and a physician and agitator, directs this
organization.*** Most of the students participating in the Youth Resistance
Movement belong to other student organizations, of which the Uniao Ilacional
dos Estudantes (UPNE) is outstanding.
The PCB leadership is now located in the State of Sao Paulo and the following
persons comprise the National Committees Luis Carlos Prestes, Joao Amazonas,
Jose 1aria Crispim, I,auricio Grabois, and Pedro Carvalho Braga. There is a
State Committee composed of five persons in each state which directs municipal
and neighborhood committees. The latter, in turn, supervise the neighborhood
and shot commissions. Directors of the municipal committees live on a Party
salary and devote their entire time to PCB interests.
9. The Party was not very active in seeking the support of the rural population
until after its illegality, and then it encountered many difficu?_ties. The
Ligas Camponezas (Farm Leagues) did not realize much money for the Party, and
a new line of propaganda urging rural workers to go to the cities and earn
rare money was started. This line was quite successful, and farmers flocked
to the overcrowded industrial areas. This movement f'eilitated Party recruit-
rtent, but it also increased the scarcity of agricultural workers, thus damaging
the country's economy. The PCB ,had made use of a great deal of nationalist
propaganda, such as the Campaign for Defense of Petroleum, in its attempt to
so-cure the support of the masses.
10. The PCB has several important members abroad at the present time. These
include Armenia Guedes and Roberto Morena in the Western Hemisphere, and Jorge
mado, Pedro Carvalho Braga, Candido Portinari, Oscar Niemeyer, E1no Duarte,
Anibal Machado, Arcelina Mochel, Maria Portugal 1`illarrd,**** and Caio F.
-.-onteiro in Europe.
1.1. The principal support of the Party has been the press through! which standard
doctrines and current propaganda have been spread. The Communist press in
Brazil comprises 25 newspapers, 7 magazines, and 100 pamphlets. The pamphlets
receive a very limited circulation controlled by the editors themselves.
A Classe f7ne ar3 , a weekly, is the official and most important publication
and has a nation-wide circulation. All of the PCB publications are registered
`O,ROL UCOfffbMI`f'Ai
Approved For Release 1999/09/09 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002600650002-4
 ifCO:'TROL U. S. OFT ICIALS ONLY
Approved For lease 1999/09/09 : CIA-RDP82-00457R00260065000
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY *in
in the name of particular individuals rather than the Party; for example,
A Classe is registered in the name of Mauricio Grabois. The Communist press
is not self-sufficient because of a lack of facilities and is dependent upon
help from the Party. The Miovimento de Ajuda a Imprensa Popular (MAIP--
i"ovesuent to Aid the Popular Press) has been able to obtain only about 20 per
cant of the money necessary for press expenses and the Party has had to supply
the rest. At the time that it was declared illegal, the FOB had 30,000,000
cruzieros on hand.
12. In addi.tt.on to its publications the PCB has, two publishing houses which are
ostensibly cor!mercial firms, but which deal almost exclusively in Marxist
literature.***** Interpreas News Agency is also still owned by the Party
because it had not been registered in the name of the PCB.
13. After the police broke up the Communist-inspired peace conference on 9 April
1949, a report was received to the effect that both the police and the PCB
were planning to take more violent action. The PCB is believed to be planning
sabotage and other violence to be followed by a more aggressive propaganda line.
The police are expected to adopt more repressive measures and to raid the
UUniversidade do Povo before long.
25X1 A
C grv ent. *The rovement for Aid to Political Prisoners is also known
as the Commission of Soll.darity with Political Prisoners.
25X1A Co en . **The Fraccao Parlementar is under the direction of Diogenes
de Arruda Camara, a Communist Federal Deputy who was elected on the Partido
Social Progressista ticket..
25X1A . *i**Jiustino Prestes is identical with Antonio Prestes Menenzes,
former director of the Communist Associacao Brasileira de kssistencia Social.
25X1 A Cdr jen . ****Maria Portugal ; illard is identical with Maria
r' it f the Gertro Na.cional de
25X1A
Portugal Millu'ard,, a member of the ?dvisory 'ounc
?,st"dos a Defesa do Petroleo.
me t. *****These are Editorial Vitoria and Livraria Itaiatia.
,T COI'NTROL U. S. OF^ICIALS ONLY
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 1999/09/09 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002600650002-4