Political Militancy as Ethnic Identity in Brazil, 1960–80

This paper examines the armed struggle against Brazil's military dictatorship as part of a continuity of ethnic thinking in that country.  Put differently, political opposition to the dictatorship did not necessarily suggest that militants radically re-positioned certain hegemonic aspects of Brazilian culture.   My paper will examine ethnicity by examining the role of Brazilian Nikkei who were members of leftist groups.  The paper’s main subject is Shizuo Ozawa (Mario Japa) of the VPR and is based on documentary research and a series of oral histories.   The paper has a secondary focus a discussion of the methodological issues surrounding conducting oral histories with ex-militants.