Nas páginas da imprensa sindical: as dinâmicas de comunicação do Jornal do Metalúrgico — São José dos Campos (1981–1992)

Abstract

The context of national policies from the rupture with the Business-Military Dictatorship to the unfolding of the first popular election, which culminated in the impeachment of the then-president, was marked by social and political tensions that directly interfered in the daily lives of Brazilian workers. Within this scenario, this study proposes an analysis of history through the press, observing workers' demands in the pages of the Jornal do Metalúrgico from 1981 to 1992—the official communication channel of the Metalworkers' Union of São José dos Campos and Region (SMSJC) — and a history of the press, focusing on the internal workings of this labor newspaper within its production context. Therefore, based on the analysis of the Jornal do Metalúrgico, the research seeks to capture the group's grievances, considering existing agreements and dissonances, and how these interactions were reported. In this regard, the objective is to understand how the newspaper was produced as a vital communication tool between the union and the workers, and how workers' experiences were present in its pages, contributing to the historiography of the worlds of labor. It is demonstrated that the periodical functioned as a strategic space for mediation between factory experiences, political disputes, and the construction of collective meanings, configuring itself as a central element for understanding the combative unionism of the era. Ultimately, the Jornal do Metalúrgico added density and complexity to the working-class experience, situating collective action in the dialogue between the local and the national, while providing critical tools for understanding the democratic transition and the emergence of neoliberal policies that profoundly impacted the world of labor in Brazil.