Mikhael Bakunin: Wanted by the Brazilian Police

from Revista Forum (translated by Terra Primeiro!)

An Article published on Monday (28) in the Folha de S. Paulo brings a revelation that is at least curious: the survey of more than 2000 pages, produced by the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro exposed 23 people responsible for organizing violent actions in street demonstrations, says the philosopher Mikhail Bakunin is a suspect. Russian is considered one of the fathers of anarchism. He also died in 1876,

According to the document, Bakunin was quoted by a protester in a message intercepted by the police. From there, he became classified as a “potential suspect.” The teacher Camila Jourdan, 34, one of the investigated, mentions this episode to demonstrate the fragility of the investigation. “From the little I’ve read, I can say that this process is a work of fantastical, shoddy literature,” she explains.

This is not the first time that a deceased intellectual figure appeared in case the Brazilian authorities. During the military dictatorship, Karl Marx was one of the blacklisted in the Department of Political and Social Order (DOPS), one of the principal organs of repression of political and social movements identified as “subversive”.

Jourdan was detained for 13 days in the prison complex of Bangu, in the west of Rio. Known for academic excellence at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), where he coordinates the graduate program in philosophy, she says she has been subjected to the inventions of the investigators. “There is a need to manufacture leads in such events. And who fits nicely in the role of intellectual mentor? The university professor. Fits like a glove, understand?” she says.

To challenge the “leading role” assigned to her by the police, the teacher draws on the theories of the French philosopher Michel Foucault. “Foucault says that the intellectual discovered that the masses do not need them as interlocutors. I have no authority to talk about the oppression of anyone. The movement does not need me for this role,” he says.