Coloniality of power in Save the Fire, by Itamar Vieira Junior

Abstract

Save the fire, by Itamar Vieira Junior (2023), is a narrative that focuses on extreme poverty, leading to exclusion and does not foreshadow salvation. Set in northeastern Brazil, it recovers the stereotype of northeasterners as synonymous with poverty, as well as the social inequality that has plagued the country since colonial times. It refers to the excesses of the Catholic church which, through religiosity, not only manipulates but also exploits the underprivileged population. The narrative takes place in contemporary times and, therefore, corroborates Aníbal Quijano’s (2014) statement that colonialism left traces wherever it went, because, despite no longer existing, the coloniality of power is still present, mainly among the most vulnerable sections of the population. The brutality of capitalism together with neoliberalism corrodes the existence of the poorest, forcing constant migration as a means of escaping poverty. Furthermore, the assumptions of race, ethnicity, and gender also present themselves, demonstrating the intersectionality always present in these layers of the population. Using these assumptions as guiding threads to analyze the narrative, it was essential to resort to the studies of Gayatri Spivak (2010), Aníbal Quijano (2014), María Lugones (2014), Walter D. Mignolo (2017), Isildinha Baptista Nogueira (2021), Patricia Hill Collins e Sirma Bilge (2021), Rita Segato (2021), among others.

Keywords:
poverty; colonialism; coloniality of power; intersectionality