A política externa de Caiação e Lima Barreto como contraponto literário: as lágrimas recorreram-me e eu pensei comigo: A pátria!

Abstract

This paper seeks to demonstrate the existence of whitewashing in Brazilian foreign policy at the emergence of the first republic, as well as providing Lima Barreto’s work as a literary illustration of and counterpoint to such political practice. The applied methodology consists of reviewing subject-specific literature and the elaboration of deductive hypotheses. Thus, gaps regarding racial studies are found in canon works in the area, followed by new approaches trying to highlight neglected issues. Regarding the use of the literary work, attention is brought to the context of its production and political background, while three literary formats were selected, namely i. romance, ii. tale, iii. chronic. The utilized works respectively were, i. Memórias do escrivão Isaías Caminha, ii. O jornalista, iii. A volta. The findings show the racial approach within the scope of foreign policy and follow the practice of whitewashing through the actions of agents such as Joaquim Nabuco and Barão do Rio Branco. The temporal context under discussion is represented by the modernisation of large Brazilian cities. Given the project of modernity, it was necessary to forge a whitened nation. Thus, one moves from the theories of the degeneration of the ‘mestiço’ (mixed race) to the convenience of racial democracy. Lima Barreto's work is used in order to illustrate each discussion through the elaboration of affections from its marginalized position.