A-Infos (en) Brasil, OSL: 108th Anniversary of the 1917 General Strike (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On July 9th, we commemorate the beginning of the 1917 General Strike. It 
was an important historical milestone in the Brazilian class struggle, 
and we always highlight this event of our class's struggle in Latin 
America. The high cost of living was rising during the years of the 
First World War, and working conditions were unsanitary and 
violent-managers would literally beat workers, especially children, who 
would fall asleep or faint during workdays that reached 16 hours a day 
with very little food. Furthermore, the state, subordinate to the 
interests of landowners and industrialists, violently repressed any 
attempt at class organization.

Some ad hoc strikes had been occurring with greater visibility since 
before the war, but worsening material conditions led to the weavers of 
Cotonifício Crespi, in Mooca, being the first to strike in June 1917. 
The movement gained enormous proportions in the following weeks, with 
strikes in several factories in the city, reaching its peak in July, 
with the revolutionaries' view that ad hoc strikes were not enough, and 
a true general strike was necessary to confront the state and employers.

On July 9, 1917, anarchist shoemaker José Ineguez Martinez, of the 
"Young Tireless" group, was murdered by the police during a 
demonstration demanding decent working conditions. The response to the 
crime was an even larger mobilization of the working class, in the 
largest general strike the country had ever seen.

The shoemaker Martinez was only 21 years old, of Spanish origin, and 
connected to the revolutionary trade union organizations of the time, an 
anarchist strategy for the popular movement at that time. On July 9th, 
he was participating in a protest at the gates of the Mariângela factory 
in Brás, when the protest was attacked by police cavalry. The worker was 
shot in the stomach and taken to the Santa Casa hospital, but died the 
same day. His funeral took place on July 11th at the Araçá Cemetery, 
which had been called the day before by workers' newspapers as a large 
demonstration.

The anarchists, together with other sectors of the trade union movement 
and with the leadership of the striking women, created the Proletarian 
Defense Committee. Workers demanded an eight-hour workday (with a 
half-day on Saturdays), an end to the exploitation of children under 14, 
an end to night work for women and children, a 25% wage increase, the 
right to strike and assemble, a reduction in food prices, among other 
issues. Also on the agenda of these workers' strikes were equal pay for 
men and women, leave after childbirth, and an end to abuse and 
harassment committed by supervisors against female workers.

Photos of the rallies of the time show few women. In addition to factory 
work, they also dedicated themselves to reproductive work at home. 
However, thousands of anonymous women mobilized in those weeks of 1917. 
One of the leading figures of that period was Maria Angelina Soares, a 
weaver and anarchist, who served as secretary of the Mooca Workers' 
League and one of the founders of the Women's Center for Young Idealists.

The workers' organization, which had been building over the years, 
proved fruitful in strengthening the strike. It is estimated that 
100,000 workers joined the strike; it ended on July 16th. In one week, 
through much struggle, resistance, and combativeness, they managed to 
wrest important achievements from public authorities, such as the 
commitment to reduce food prices and to take measures to protect workers 
under 18 and night shift workers. It was the beginning of a 
revolutionary process: much of São Paulo came under workers' control, 
and the fearful bosses were forced to their feet.

LONG LIVE THE 1917 STRIKE

LONG LIVE THE STRUGGLE OF THE WORKING CLASS!

For more information on women's leading roles in the 1917 General 
Strike, we recommend reading the book "Companheiras: Mulheres 
Anarquistas em São Paulo (1889-1930)" by Samanta Colhado Mendes, 
available on the Faísca Edições Libertárias website.

https://socialismolibertario.net/2025/07/10/108-anos-greve-1917/
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