At 7:14 am on the morning of September 7, Brazil’s Independence Day, I was stirred from sleep by the vibrations of my cell phone. “Today’s a day to wake up early, ma’am!” read a newly arrived WhatsApp message. My phone buzzed once more, showing me a photo of protesters dressed in green and yellow, set against a rising sun in the capital city of Brasília.
This was the beginning of my day immersed in the world of a militant group of demonstrators, who travel thousands of kilometers for days on end, believing that one day they will finally...