Entre arenas: o futebol na ditadura empresarial-militar e a construção dos estádios da Paraíba na década de 1970

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the relationship between football and the Brazilian Business- Military Dictatorship in the 1970s, specifically focusing on the simultaneous construction

of the "Almeidão" stadium in João Pessoa and the "Amigão" stadium in Campina Grande, both inaugurated in 1975. The research investigates how the sport was instrumentalized by the regime as a tool for propaganda, political legitimization, and national integration, culminating in the creation of the National Championship in 1971 and the subsequent demand for monumental arenas. The study examines the role of Governor Ernani Sátyro and the local disputes between the capital and the interior, demonstrating that these construction projects functioned as "gears of consent," serving the interests of construction companies and the federal developmentalist project, as well as the regional oligarchies of the ARENA party. Methodologically, the work relies on a critical analysis and triangulation of sources from the official, sports, and alternative press, as well as government documents, to understand the narratives of modernity and the silences imposed by censorship. Finally, the dissertation discusses the legacy of these buildings and historical memory, problematizing the tributes to figures of the dictatorial period present in Paraíba's urban toponymy.