Rios, João Victor da Costa2026-03-172026-03-1720253051-8059http://hdl.handle.net/10400.13/7649This article analyses the multiple dimensions of authoritarianism in Piauí during the 1964 civil-military dictatorship, highlighting the need to understand Brazil beyond its major urban centres. Drawing on declassified documents and activists’ memoirs, it examines how political, symbolic, racial, and gender-based repression affected both opponents and civilians, thereby shaping collective memory and social relations. Mobilising the concepts of symbolic violence, habitus, and field developed by Pierre Bourdieu, as well as Paul Ricœur’s reflections on memory and testimony, the study underscores the complexity of authoritarian dynamics in peripheral contexts. The qualitative methodology, centred on specific case studies, demonstrates how the 1964 dictatorship targeted social profiles within local structures and spheres of power, reinforcing inequalities and imposing silence. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of dictatorial practices in regions distant from the centre-south, by analysing the traces of authoritarianism in Piauí and their relevance to Brazilian history.fraHistoryPiauíAuthoritarianismViolenceMemory.Faculdade de Artes e Humanidadesjournal article10.34640/univmadeiracjhs1rios