Do assalto ao céu ao estado exterminista

This small essay - written with the intention of honoring the philosopher Olgária Matos - starts from considerations about the relations casually established by the author with the honoree (I); then, after emphasizing the importance of the books written by her, analyzes a passage of A Escola de Frankfurt: luzes e sombras do iluminismo (The School of Frankfurt: lights and shadows of the Enlightenment) pointing out a set of questions that would appear in two other books also written by her (II). After that, the focus of the analysis shifts to the Brazilian 1968 in order to identify its specificity. In this movement, three Brazilian novels published in 1967-68 are analyzed (III). Finally, the examined novels allow the identification of the permanence of the political logic of hatred and also the genesis of an Extermination (Exterminista) State in the country, characterized in its main features (IV).