Sindicato dos trabalhadores rurais de Araioses-MA: um estudo sobre sindicalismo rural na ditadura civil-militar (1968-1982)

Abstract

This paper looks at the history of the formation of the Sindicato dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras Rurais (STTR), in the state of Maranhão, which was founded on October 20, 1968 and recognized by a union charter from the Ministry of Labor in 1973, in the midst of the civil-military dictatorship. This union had a significant impact on the municipality, as it provided essential aid to the poorest population. The STTR provided medical, dental and even educational support for rural workers and their families at a time when such care was privately available in their lives. In dialogue with the bibliography on rural trade unionism in this authoritarian period, marked simultaneously by the force of repression and union welfare, this study sought to analyze the emergence of the STTR in Araioses and its relevance to the local population based on various historical sources, such as statistical data on the municipality, interviews with the founder and first president of the entity, as well as scattered documentation that was found in archives at the union's headquarters. Among the references used to develop this research are Nagasava (2021), Colleti (2019), Corrêa and Fontes (2016) and Medeiros (1989).