Zito de Galiléia

The final chapter analyzes an oral history conducted in 2005 with one of the surviving members of the Ligas Camponesas, Zito de Galiléia, and briefly sketches more recent memorial projects in the Northeast. The chapter examines the forms and narratives Zito de Galiléia employs to remember the Ligas Camponesas. His dedication to preserving the memory of the struggle for land and labor rights reflects his position as an insider/outsider to the Northeast, further questioning the power of the trope of o Nordeste. Zito uses his claims to authenticity to further his own power as narrator, drawing from the trope of o Nordeste to legitimize his voice while also challenging it by insisting upon the power of his voice as a “marginalized” Nordestino. The case of Zito further develops the power of the representations defining o Nordeste by demonstrating how the trope functions as a framework for discrimination and resistance.