The article presents a counterpoint between the conceptions of Brazilian society developed by Euclides da Cunha and Manoel Bomfim in their books Os sertões (1902; tr. Rebellion in the Backlands, 1944) and A America Latina: males de origem (1905). Framing both works against the climate of enthusiasm over national modernization which marked the turn of the century, the article identifies common points and differences: how these authors questioned the ongoing political-social process, in which Brazil was proclaimed to be on the road to progress and civilization; how each put forward their critical viewpoints regarding the logic and goals governing this process; and the limits that each imputed to the process then underway.
Euclides da Cunha; Manoel Bomfim; modernization; progress; civilization; national identity