We know that the stateNew, period in the republican history of Brazil that lasted from 1937 to 1945, was a dictatorship with fascist features established by GetulioVargas. As in all dictatorial regimes of the 20th century, the Estado Novo had propaganda as one of its main weapons of maintenance of control over society, as well as direct intervention in the circulation of information and the dissemination of activities cultural. This control was managed by a special body, created in 1939, the Department of Information and Advertising (DIP).
From DNP to DIP
The DIP was created through the Decree-Law No. 1,915, of December 27, 1939, and replaced the old National Department of Propaganda (DNP), which was already used as a control body by Vargas even before the Estado Novo, but without the scope that the DIP would have. The first article of the decree-law makes clear the authoritarian tone of the document: “The Press and Propaganda Department is created (D. I. P.), directly subordinate to the President of the Republic”. The second article highlights this tone and exposes the objectives of the new body in its first three topics:
a) centralize, coordinate, guide and oversee national, internal or external advertising, and permanently serve as an auxiliary element of information of the ministries and public and private entities, in the part that concerns the propaganda national;
b) oversee, organize and supervise internal and external tourism services;
c) censor the Theatre, Cinema, recreational and sporting functions of any nature, radio-broadcasting, social and political literature, and the press, when penalties are imposed provided by law;
As we can see, the DIP now has the power to integrate all agencies related to advertising and information, setting up a kind of “headquarters” for the diffusion of information and culture in Brazil, completely subordinate to the Executive Power.
Control of information and cultural activity
O radio it's the movie theater (Television did not yet exist) were the vehicles most used by the agency, as they had immediate reach over the population. The official radio program of the President of the Republic, the Brazil hour, became a key player in the “paternalistic” policy of Getúlio Vargas, which sought to reinforce the image of the great “father of the Nation”. Furthermore, this same image was echoed in other ways, such as samba lyrics and short documentaries.
The DIP also promoted competitions for monographs and essays in an apologetic tone, that is, as a sign of support for the regime of the Estado Novo, in order to reach an audience of average culture and give even more scope to the cult of the personality of the leader. Its structure became even more articulated and effective with the creation, in each state of the nation, of a State Department of Press and Propaganda (DEIP).
The DIP was only extinguished on May 24, 1945 with the fall of the Estado Novo.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
