Network of security chiefs watched over workers during the dictatorship – 02/06/2023 – Market

Industries and companies in the capital and metropolitan region of São Paulo, Vale do Paraíba and other cities in the interior and coast of São Paulo created an integrated network of security chiefs to spy on their workers during the military dictatorship, show documents from the Air Force.

The surveillance system also included information agents from various agencies, such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Federal Police and the military.

The espionage of this network ended up leading a group of workers to be branded as subversives, “enemies of the homeland”. Those who were laid off had difficulties obtaining replacement.

A report from the Air Force Information Service (Cisa) proves the existence and full functioning of this group, which was named the Community Security Center in the Paraíba Valley (Cecose-VP), in the 1970s and 1980s. on trade union leaders and activists.

Actions by Cecose-VP are reported in bulletin No. 042, of July 18, 1983, by Cisa. There are ten pages with information about meetings and assemblies of various categories of workers, including metallurgists, oil workers and workers in the chemical industry.

The first item of the document highlights a meeting organized by the head of security at Indústria Villares in the center, made up of “security elements and information from large companies”, on July 6, 1983. In addition to the reports, dismissals of workers were reported, following suggestions from the security chiefs present at the meeting.

The report stamped with the seal “confidential” has a stamp on the last page that describes the responsibility for the secrecy of the information. “The addressee is responsible for maintaining the secrecy of this document (art. 12 dec. No. 79.099/77, regulated by safeguarding confidential matters).”

In addition to representatives of Army units, the meeting also included heads of the Aerospace Technological Center (CTA), Civil, Federal and Military police and security chiefs from more than two dozen companies.

The text shows that at Vibasa (Villares Indústrias de Base), the objective was to dismiss “approximately 200 employees, from different professions”.

Petrobras’ security sector informed that the oil tankers “were planning for July 15, 1983, a movement that they called ‘DAY OF FIGHT’, the probable beginning of the general strike”.

The Air Force information service also reports the existence of a “Union Commission for the category that works at lunchtime, aiming at unionizing those who are not yet members of the same” within the former Engesa.

Engesa (Engenheiros Especializados S/A) was a company that operated in the military, oil and automobile sectors. In the 1970s and 1980s, in the midst of the military dictatorship, it became one of the largest companies in the Brazilian military sector, along with Avibras and Embraer. It went bankrupt in 1993.

A Confab representative informed the safety net about the dismissal of 318 people. “The Company’s current employees are contributing 1% of their salaries to an Assistance Fund for their colleagues who have been laid off,” he added. This is the Strike Fund.

Contrary to the layoffs, Ford reported that the “Taubaté Unit is hiring 100 employees, due to the manufacture of its new car ‘ESCORD’ (sic.)”.

Ericsson announced “a layoff of approximately 480 employees for September 1983”. The then state-owned Telesp highlighted that its employees were in “a state of strike”.

Another print from the military dictatorship’s information organs shows that “the Cecose-VP has the habit of meeting monthly in different places, with the purpose of exchanging data on property and industrial security”.

The CNV (National Truth Commission), in its final report presented in December 2014, concluded that there was a state policy supporting the practice of illegal and arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, executions, forced disappearances and concealment of corpses against the population civil.

Characterizing them as crimes against humanity, he made 29 recommendations to the Brazilian State with the objective that criminal practices would not be repeated and that democracy and its institutions would be improved.

However, there is no recommendation on the collaboration of companies and entrepreneurs with the organs of repression during the dictatorship. Neither was the need for further investigations mentioned so that civil and business agents who collaborated with the military could be held accountable.

Part of the studies on the Brazilian military dictatorship have sought to identify the civil sectors that supported the 1964 coup and the dictatorial regime. Recent surveys show that civil support was given mainly by certain national and multinational companies headquartered in the country. These reflections demonstrate that there was specific civil support for the coup and the dictatorship, led by a business community with extremely high purchasing power.

The CNV dedicated itself to understanding the nature of this relationship through diligences, listening to testimonies and seminars. The main conclusion was that businessmen used the repressive framework of the dictatorship to coerce workers, including directly financing torture practices.

The CNV recommendations, however, do not present specific suggestions for this topic, points out the Vladimir Herzog Institute.

OTHER SIDE

Villares Metals, the current name of the former Villares e Vibasa, informs that “it does not condone such acts and is unaware of any activity of this nature”, referring to the practice cited in the report by the Air Force’s information sector.

General Motors responds that “it is a company that defends democracy, respects the legislation in the countries where it operates and follows strict compliance rules around the world. There is no history that the company has been involved in related activities during the dictatorship period. military in Brazil. We reiterate our commitment to democratic ideals and reflect these values ​​in all our operations”.

Avibras says that “there are no records of this matter (reports of collaboration with repression bodies during the dictatorship) in the company’s archives”. The company’s press office also states that “the professionals who, by chance, could have worked in this group have already died, that is, we are unable to provide information about it”.

Another negative comes from Rhodia: “Rhodia’s management is unaware of the matter and has no comments to make about it”.

The press office of Usiminas, the current controlling shareholder of Cosipa, informed through a note that the former state-owned steel producer in Cubatão “was privatized in August 1993, when Usiminas joined its shareholder structure. Therefore, the company does not have what comment” on the events that occurred during the military dictatorship.

Confab was incorporated by an international company and operates in the city of Pindamonhangaba. There was no response from the company or the media relations department. Also contacted, Caterpillar, Embraer, Ericsson, Ford, Johnson & Johnson, Petrobras and Scania did not respond to questions in the report.