RECONSTITUTION OF THE MEMORY OF FASCISM IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT: THE AESTHETIC AND POLITICAL-DISCURSIVE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE BRAZILIAN INTEGRALIST FRONT AND THE BRAZILIAN INTEGRALIST AND LINEARIST MOVEMENT

Abstract

This article aims to comparatively analyze how two neo-fascist movements that compete for the legitimacy of the integralist legacy - the Brazilian Integralist Front [Frente Integralista Brasileira (FIB)] and the Brazilian Integralist and Linearist Movement [Movimento Integralista e Linearista Brasileiro (MIL-B)] - reconstitute the memory of historical integralism and Nazi-fascism in the digital environment. As a theoretical-methodological contribution, analysis tools from the areas of social sciences, aesthetic philosophy and linguistic politics were mobilized to help us understand the aesthetic and political-discursive expressions of the groups on digital platforms. This comparative analysis, focusing on the problem of memory, reveals compatibilities and differences in relation to the ideological configurations and political strategies of the neointegralist movements. We systematized the analysis based on three themes: a) nostalgia for the Integralist Chief, b) symbologies and c) references to Nazifascism and anti-Semitism. The nostalgic evocation of the memory of the Integralist leader, Plínio Salgado, is fundamental for both groups, bringing the mobilizations closer to the memory work of these rival movements. The dissemination of symbologies marks one of the biggest differences between the movements, that is, the conservative proposal of the FIB versus the original proposal of MIL-B. The way the groups reconstitute the memory of Nazifascism and antisemitism reveals another crucial difference: while the FIB rejects Nazifascism and antisemitism by reconstructing and “forgetting” the memory of the antisemitic integralist current led by Gustavo Barroso, the MIL-B admits the movement as fascist and adheres to antisemitism by approaching the Barrosian antisemitic integralist current.