After the fire: class, nation, racism, and antiracism in the reconstruction of the Faculty of Medicine of Bahia (1905-1908)

Abstract:

This article analyses the dispute for work led by the Woodworkers Union in alliance with the Labour Centre of Bahia and the Bahian Socialist Federation, marked by racism and antiracism related to the skilled knowledge of their crafts, class interests, and conflicts within the political elites. The focus of the study is a conflict that happened during the reconstruction of the Faculty of Medicine of Bahia in October 1908, when the chief engineer contracted Italian artisans from São Paulo to do the woodwork instead of artisans from Salvador, who were mainly black people. The research demonstrates that despite successfully defending with determination the interests of national workers, and making use of patriotic language, the labour organizations combined antiracism with internationalist socialism.

Keywords:
trade-unions; socialism; racism; antiracism; rights