Luiz Gama and the construction of Brazilian citizenship (1864 to 1882)

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2025/71155

In an era characterized by intellectual debates on the construction of the Nation-State, civil rights, and the abolition or preservation of the slavery society, the abolitionist, poet and certificated lawyer Luiz Gama, is examined as a social thinker and architect of a “future Brazil.” This study aims to analyze and compare Luiz Gama’s discourse regarding his path towards fostering citizenship in Brazil and shaping post-abolition public policies (which he did not live to witness). Alongside Gama, the study also includes discourse from diverse nineteenth-century thinkers, namely Marques de Queluz, José Bonifácio, José de Alencar, and André Rebouças. In contrast to these thinkers, Gama’s position is observed to prioritize key elements such as the Republic, abolition, and basic education (characterized by its secular, mandatory, and inclusive nature) in realizing access to citizenship and achieving effective democracy. Luiz Gama envisioned the implementation of a social organizational model rooted in a democratic, Republican, federative state, featuring decentralized political participation beyond the capital, and grounded in the aforementioned education for all inhabitants of Brazilian territory, regardless of origin, race, or creed. It is important to note that the author’s notion of universality is perceived as male-oriented (although he does not explicitly prohibit access for girls and women, there is no mention of them in his texts).