“More than an idea in your head”: mystique, struggle and trust around the cap of the MST ; “Más que una idea en la cabeza': mística, lucha y confianza en torno a la gorra del MST ; “Mais que uma ideia na cabeça”: mística, luta e confiança em torno do boné do MST

This paper aims to reflect on how meanings, values, and relationships are organized around the cap of the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST). The red accessory – which has found followers beyond the sphere of activism – can be understood as much more than an accessory that signifies a political stance or integration into the movement. In the relationship between leaders and activists, the cap can be used as a symbol that indicates the positions they hold within the structure of the movement. The analyses contained in this article were built around an event description, the transfer of a leadership position from one activist to another through a "passing of the cap" – which, in this case, is not just a figure of speech to symbolize the change but also the accessory itself passed down as a legacy. The episode exemplifies the mobilization of a set of native categories mainly expressed through "mystique", "commitment," "struggle" and "trust." The considerations presented throughout the text were structured based on empirical research conducted through participant observation and interviews with MST activists and leaders. ; El objetivo de este artículo es reflexionar sobre cómo se organizan sentidos, valores y relaciones en torno a la gorra del Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST). El accesorio rojo – que ha encontrado aficionados fuera del espacio de la militancia – puede ser entendido más que como un objeto que demarca una posición política o la integración al movimiento. En la relación entre líderes y militantes, la gorra puede ser utilizada como herramienta que indica las posiciones que ocupan en la estructura del movimiento. Los análisis de este artículo son construidos en torno a la descripción de un episodio, que implica la transferencia de una posición de liderazgo de un militante a otro, a través del “traspaso de la gorra” – que en este caso no se trata apenas de una figura de lenguaje para simbolizar el cambio, sino también del accesorio propiamente dicho, cedido como herencia. ...