São Paulo and “Maré Cinza”

The erasure of the urban graffiti as a resource of the Authoritarian Discourse

Abstract

This article seeks to relate, based on qualitative research and documentary and theoretical analysis, urban graffiti as an expression of popular art and its respective erasure and destruction as an expression of authoritarian discourse. Analyzing institutional decisions and actions of the government of São Paulo, under the management of Mayor João Doria, the objective is to understand if and, if so, how this manifestation proves to be anti-democratic and anti-popular, through interdisciplinary Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). To arrive at the result, the theoretical conception of graffiti as an artistic expression and concepts of fascism were used, as well as its relationship to art in each authoritarian government. It is concluded, after carrying out the analysis, that the act of erasing graffiti and the discourse that sustains it are ur-fascist manifestations, based on Umberto Eco's concept and theoretical references provided by authors such as van Dijk and Maingueneau.