Samba and Surveillance: Censorship and Black Music in Brazil

The essay discusses the censorship and surveillance of samba schools, musical performances, and compositions in Rio de Janeiro during the Brazilian military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.
It focuses on the targeting of black political organization and the suppression of perspectives regarding black history and culture.
The author's research is supported by interviews with samba musicians and analyses of political police documents, displaying the extent of government control over discourses in music and the arts, which continued even after 1985.

Censorship is defined as a mechanism to protect people, as stated by Brazilian Minister of Justice Ibrahim Abi-ackel (1981).
Stephen Bocskay, the author, is a visiting assistant professor specializing in Brazilian cultural studies. He expresses gratitude to various samba musicians and cultural workers for their contributions and knowledge regarding samba and black culture in Brazil.

In December 2016, over 8,700 unpublished historic documents, including censored lyrics from the 1960s to the 1980s, were made public from Rio de Janeiro’s National Archive.
These documents highlight the relationship between government surveillance and popular music during the military dictatorship, marking a significant milestone in Brazilian music studies.
Previous archival research faces challenges due to the destruction of documents that occurred during past regimes.

The Departamento Geral de Investigações Especiais (Department of Special Investigations—DGIE) viewed samba schools as potential centers for communist elements beginning in the mid-1930s and identified growing black activist organizations as threats in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mechanisms of repression included police surveillance of samba performances, monitoring of rehearsal spaces, and enforcement of ideological guidelines on samba compositions (sambas-enredo).
The author contrasts the belief that censorship ended in the 1980s with evidence of its continuation in various forms even after 1985.

The ideology of "racial democracy" shaped public discourse since the 1920s, falsely asserting a lack of racial prejudice or discrimination in Brazil, leading to censorship of samba lyrics that challenged this narrative.
Lyrics addressing slavery, civil rights, and black aesthetics by artists such as Elton Medeiros and Cristóvão Bastos faced censorship for their depictions of black struggles.
The author emphasizes how censorship upheld state narratives of national identity while silencing black perspectives, particularly evident in the encounters samba musicians had with the Departamento de Ordem Política e Social (Department of Political and Social Order—DOPS).

Martinho da Vila, an Afro-Brazilian samba composer, states that nearly everyone was censored in Brazil during this period, illustrating the pervasive fear among musicians.
Censorship faced by Afro-Brazilians was heightened due to their association with leftist movements, complicating their demands for rights and identity.
This historical oppression reflects broader patterns seen in other Latin American countries during the same time.

U.S. intervention contributed to the establishment of bureaucratic-authoritarian regimes in Latin America. The U.S. aided Brazil's military government by helping create numerous police organizations mirroring the FBI.
These developments escalated state sanctions against perceived internal enemies, including activist groups and cultural expressions deemed a threat.

The military government implemented heightened control over samba schools, particularly after 1969 when Institutional Act 5 cemented these measures. All compositions needed approval from the political police, with artists facing severe repercussions for defiance.
Examples from interviews illustrate artists like Aluísio Machado being harassed for lyrics considered politically subversive or contrary to the state’s interests.
The ongoing scrutiny of samba schools illustrates a concerted effort to constrain not only artistic expression but the cultural identity of Afro-Brazilian communities.

Lyrics from prominent samba musicians that referenced slavery or racial themes became focal points for censorship. This suppression of discourse served to invalidate black cultural narratives.
The author points to specific instances where artists modified their lyrics to meet censorship requirements or faced documentation purely for expressing their cultural heritage.

The state’s continuous surveillance and censorship mechanisms reveal an ongoing legacy of repression against samba as a vehicle of black expression. This underscores a need for further archival investigation into the impacts of censorship beyond the formal end of the military regime.
The study exemplifies how samba and other cultural expressions are potent forms of resistance against oppressive narratives, representing the resilience of Brazilian culture amidst systemic repression.

Translations from original Portuguese are provided when necessary.
Sambas-enredo refer to samba compositions created for Carnival parades, narrating chosen themes.
"Black Rio" denotes a cultural community influenced by U.S. black culture, integrating various art forms that empowered black identities.
Censors frequently justified their actions under frameworks like the National Security Doctrine, targeting expressions they deemed threatening to public order or national ideals.