Maracatibean Conflict

The Maracatibean Conflict also known as Maracatibean Internal Conflict (in : Conflito Interno Maracatibenho / in Kwaba: Mbarakatyba'pupê Marara) is a low-intensity asymmetric armed conflict between  the Maracatibean government,, groups of  and other paramilitary groups. It started in 1956, when the People's Vanguard Army carried out a series of attacks against the facilities of the Raymundo Cunha dictatorial government. Between 1956 and 1960, it was considered a major internal war, but it decreased due to the superiority of the Maracatibean government. In 1986, President Ernesto Nonato's government, first after the redemocratization, signed a peace agreement with People's Vanguard Army, in which its members would be amnestied. Despite provocating several criticisms, the agreement was effective in reducing the deaths caused by the conflict.

The Maracatibean government considers the war to end in 1986, with subsequent fighting being considered a "tributary crisis". In addition to People's Vanguard, the war had the participation of the Itaguaçu Group - an paramilitary organization associated with the Maracatibean mafia - the Popular Liberation Front - an  group - and more recently the Maracatibean Liberation Army  dissidents from the  PVA.

Background
In 1944, the People's Republic of Maracatibe was dissolved after a coup d'état by General Henrique Martins de Aquino. At that time, the socialist government, which lasted 18 years, lost popularity due to the bloody oppression of Ivo Aguiar and the deterioration of the quality of life, mainly with the scarcity of food and the inaccessibility of various goods. Even so, the regime had several supporters, including within the army itself. The PRM's continued support led to a series of battles against troops from the provisional government and troops loyal to the socialist state, but after three months, the magazines ceased.

The People's Vanguard party was outlawed, and its members had all their political rights revoked. Dictator Ivo Aguiar was killed in his cell (the military claimed it was because he tried to resist). Despite the initial instability, the democratic government managed to last for another 12 years, until President Cláudio Mendonça would be overthrown by another coup, this time led by General Raymundo Cunha. The coup d'état occurred because, according to accusations, Mendonça was plotting the restoration of the socialist regime, and one of those indications was to try to return People's Vanguard to legal status.

The People's Vanguard members then formed the People's Vanguard Army, with the aim of overthrowing the dictator Raymundo Cunha and restoring the socialist regime they had led between 1926 and 1944.

War (at dictatorship period)
Through the "Red" Radio and Newspapers (PVA supporters), its members, linked to unions and landless groups, took up arms to fight the government. Important support was given by the governors of Morucá and Pioca, Timótio Coelho and Íris Fernandes, who did not recognize the new government. These governors facilitated access to weapons and would guarantee an important starting position for the PVA.

The first fighting, between 1956 and 1960, was intense, as the socialists controlled vast tracts of land that included entire cities, with industry and supporting infrastructure. It took a year for the government of Pioca to be overthrown and its capital seized.

In Morucá, the socialsits also resisted well, and even after the provincial government recovered in 1956, the PVA controlled several municipalities. In 1960, all territories controlled by the People's Vanguard Army were recovered by the central government. Experts say that between 1956 and 1960, more than a third of all deaths in the conflict occurred.

Rural war
After 1960, the PVA continued to act, through guerrilla tactics. Especially in small towns and rural areas, urban fighting was part of everyday life. The guerrillas had camps in the middle of the dense Maracatibean jungle, and also hid in the homes of ordinary people, who provided shelter for these soldiers and also hid arms and money. The most successful attacks were against large farms. The guerrillas of the People's Vanguard Army invaded the farms and took the owners hostage, often subjecting them to torture for several days in captivity. As this occurred in isolated areas, the government often did not even know what happened.

Executions of landowners (which often included their entire family, even children) were also very common. The farms conquered became collective farms for rural workers sympathetic to the movement, and their reconquest was often costly and always involved a high number of casualties. Extortion of the farmers was one of the main sources of income for the PVA. On farms where the conquest was very difficult or unfeasible, it was common for guerrillas to set crops on fire at night to generate losses. The burning of farmers' houses was also common.

To make it more difficult for the central government to act, terrorists carried out major attacks on communication stations, eletricity generation plants and electricity distribution stations, which made blackouts very frequent. With tons of explosives, in September 1971, People's Vanguard Army blew up an entire hydroelectric plant, leaving half of Trindade province without electricity. Attacks against more than 70 thermoelectric plants also occurred, with half of them causing major damage, and in 1/5, the thermoelectric plants were completely destroyed (mostly by fires and bomb attacks). It is estimated that at least half of all Maracatibe railroads have suffered some form of attack from People's Vanguard Army or other guerrilla groups. In one third of these attacks, serious damage was caused (such as the destruction of long stretches and the explosion of bridges, which caused the line to stop).

Cargo assault
The PVA also made attacks on moving freight trains, with the aim of obtaining supplies, money or simply causing damage to the enemy.

Road robbery was extremely common, and one of PVA's main sources of income. Trucks, mainly on interior highways, were approached by pickup trucks with men armed with assault rifles and sometimes launched rockets. The truck stopped in a forest area, where the cargo was stolen by the PVA. In addition to these assaults, there were lighter forms of extortion, which were the "Red Tolls". In it, the trucks, buses and cars of ordinary people were to contribute money or cargo to the PVA, under threat of kidnapping or torture. People who simply advanced the blockade had their vehicles shot. If the car was a luxury car (or if there was another characteristic that denotes high social class), the passengers were kidnapped, and a ransom was required.

Car theft was frequent. The vehicles were taken to areas where they would be dismantled and their parts resold in the illegal market, constituting yet another important source of income for the PVA.

War at sea and in rivers
Guerrillas also assaulted cargo carried by vessels on rivers and even in the open sea. The country's main waterways were haunted by the presence of pirates, mounted on speedboats with light machine guns and sometimes anti-aircraft weapons and rocket launchers. By the rivers, the guerrillas reached the sea, and if they managed to pass through the coast guard, they went on to assault larger cargo ships. There they obtained more cargo to supply the smuggling network, and became increasingly wealthy. Several deaths were caused by these events.

Urban warfare
Urban warfare focused on attacks on power grids, factories and government buildings. It was very common that there was a lack of energy, either due to the destruction of a few poles or even a fire to the distribution centers. The factories also suffered several bomb attacks and fires during the night, causing millions in losses and scaring investments in the country.

City halls, municipal legislative assemblies, police stations and armed forces bases were the main targets of the PVA. Prisons were also raided for the release of members. This made the profession of police and military extremely dangerous, as armed combat with guerrillas was a daily reality in small and medium-sized cities in the interior of the country. The guerrillas also plundered and burned newspaper headquarters of government supporters. Several journalists, politicians, high-ranking military personnel and other influential people have had to receive special protection from the government due to frequent attacks on their homes, which often involved murders and the incineration of these houses. Bank robberies were also an important source of income for terrorists, and were largely carried out by revolutionaries.

Smuggling
Assets obtained in robberies were sold on the black market, often going abroad. It is estimated that the activities of the PVA and other far-left armed groups were responsible for 70% of all movement in the smuggled market. Weapons were also widely trafficked. Through the Ichocó Cartel, People's Vanguard Army indirectly received money from drug trafficking.

The anarchist organization People's Liberation Front was reportedly linked to drug trafficking through various marijuana and cocaine production facilities across the country. Only PLF was responsible for a fifth of the entire illegal drug market, which was even the main source of income for the group, since PLF did not have abundant resources for major attacks such as PLA.

Groups other than People's Vanguard Army
In 1964, the PVA deputy leader, Tomás de Caminha, had several differences with the group's command. These divergences were not based on ideology, but it is known that the Maracatibean Liberation Army was more open to other socialist strands than the PVA, and for this reason it received a large number of dissidents. The first MLA was extinguished in 1981, when it merged with PVA again.

The People's Liberation Front was founded in 1967 by the anarchist wing of the PVA. The PVA leadership declared that "there was no room for anarchists" in the group, and then anarchists began to differ from that leadership, initially seeking an internal revolt. Many of these reformers were killed by the PVA itself, which is why they created the People's Liberation Front, which, unlike the MLA, considered PVA as a major enemy beyond the Maracatibean government. That is why fighting was common among the guerrillas themselves, who disputed areas of influence.

Decline of guerrillas
The peak of the post-1960 attacks was between 1960 and 1973, when an attack by the People's Vanguard Army resulted in the death of dictator Raymundo Cunha and 22 others. The attack consisted of the detonation of a car bomb in front of the National Library, which at the time was visited by President Cunha to commemorate the institution's 70th anniversary. Cunha actually survived the attack, and was rushed to the hospital, but died minutes later.

Raymundo Cunha's son, Raymundo Cunha Filho, took over the government of the country and promised a vengeance. In fact, this happened, since the already high investments in internal security and in the armed forces were expanded. The Special Forces received large investments in training, as did all sectors of intelligence. These forces' operations would result in the capture and execution of a series of guerrilla leaders in the 1970s. Light ground attack fighter missions in dense forests resulted in the destruction of several PVA camps. Road safety dramatically decreased attacks, and People's Vanguard Army lost several members.

In fact, signs of decline in PVA activities began to appear even before 1973, becoming only more apparent. The PVA saw hundreds of its leaders captured and its smuggling network shaken, reducing the group's influence. The attacks on the farms were the only ones that still occurred with the same frequency, as they were still difficult to contain. The government's intelligence and espionage was crucial to seal the defeat of the PVA, as several infiltrators provided information such as the location of bases, leaders and plans for future attacks.

However, one should not think that guerrillas ceased their dynamic attacks. They continued to be a huge problem for the country, which has outlived the dictatorial regime.

Peace Treaty with PVA
After the Redemocratization of Maracatibe, in 1982, Ernesto Nonato was elected president, and even though he was a leftist, the attacks by the PVA and other groups continued. Despite this, Nonato has always signaled his interest in negotiating with the PVA and the PLF, claiming that he knew the movement was exhausted and that the war could already be over. However, the negotiations were not effective during most of Nonato's government. Only in early 1986 did the guerrillas of the People's Vanguard Army decide to accept the negotiations, which took place without close contact between the leaders.

In December, in a historic and difficult moment, the leader of the People's Vanguard Army, Henrique Bertolo shook hands with the president of Maracatibe, Ernesto Nonato, both in the middle of a bridge and covered by snipers on both sides. The two showed signs that the mysterious conversations they had had worked out.

On December 25, 1986, President Ernesto Nonato announced in a national broadcast the "great victory of the Maracatibean people", which was the terms of the 1986 peace agreement. In that agreement, People's Vanguard Army would officially end its activities, while  all its members would be amnestied. The signing of the agreement was broadcast live.

Although effective, the agreement generated criticism, as the murders, assaults and rapes committed by PLA members would be nullified. Not all members of the People's Vanguard Army agreed to the treaty, and accused pacifists of "traitors to the socialist cause", re-founding the Maracatibean Liberation Army. The war has continued on a smaller scale since then.

Today
The Maracatibean Conflict, today, is significantly less than before 1986, but it still occurs. The situation is worse in the interior states, with attacks on farms and bank robberies ordered by the MLA being frequent. In large urban centers, war is considered almost non-existent. Even so, about a thousand or more deaths a year occur from the conflict. The activity of the Red Tolls continues on highways neglected by the government.

It is closely linked to the war on drugs, since the parties to the conflict are linked to trafficking. Thus, in addition to the conflicts, groups of traffickers rivaling the socialists, as well as extreme right groups, such as the Itaguaçu Group, formed by "vigilantes" who attack left-wing politicians and journalists, union members, former PVA guerrillas  face the current PLF and MLA guerrillas.