Marked by resistance: the cases of Jinkings (PA) and Palmarinca (RS) bookstores

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to analyze the role of two bookstores that operated during the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985) and became points of resistance against the authoritarian regime. Jinkins was created by Raimundo Jinkings, in Belém, Pará, in 1965, and closed 45 years later. The bookseller was already an active unionist and known in the political scene for his leftist stance, and he transferred this symbolic capital to the bookstore. In Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Rui Gonçalves opened Palmarinca, which operated from 1972 to 2020. The bookstore marked the history of the city as a space where readers could find Marxist works unavailable in other stores in the region. It was frequented by students, professors, and politicians who shared the same political convictions. The study showed how each bookstore used a “repertoire” — a concept of Itamar Even-Zohar — to maintain the commerce of books without damaging its political identification, in addition to serving as an active factor of opposition against the military regime.

Keywords:
bookstore; literary system; literary field; Jinkings; Palmarinca