This very interesting article in The Conversation is by Luisa Farah Schwartzman:

A recent Netflix documentary about the legendary Brazilian soccer player Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, tells a compelling story of the athlete’s rise to fame from 1950 to 1974. The 99-minute documentary, which includes interviews with the 80-year-old Pelé, shows Pelé’s spectacular life against the backdrop of Brazil’s politics. But the film fails to address deeper questions of race and class.

June 29, 1958: 17-year-old Pelé, left, weeps on the shoulder of goalkeeper Gilmar Dos Santos Neves, after Brazil’s 5-2 victory over Sweden in the World Cup final soccer match, in Stockholm, Sweden. Brazil’s Didi is at right. (AP Photo)

The film tells the story of Pelé’s alleged complicity with Brazil’s military dictatorship that ruled from 1964 to 1985. The military regime, which overthrew João Goulart and his centre-left government in 1964, used relentless state torture to control Brazilian political dissidents.

Read the full story here.