Discurso, estratégias biopolíticas e produção de subjetividade em materiais didáticos do Programa de Educação Integrada (PEI) do Movimento Brasileiro de Alfabetização (MOBRAL)

Abstract

The Brazilian Literacy Movement (MOBRAL) was established during Brazil’s civilmilitary dictatorship (1964–1985) as an initiative aimed at eradicating illiteracy within a short period of time. Mandatorily implemented throughout Brazilian territory in accordance with military governance models, it becomes important to propose reflections on the underlying interests of this proposal. In this sense, based on the studies of Michel Foucault, primarily archeogenealogy, master's thesis objective to analyze biopolitical strategies and the production of subjectivity in discourses present in the teaching materials of the Integrated Education Program (PEI) of the Brazilian Literacy Movement (MOBRAL). Regarding the specific objectives, they are as follows: a) to investigate the conditions of possibility for the emergence of MOBRAL within the context of adult education during the Brazilian Civil-Military dictatorship; b) to describe how biopolitical strategies are configured in the discourses of MOBRAL's PEI teaching materials; c) to interpret how the production of the MOBRAL student's subjectivity is constituted within the scope of the discourses manifested in the studied teaching materials. The focus rests on statements extracted from the following teaching materials: Boa pergunta (1972) and Vivendo e Aprendendo (1979). About the methodology, this is qualitative research based on documentary analysis and anchored in Michel Foucault's archeogenealogy as an investigative method. To carry out the research, concepts such as discourse, archive, event, statement, biopower, biopolitics, apparatus (dispositif), governmentality, and subjectivity are mobilized, as conceived by Foucault, alongside authors who discuss how MOBRAL was configured as an educational instrument for maintaining the social order established during the Brazilian dictatorial period, such as Lima, Macêdo, and Souza (2022), Silva (2023), Favero (2004), Barbosa (2014), Borges Neto (2021), among others. The analyses carried out enabled us to see how the management of daily life focused on fundamental issues, such as health, through disease prevention, support for breastfeeding, and the consumption of healthy food and water. Furthermore, we observed how these technologies of governance influenced the role of schools in fostering individuals who would be vital to the country’s growth through the eradication of illiteracy, well as in the realm of labor viewed as a pillar supporting the military regime since economically active individuals would serve the interests of employers, a key – an important mechanism in maintaining the state of exception.