Brazil’s Freemasonry, Intellectuals and Political Thought in the early 20th century

Abstract

During the structuring process of Brazilian Freemasonry in the early decades of the 20th century, taking a critical stance on the thesis conveyed by Sergio Buarque de Holanda, who argued that, with the establishment of the Republic, Freemasonry would have left the scene and given way to positivist ideals. Unlike the perspective conveyed by Buarque de Holanda, this idea was not effective in practice, as observed in the intellectual performance of the Freemasons, through the press and the proposed debates, which was demonstrated by the dynamics and vivacity of the institution.