José Oiticica

Who was José Oiticica?

José Rodrigues Oiticica, was a Brazilian anarchist, poet, and activist. He was founder and editor of the anarchist journal Ação direta, between 1946 until his death. He also wrote and published several books of poetry.

Son of a senator, Oiticica was sent to a religious school where he was expelled for rebellion. In 1906 he founded the Latin American Association, where he advocated for a progressive education. Later, as professor, he taught philology of Portuguese in the University of Hamburg.

The increasing evolution of his ideas led him to anarchism by 1912. Participating in the Social Studies Center, where he became an active militant libertarian, holding conferences in the unions and participating alongside the workers various activities of social protest and agitation. In 1918 he was arrested and deported for insurrectionary activity involving his call for a general strike. In 1924 he returned to prison because of his libertarian ideas and anti-military . After Anticlerical League participated in the Rio de Janeiro. Also during the 1920s the rise of authoritarianism denounced Bolshevik Russia and the division was created among workers.