The"TheOilIsOurs"Campaign

The existence of oil in Brazil was detected as early as the late 19th century. However, it was only after the discovery of significant oil reserves in Bahia in 1939 that a broad debate on its exploitation would begin. Beyond the sphere of institutionalized politics, the issue took hold within Brazilian civil society throughout the 1940s.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph. In the foreground, we see a man wearing a straw hat, with his back to the camera, walking toward the left. In front of him, there is a small stall with a thatched roof. In the background, there is a tall, rectangular metal structure, with several grids and a fixed ladder. The structure appears to be an oil well. Further back, we see a vertical radio antenna, and beyond that, a large open area with trees and some distant buildings. In the upper right of the image, there is a tree with leaves.

Since the end of the 1920s, Brazil had been dealing with an unprecedented energy demand in the country. Industrial expansion needed to be accompanied by growth in the energy sector, which became a strategic interest for the State. The question of how to explore oil began to be debated between those who advocated for the state monopoly and those who saw opening up to foreign capital as the only viable solution to its production.

In 1947, then-president Gaspar Dutra introduced a bill known as the "Oil Statute." Aiming to amend the rules for the exploration of natural resources set out in the 1946 Constitution, the bill emerged as a way to make oil exploration regulations more flexible and to favor, even if only partially, those in favor of privatization.

The nationalists' reaction was direct. That same year, a series of conferences held at the Clube Militar formed the "Campanha do Petróleo." Opposed to opening up the oil market to private capital, the campaign ended up uniting civilians and military personnel around the defense of state sovereignty and against the so-called "entreguistas."

While the passage of the “Oil Statute” was losing steam in Congress, the Oil Campaign continued to gain strength. On April 21, 1948, the Automóvel Clube, located on Rua do Passeio in Rio de Janeiro, hosted the founding ceremony of the Centro de Estudos e Defesa do Petróleo e da Economia Nacional (Center for the Study and Defense of Oil and the National Economy), the Cedpen, responsible for promoting debates, rallies, and conferences, strengthening the slogan “The oil is ours,” which ended up becoming the most popular of the campaign.

The União Nacional dos Estudantes (UNE) organized peaceful demonstrations in cities across the country. The students' leafletting and posters amplified the power of the slogan. The "Student Committee for the Defense of Oil," mobilized around the motto, sustained the student movement in favor of state control over sectors such as steel and automobiles for years, even after the oil monopoly had been secured by law. The "O Petróleo é Nosso" ("The Oil Is Ours") Campaign carried through the 1950s, energizing the student movement. An example of this was the rally that took place in Cinelândia in 1957.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white newspaper, dated 1957. At the top, there is a large, prominent headline mentioning the "Campanha do Movimento Nacionalista" (Nationalist Movement Campaign). Below it, there is a detailed description of events that took place during a rally in Cinelândia. To the right, there is a photo of people gathered at a location, possibly a public event. The spatial layout begins with the headline and the event description, followed by the photo of the people.

In 1951, Getúlio Vargas, back in the presidency of the Republic, was trying to push through the regulation of oil exploration in the country. However, both political maneuvering by the opposition and discontent among nationalists themselves caused the bill's proceedings to drag on for another two years. On October 3, 1953, Vargas signed Law No. 2,004 into effect. The policy of the national oil monopoly was thus established, and the largest national company in history, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A – Petrobrás, was created.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a public event. In the central part, a man stands behind a podium, holding documents and speaking into a microphone. He is being watched by a woman wearing dark sunglasses and a floral dress, who stands beside him. Around them, several people are gathered in groups, some appearing to be talking while others look toward the man behind the podium. Behind the attendees, there is a wall decorated with picture frames and a painting.