The Carioca elite and its ashamed poverty

Abstract

In 1938, a charity institution called Apoio Fraternal was established in Rio de Janeiro with the intention to help exclusively those who had lost their fortune and status and needed help. The help was kept in secret and included monetary and religious assistance. This article intends to examine this ashamed poverty and show the tensions and conflicts related with the belonging to a specific social group. The institution is still in operation and the sources used in this paper are part of its files.