The Revolutionary Movement of October 8 (MR-8) was a leftist urban guerrilla movement operating in Brazil. The group's name refers to October 8, 1967, the date that iconic socialist revolutionary leader, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Che Guevara), was wounded and captured in Bolivia. As an organization, the MR-8 was strongly opposed to the military regime that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985 and sought to overthrow the military dictatorship and establish a leftist government. <br /><p><br />It is believed to have been formed in the state of Rio Grande do sul in 1968 by estranged members of the Brazilian Communist Party, who wanted to participate in an armed rebellion against the regime. It operated in Parana, the southern region of Brazil, and had links with radical student circles in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and with the militant organization Action for National Liberation (ALN).  <br /><p><br />As mentioned earlier, MR-8's main antagonist was Brazil's military dictatorship. In 1964 the Brazilian military conducted what it referred to as a revolution and what opponents called a coup. Essentially, the military assumed political power in Brazil and stayed there, formally, for twenty years. The long, continued control of the government by military personnel became a strong source of conflict.  Compounding the problem, the military government used political power to create laws preventing opposition.  For example, The Institutional Act 5 in 1968 removed any semblance of democracy.  The MR-8 and other guerrilla groups saw their struggle as part of a larger continental fight against imperialism and its Brazilian representatives.  The group viewed the national oligarchy, multinational and national capital, and the military as an alliance which they needed to fight with violence.  These factors combined with a communist ideology became the driving inspiration behind the establishment and philosophy of the MR-8. <br /><p><br />MR-8 emulated the same guerrilla terrorist tactics of fellow militants ALN including robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations.  The MR-8's most publicized terrorist activity was the kidnapping of the US ambassador to Brazil, Charles Burke Elbrick, on September 4, 1969. Members of the Action for National Liberation (ALN) were also involved. Ambassador Elbrick was released on September 7th in exchange for fifteen political prisoners and the publication of an anti-government manifesto. <br /><p><br />The MR-8 gained renewed international attention in 1998 with the release of "Four Days in September," a movie detailing the events surrounding the kidnapping. Sources speculate that the MR-8 conducted the attack in order to draw attention to the plight of Brazilians living under the rule of the US-backed military regime.<br /><p><br />After the kidnapping of Ambassador Elbrick in September 1969, the group suffered its first wave of violent reprisals.  However, it continued to carry out armed operations in Rio throughout 1970.  In 1971 as a result of the break-up of the Vanguardia Popular Revolucionaria (another like-minded organization), a group of former VPR-militants, including leader Captain Carlos Lamarca, requested admission into the MR8.  It was as a member of MR-8 that he was killed in an ambush.  His death which occurred only after a prolonged nation-wide search by the authorities was a serious blow to the armed struggle.  The MR-8 was dismantled in 1972, when virtually all its remaining members fled to Chile.<br />