Maria Werneck de Castro

Maria Morais Werneck de Castro (Rio de Janeiro, 1909 - Rio de Janeiro, 1993) was a Brazilian lawyer, militant communist, and feminist.[1]

Maria Werneck de Castro
Born(1909-10-08)October 8, 1909
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
DiedApril 6, 1994(1994-04-06) (aged 84)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
OccupationAttorney
SpouseLuis Werneck de Castro

Life

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Castro was born on October 8, 1909[2] in barrio Laranjeiras, the daughter of attorney Justo de Moraes and Herminia Cresta Mendes de Moraes. Her paternal grandfather was Luiz Mendes de Moraes [pt], who was Minister of War in 1909. In school, she studied law. She married the communist militant Luis Werneck de Castro, also a lawyer.[3]

Castro was a communist activist who fought for women's suffrage rights, from 1930 onwards. She participated in the Federación Brasileña por el Progreso Femenino, and in the Liga Antifascista. Castro was a close friend of Luís Carlos Prestes and his sister, Clotilde Prestes, as well as a companion to Nise da Silveira and Olga Benário Prestes, the latter having been accused of being one of the leaders of the Communist Revolt of 1935.[4] With Mary Mercio and Eugênia Álvaro Moreyra, she co-founded the União Feminina do Brasil [pt],[5] also serving as its director.[6] Castro went into exile in Argentina. She became a member of the Brazilian Communist Party in 1947, serving in the Movimiento Unitario de los Trabajadores e Intelectuales. Towards the end of her life, Castro became devoted to education, being a professor of Portuguese and history.

Castro died on April 6, 1994, in Rio de Janeiro.[2]

Selected works

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  • Aquarelas : espécies vegetais em extinção (1987) (in Portuguese)
  • Sala 4 : primeira prisão política feminina (1988) (in Portuguese)
  • No tempo dos barões : histórias do apogeu e decadência de uma família fluminense no ciclo do café (with Moacir Werneck de Castro; 2004) (in Portuguese)
  • Natureza viva : memórias, carreira e obra de uma pioneira do desenho científico no Brasil (with Moacir Werneck de Castro; 2004) (in Portuguese)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Schumaher & Brazil 2000, p. 567.
  2. ^ a b "Castro, Maria Morais Werneck de". Centro de Pesquisa e Documentação de História Contemporânea do Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  3. ^ Executive Secretariat 1987, p. 56.
  4. ^ Assunção 2007, p. 159.
  5. ^ Dulles 2010, p. 19.
  6. ^ Dulles 2014, p. 69.

Bibliography

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