Ribeiro, Militão

Ribeiro, Militão

 

(also Militão Bessa). Born Aug. 13, 1896; died Jan. 3, 1950, in Lisbon. Figure in the Portuguese and Brazilian workers’ movements.

Ribeiro was a textile worker. As a youth he emigrated from Portugual to Brazil, where he joined the Communist Party. After returning to Portugual, he became one of the leaders of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP). In 1936 he was arrested for the first time; he was imprisoned in the Tarrafal Concentration Camp until 1940.

Ribeiro participated in reorganizing the PCP in 1940 and 1941. He was a member of the secretariat of the Central Committee of the PCP. He was again imprisoned in the Tarrafal Camp from 1943 to 1945. In 1949, Ribeiro was arrested for the third time. He died in prison after a 32-day hunger strike.