Who was Perseu Abramo?

Who was Perseu Abramo?

Perseu Abramo was born in São Paulo (SP), on July 17, 1929. He completed his secondary studies at the Ginásio do Estado da Capital and at the Colégio Estadual Presidente Roosevelt. In 1959 he graduated with a degree in social sciences from the then Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of the University of São Paulo, with a bachelor’s and teaching degree in sociology. In 1968 he obtained a master’s degree in human sciences from the Federal University of Bahia. He began his career in journalism early on.

His first job, obtained through an internal competition, was as a substitute proofreader at the first Jornal de São Paulo, on Ladeira do Seminário, in 1946. From 1948 to 1950 he worked as a reporter at the second Jornal de São Paulo, and, at the same time, as a contributor and reporter at Folha Socialista, the weekly newspaper of the then Brazilian Socialist Party. He worked at A Hora from 1951 to 1952, and in that year, he joined O Estado de S. Paulo, where he stayed for ten years, holding various positions: editor of the International section, editor of local news, reporter, head of reporting, columnist for a weekly supplement, editor and head of the Interior and Sports sections, and deputy editor. In this capacity, he coordinated the team that covered the inauguration of Brasília and won the Esso Journalism Prize in 1960.

From 1962 to 1970 he dedicated himself mainly to higher education teaching, but, as a freelancer, he collaborated with several publications of Editora Abril, mainly in the series of fascicles “The Great Figures of Our History”.

In 1970 he joined Folha de S. Paulo, where he also held various positions: coordinator of editorial services, sports editor, editor of Folha Ilustrada and, most notably, from 1972, education editor, a section he created and directed for seven years, and which was very successful in the press at the time. In 1979 he was fired from Folha due to the journalists’ strike, in which he had actively participated.

He worked at the political weekly Movimento from 1980 until its closure in 1981.

He also collaborated with other periodicals and journalistic services. From 1970 to 1972 he was a regular contributor to Visão magazine, mainly in the areas of education, science and culture. In addition to his collaboration with Editora Abril publications, already mentioned, he also worked on the redesign of the Cebrap (Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning) magazine, Novos Estudos, in 1981; at the communication company Pedro Paulo Poppovic Produções, in 1981; at Editevê, in 1983 and 1984; and at Interação, a specialized education magazine of the Yázigi Institute, in 1985.

In 1955, he collaborated in setting up Radio Eldorado, taking charge of the radio journalism department and directing the experimental editions of the station’s first “spoken news” programs.

In 1983, 1984, and early 1985, he worked at TV Globo, collaborating with the Journalism Department on special projects such as “SP 2000” and others.

From 1981 to 1983 he edited the Jornal dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Newspaper), the official publication of the National Directorate of the Workers’ Party, and was also responsible for the second phase of the Boletim Nacional (National Bulletin) and other occasional publications of the PT.

Still within the field of communication and journalism, but in the area of ​​higher education teaching, he carried out the following activities: professor of journalism techniques at the Cásper Líbero School of Journalism (1960/1962); responsible for a sociology of communication course in the undergraduate social sciences program at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Federal University of Bahia (1967/1969); coordinator of the Journalism Sector at FAAP in São Paulo (1970/1971); professor of technical subjects in the social communication course – specialization in journalism, at the Faculty of Philosophy and Communication of PUC in São Paulo, from 1981 to 1996.

In the area of ​​research and higher education, in addition to activities related to the field of social communication, Perseu Abramo actively participated in the project to create and establish the University of Brasília, where he taught in the Department of Human Sciences from 1962 – when the University was inaugurated – until 1964, when it was invaded by the troops of the military dictatorship that had been installed with the 1964 coup. At this university, in addition to participating in the planning and establishment of undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as research projects, he taught various subjects in the field of sociology (such as general sociology, sociology of work, methods and techniques of research in sociology) and gave occasional courses for undergraduate and graduate students from other academic areas of the same university.

From 1965 to 1970 he taught at the Federal University of Bahia, where he gave courses in general and applied sociology at the School of Administration and the Faculty of Philosophy, as well as in postgraduate courses.

In 1970 he also taught at the School of Sociology and Politics in São Paulo.

He also carried out professional and technical activities related to the social sciences: research assistant at the Regional Center for Educational Research of São Paulo, from 1956 to 1960; labor administration technician at the State Labor Service of the São Paulo State Department of Labor, from 1960 to 1962; research coordinator of the Public Administration Sector of the School of Administration of the Federal University of Bahia, from 1965 to 1967; technician at the Institute of Public Service of the Federal University of Bahia, from 1966 to 1968, when he participated in the elaboration of administrative reform projects and the implementation of the services of the Department of Labor and Social Welfare. He also did consulting work in research and applied sociology for consulting firms in Bahia, participating in administrative reform projects in Feira de Santana, Itabuna and Ilhéus.

In this field, he participated in scientific congresses and meetings and produced several technical papers.

In the labor movement, Perseu Abramo was always actively involved. In the 1950s, when political fervor frequently united not only various categories of workers but also these with other social sectors, especially students, he was part of several university committees in solidarity with striking workers and thus participated in the great strike of 1953 and other popular campaigns, such as the oil strike, the defense of public education, student participation in university governing bodies, etc. In 1961 he participated in the journalists’ strike. In the 1970s he participated in the union opposition movement that reclaimed the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of São Paulo from the hands of the union bosses who dominated it. He played an important role in the formation of the Union’s Press Freedom Commission and in the preparation of the theses that were later debated and approved at the Press Freedom Congress, important steps taken by journalists to combat the censorship of the dictatorship and raise the level of awareness and political engagement of journalists and workers in general.

He participated in the formulation and creation of the Editorial Representatives Councils and the Advisory Council of these representatives within the Union. In this capacity, he participated in salary campaigns and negotiations with employers. He actively participated in the category’s strike in 1979, of which he was one of the leaders, and, like so many other journalists, suffered the employer persecution that followed the end of the strike. He was one of the creators of the Vladimir Herzog Award for Amnesty and Human Rights, created by the São Paulo Journalists’ Union.

In the political and party-political sphere, Perseu Abramo also had intense involvement. While still a high school student, he participated in the amnesty campaigns and the fight against the Vargas dictatorship in 1945/1946. He joined the Democratic Left in 1946, supporting the candidacy of the graphic arts leader João da Costa Pimenta for the Senate of the Republic. With the founding of the Brazilian Socialist Party, originating from the Democratic Left, he became part of the party’s activism and participated in the struggles of the Brazilian people for social transformations. He opposed the 1964 coup, along with professors and students from the University of Brasília, from the very beginning, and was arrested by the Army during the invasion of the University of Brasília on April 9, 1964, along with other professors and thousands of Brazilian citizens.

Throughout the dictatorship, he opposed the military regime. He participated in the struggles for democratic freedoms, for amnesty, and in support of the opposition, union strikes, and party reforms. All of this brought him closer – as happened with numerous other journalists in the 1970s – to the metalworkers’ union leaders of São Bernardo, the ABC region, Santos, the oil workers of Campinas, the bank workers, etc. He soon became involved in the Pro-PT Movement (1978/1979) and in the founding of the PT (1979/1980), participating in all its stages with total dedication: from supporting the metalworkers’ strike (1978), while still a member of the Brazilian Amnesty Committee (CBA/SP), to participating in all discussions and negotiations between the various segments for the formation of the Party, from the drafting of basic documents (Manifesto, Program, Statutes, Internal Regulations) to the work of recruiting members. He was among the first signatories of the Party’s founding charter, at the historic meeting of February 10, 1980, at Colégio Sion, in the city of São Paulo, and from then on he never stopped being active, not only in leadership positions, but on all party fronts.

As a grassroots activist, he was part of the Journalists’ Category Nucleus and also the Lapa District Directorate. He held the position of Secretary of Communication for the city of São Paulo in 1989, during Luiza Erundina’s administration.

Without ever abandoning grassroots activism, he was systematically elected as a delegate to represent the PT’s local branches and directorates at municipal, state, and national meetings. He participated in all the party’s national meetings, only missing the 10th Meeting (1995) in Guarapari due to illness. At these meetings, he participated politically in debates and through the drafting of basic documents, theses, and guidelines, but also in organizational tasks, secretarial work, chairing sessions, taking minutes, and drafting preliminary resolutions.

The same combination of political and organizational work characterized his participation in the leadership positions he held in the PT’s National Directorate and Executive Committee throughout his 16 years of activism, such as second secretary of the National Executive Committee, national secretary of press and propaganda, and finally, secretary of political training.

Perseu Abramo died on March 6, 1996, at the age of 66.

The Perseu Abramo Foundation Publishing House posthumously published the book A News Worker: Texts by Perseu Abramo (1997), organized by his daughter Bia Abramo, and Patterns of Manipulation in the Mainstream Press, with an afterword by Aloysio Biondi.