1968's Global Youth Revolt Examined Through Five Brazilian Lives
A retrospective article examines the global youth revolts of 1968 through the personal testimonies of five Brazilians who lived through the era. The piece frames 1968 as a year of synchronized global protest against authority, fueled by post-war demographic shifts, the Vietnam War, and assassinations of figures like Che Guevara, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy. In Brazil, the year was marked by the Passeata dos 100 Mil and the subsequent descent into dictatorship with the AI-5 decree in December. The narrative centers on five individuals: economist Ladislau Dowbor, who witnessed the Paris uprisings led by Daniel Cohn-Bendit; ex-guerrilheira Dulce Maia, who was imprisoned and tortured; Italian-born architect Luciano Devià, who participated in Turin's student-worker movements; therapist Tai Castilho, who navigated motherhood and political sympathy; and an unnamed writer who was imprisoned and exiled. The article contrasts the era's collective idealism with contemporary perceptions of depoliticization and ideological void, using these personal histories to explore the lasting behavioral, rather than political, legacy of 1968 on human relations and cultural expression.
Key facts
- 1968 was a year of global student revolts against authority.
- The post-war baby boom created a large, dissatisfied youth demographic.
- Key assassinations in 1967-68 included Che Guevara, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy.
- The Vietnam War, the first televised conflict, caused widespread anguish.
- In France, the movement began at the University of Nanterre and was led by Daniel Cohn-Bendit.
- In Brazil, major protests like the Passeata dos 100 Mil occurred in Rio de Janeiro.
- Brazil's Institutional Act No. 5 (AI-5) was enacted in December 1968, cementing military dictatorship.
- The article's analysis is built from interviews with five Brazilians who experienced 1968.
Entities
Artists
- Caetano Veloso
- Zuenir Ventura
- Che Guevara
- Martin Luther King
- Bobby Kennedy
- John Kennedy
- Nixon
- Jimi Hendrix
- Beatles
- Bob Dylan
- Carlos Lamarca
- Ricardo Ohtake
- Gil
- Vandré
- Chico Buarque
- Zé Roberto Aguilar
- Jorge Mautner
- Zé Celso Martinez Corrêa
- Flávio Império
- Rogério Sganzerla
- Glauber Rocha
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Ho Chi Minh
- Amílcar Cabral
- João Gilberto
- Tom Jobim
- Oscar Niemeyer
- Dante Alighieri
- Mussolini
- Marx
- Engels
- Lenin
- Vladimir Herzog
- Rudolph Steiner
- Sartre
- Campos de Carvalho
- Ziraldo
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Guevara
Institutions
- Universidade de Nanterre
- Escola de Lausanne
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC/SP)
- Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária (VPR)
- Vanguarda Armada Revolucionária (VAR-Palmares)
- Econsenso
- Teatro Maria Della Costa
- Instituto Tomie Ohtake
- Teatro Oficina
- Masp
- Casa de Vidro da Lina
- Festival de Nancy
- Penitenciária Feminina
- Carandiru
- Politécnico di Torino
- Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino (Fiat)
- Faculdade de Arquitetura do Politécnico di Torino
- Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
- Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
- Revista Palavra
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Nanterre
- Switzerland
- Lausanne
- Vietnã
- United States
- México
- Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro
- São Paulo
- Porto Feliz
- Europa Ocidental
- América Latina
- Gran Chaco
- Argentina
- Paraguai
- Cunha
- Serra do Mar
- Ubatuba
- Parati
- Floripa
- Florianópolis
- Santa Catarina
- Lagoa da Conceição
- Serra da Bocaina
- Brooklin
- Argélia
- Cuba
- Chile
- Bélgica
- Lisboa
- Guiné-Bissau
- Cabo Verde
- Mooca
- Torino
- Itália
- Roma
- Bérgamo
- Vila Beatriz
- Maranhão
- Barbacena
- Guanabara
- Minas
- Londres
- Estocolmo
- Bruxelas
- Quartier Latin
- Woodstock
- Recife
- Olinda
- Salvador
- Bahia
- Pernambuco