Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla
Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla
Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla is a short book written by Brazilian revolutionary Carlos Marighella in 1969. It serves as a compact guide for people who want to use guerrilla tactics in cities to challenge authoritarian regimes. The book draws on ideas from earlier revolutions, particularly the Cuban and Chinese, and came out after Brazil’s dictatorship began in 1964 and during a time of widespread student protests.
Marighella explains what an urban guerrilla is: someone who fights a dictatorship using unconventional methods and takes part in armed struggle. He argues that guerrillas should aim to undermine the regime by striking and expropriating wealth from large capitalists and landowners. He warns that a defensive posture would be deadly for guerrillas because they are usually weaker in firepower, so they should attack rather than wait to be defeated. He also notes that guerrillas can use their better knowledge of the city, surprise, and mobility to overcome stronger forces.
As part of learning, Marighella suggests starting with smaller, preparatory raids on targets such as armored cars, planes, boats, and especially banks. These actions would train fighters and help advance the guerrilla movement.
The Minimanual has been banned in some countries but remains widely available in others, including the United States. In the 1980s, the CIA produced English and Spanish translations of the text to study and counter such movements. Marighella wrote the manual to spread its ideas widely, not just to be read once.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:00 (CET).