Of the several projects Pablo Marins Bedê made about Volta Redonda and the metallurgical company CNS, this one is the best by far, or at least the most gripping.
Since he had covered the 1988 critical strike that result in the death of three workers, which had plenty of material to be discussed yet he made a poor summarization
of events (and I already knew the Eduardo Coutinho video project released in 1989, which was highly informative), then what Bedê did wasn't so interesting and that was
left for him to cover about the strike and one of the key figures in the workers movement was to cover the death of mayor Juarez Antunes in 1989, a couple of months after
taking office.
Antunes was a union's leader who was a popular leader in the metallurgical syndicate and after initiating the first two major strikes at the CSN (Companhia Siderúrgica
Nacional) in 1984 and 1988, he rose to prominence to become a political official getting elected as a congressman and then mayor, one of the first left-wing mayors of a
major city after the military regime's end in 1985. At the time of his election as mayor - taking office in the following year - he was the union leader trying to help CSN
workers in getting better payment and better working conditions, all met with disapproval by the people in charge, and when hell broke loose after the army's intervention,
things were never the same.
A political wave surged around the nation after the violent strike and many leftist parties were elected to mayoral elections, gaining power for the first time ever.
But things happened right there in Volta Redonda. Antunes suddenly dies on a car crash in 1989, in some mysterious circumstances and since he was a popular figure in the
region for his dedication to workers and solidarity cases, is obvious that many would assume an attempt to his life was made - and as evidenced by popular bishop Waldyr Carrasco, they
were both threatned of possible acts when contacted by federal investigators after the strike and their protests afterwards.
Although things are told in an awfully brief manner, the very few it has to show it's interesting to follow, unlike the previous shorts in Bedê's entry which were
tiring. This one doesn't dwell much in the conspiracy theory (but it's there when Waldyr is interviewed) and there's even Antunes driver to recollect the events prior to the accident. Works as a fine
tribute to emmber the legacy of a man who though didn't last much in politics, he certainly left a legacy in the workes union. 7/10.