Helio Gracie linked to 1930's Brazilian fascism movement

Helio Gracie will always be held accountable as one of the founding fathers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a martial art that rapidly spread throughout South America and their Nothern counterparts. His family were at the forefront of that operation, steering the discipline into stardom by the 1990s.

After passing away over 11 years ago, not much has been said about the grappling icon in regards to current affairs in both like and the jiu-jitsu sphere. However, according to an article by UOL, Helio was a proven member of the Brazilian fascist movement Integralism.

The article, based on research discovered by historian Leandro Pereira Goncalves from Federal University of Juiz de Fora, dives deep into the fascist movement, going as far to include a photo of the senior Gracie that has since been tied to the organization.

Integralism is the belief that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and policy within a society. This movement first appeared in Brazil in 1932, where founder Plinio Salgado began feeding its ideology to his people. In hindsight, many have claimed that Salgado was to fascists (in Brazil) who Hitler was to Germans; a huge and very profound comparison.

Goncalves unearthed pages of a newspaper titled “A Offensiva”, which acted as a written form of propaganda for Integralism. This cover dates back to June 3, 1936, and shows Gracie boasting a green shirt with a symbol of the Greek letter Sigma, one of Integralism’s main tokens.

“Helio Gracie, the renowned patrician jiu-jitsu champion, signed on Saturday, in our writing, the respective contract with Empreza Pugilistica Brasileira for the accomplishment of the expected fight with the valued instructor of the Navy Sports League, Takeo Yano”, states the 1936 edition of the “A Offensiva”.

“When the person wears the green shirt, he is incorporating not only a political party but a way of life. You were an integralist at all times in your life,” claimed historian Leandro Pereira Goncalves.

This isn’t the first time that members of the Gracie Family have shown sympathy to fascist ideologies. In 2012, former mixed martial artist Renzo Gracie posted a tweet quoting Heinrich Himmler, one of the main architects of the Holocaust. When confronted with this tweet eight years later, Renzo opted to defend it. Once more, Renzo dug his grave a little deeper, tweeting this statement to a French user: “It’s not my fault that your grandparents let [Nazis] march through your country without a fight.”

On top of both Helio and Renzo’s fascist support, with the formers spanning back to the 1930s, various other members of their famed family lineage have been recorded voicing homophobic slurs; they have been forgiven time upon time and this outdated mindset must expire.