“Ese Exilio Sin Retorno Ni Desexilio”: a escrita política de Mario Benedetti em suas publicações no jornal El País (1982-1984).

Abstract

The intellectual Mario Benedetti (1920-2009) was an important Latin American writer who lived through the Uruguayan military dictatorship (1973-1985) and went into exile with the onset of his country's repressive period. Therefore, situated within the historiographical fields that encompass Political History and the History of the Americas, this research aimed to analyze this intellectual's publications for the newspaper El País from 1982 to 1984, in which he wrote about the social and political situation in Latin America. We addressed topics such as exile, de-exile, disappearances, and political imprisonment. Based on these documents, we problematize how Benedetti's journalistic production contributed to thinking about Latin American politics and memory, and specifically Uruguayan politics, through the construction of the figure of the exile and the dictatorial period in which he was inserted. To this end, we used interviews and biographies of the author as documentary basis, as well as his own writings, which included literature produced by him before, during, and after his exile. Methodologically, we used the Historiographical Operation, developed by Michael de Certeau (2017), for documentary analysis of the material used throughout the dissertation, and the definition by José D'Assunção Barros (2019) to clarify how newspapers are viewed as historical sources. For the theoretical foundation of the project, we used Hugo Alfaro (1986), Hortensia Campanella (2008), and Ángel Rama (1972) to discuss Benedetti's education; to articulate the dictatorial context of South America and Uruguay, Adriane Vidal (2009), Ligia Prado, and Gabriela Pellegrino (2022); Regarding the consolidation of the Uruguayan dictatorial regime, we draw on Enrique Serra Padrós (2005; 2008), Gerardo Caetano, and José Rilla (1987); regarding the integration of intellectuals in exile, we draw on Mauricio Parada (2015) and Edward Said (2001). Regarding memory, its disputes, and its use as testimony, we draw on Márcio Seligmann-Silva (2003; 2005), Maurice Halbwachs (1990), Michael Pollak (1989; 1992), and Elizabeth Jelin (2012; 2019). Finally, Mario Benedetti reaffirms his commitment as an intellectual, writer, and Uruguayan when it comes to using his writing to denounce the Latin American scenario of repression and expose the consequences of exile for society.