Carleton University Edgard Leuenroth - The Formative Years, 1881-1917: Exploring Anarchist Ideology in Sao Pauio through Critical Biography A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Institute of Political Economy by Matthew Lymburner Ottawa, Ontario July 2008 © 2008, Matthew Lymburner Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-43476-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-43476-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada Abstract This thesis studies the growth of anarchist ideology in Sao Paulo, Brazil between 1881 and 1917 through the partial biography of one of its main adherents, Edgard Leuenroth. It advances a specific methodological form of biography, dubbed 'critical biography' that aims to explore the 'negative space' of Leuenroth's life, alongside the 'positive space' that biographies have traditionally focused on. Chapter 1 sets up the ideological landscape by examining the specific beliefs of Edgard Leuenroth and provides a schematic for thinking about how ideological identity is produced. Chapter 2 charts Leuenroth's life from birth to age 36, providing arguments that explain the origins of Leuenroth's anarchist beliefs along the way. The final chapter moves to a higher level of abstraction, exploring some of the structural factors contributing to the growth of anarchism in the state, as well as the country more generally. u Acknowledgements Needless to say, this thesis would certainly not exist right now if it were not for the direct and indirect help of countless people. First, I would like to thank the Arquivo Edgard Leuenroth, specifically Maria Cimelia Garcia and Silvia Rosana Modena Martini for their diligent efforts in creating the "E-Album", an online biographical compilation and search instrument for Edgard Leuenroth and his archive. Their work served as both a starting point and a guide that I followed throughout my thesis project, without which I would certainly have gotten lost in the sheer size of the project. I must also thank the people at Carleton University's Interlibrary Loans, in particular Christine Taylor, Callista Kelly, and Margaret McLeod for research assistance, and helping me obtain so many key texts that made this project possible. Alongside the Carleton library staff, my thanks go out to the employees at the Centre for Research Libraries who procured a selection of the very costly Latin American Anarchist and Labor Periodicals microfilm collection for my specific use. I would also like to acknowledge Maria Gon§alves for her help in proofreading some of the earliest translations I made. Her assistance gave me the confidence that I was capturing the importance of the message contained in each translation. Of course, any subsequent errors are my own. This thesis would have not been possible without the immense moral, financial and institutional support of the Institute of Political Economy, specifically Donna Coghill & Rianne Mahon. The work they do in shaping and honing the minds of the students who become a part of the Institute is inspirational. I would also like to thank all of the students in my cohort, especially Eliot Che, Emma Lui, Jim Dooley, Jason Wenczler, David Cavett-Goodwin, Allan Bevan, as well as Robyn Green, Benjamin Christensen, and those in the cohort after me. Whether the discussions were on the topic of my thesis or on something wholly different, the fruits of them will stay with me forever. Cristina Rojas, my supervisor, deserves great thanks for her patience and careful prodding to get me on a more focused track. Her assistance in helping me meet my personal deadlines took a big load off me when I was burdened the most. Blair Rutherford and Rianne Mahon also deserve extra thanks for their insightful comments, tough questions, and careful attention to detail as members of my committee. Special thanks go to both my parents for their assistance along the way, financially, morally and editorially. Together they can claim credit for the best of this thesis (I reserve the worst for my own shortcomings). Finally, the greatest thanks must go to Yumi, whose dedication as my proofreader, confidante, motivator - and biggest critic - ensured that the final product was completed in a timely fashion, and whose love and emotional support ensured that my stress level remained as low as it could during this whole process. To everyone, and to all that I missed here: thank you. 111 Table of Contents Introduction: Why Biography? 1 Dilemmas of Biography: Lies, Silences, Sources and Scope 4 Critical Biography as Concept and Method 10 Looking to the Future: Variations of Critical Biography 13 Thesis Outline 14 Chapter 1: The Production of Ideological Identity: Conceptualizing the Anarchism of Edgard Leuenroth 17 Anarchism: A Philosophy and Praxis against Arbitrary Power 18 Principle and Praxis: The Anarchism of Edgard Leuenroth 21 Intersections: Biography, Identity, Ideology 27 The Production of Ideological Identity: Edgard Leuenroth 32 Chapter 2: Edgard Leuenroth: Formation and Growth, 1881-1917 39 I 40 II 50 III 62 Chapter 3: The Structural Origins of Anarchism in Brazil 83 Mass Immigration, Anarchist Texts, and Homegrown Ideology 85 Transitional Industrialization, Class Relations, and Urban Dislocation 90 The Old Republican State: Repression, Representation, and the Diffusion of Authority 95 Brazilian National Identity(ies): Contesting Cultural Space 100 Conclusion: Connecting Structure to Agents 105 Conclusion: Between New and Old: Arguments and Scholarship 108 Anarchism and 'Race': New Avenues for Scholarship 108 Three Arguments on Three Levels 111 List of Works Cited 114 IV List of Figures 1.1 Fundamental Synthesis of the Bases of Anarchism 26 1.2 Factors Influencing Ideological Identity Formation 33 List of Illustrations 2.1 The house where Edgard Leuenroth was born and spent his earliest years 41 2.2 Edgard's father's pharmaceutical prescription pad 49 v Introduction: Why Biography? When I first decided to write this biography of Edgard Leuenroth, I expected to undertake a challenging and fulfilling task that would culminate in a new sheaf of knowledge for English-speaking readers about a historically important, yet understudied Brazilian personality. The journey has far exceeded my expectations, both in the immense difficulties it has thrust in front of me, as well as in the satisfaction, and relief, of tentative completion -1 leave it for the reader to decide whether I have succeeded in shoring up new knowledge or not. However, along the way, evidenced in both the significant alterations to my original proposal, and in a slow subjective and reflexive engagement with my method, my theoretical lens, and even the utility of my endeavor, I have had the opportunity to contemplate questions much larger than those contained within the scope of my thesis. These larger questions, I think, form a suitable backdrop for what is to come, and I would like to explore them briefly here. In the process, I seek to explain the merits and shortcomings of what I dub 'critical biography', and ultimately, just what it is I have tried to do in these pages. The inspiration for this project came out of three personal passions: Brazilian history, political economy, and anarchism. While the recent growth in Republican-era Brazilian social historiography has been impossible to miss for historians of the region, there has also been a smaller "boom" in labor studies, pointed out by John D. French1. Yet few in this period of renewed interest in the Brazilian labor movement have 1 John D. French. "The Latin American Labor Studies Boom". International Review of Social History 45. 2000. pp. 279-308 1 2 made anarchists their focal point . John W.F. Dulles' Anarchists and Communists in Brazil, 1900-1935, published in 1973, largely remains the core English-language text documenting anarchist contributions to the labor movement. As comprehensive as this work is, its shortcomings were well noted soon after its publication. In a 1977 review, Ronald Chilcote pointed out that the book made "little effort.. .to draw conclusions and findings" , while Michael M. Hall berated it for failing to recognize the limitations of political history, calling it "rather disappointing and frustrating"4.