Dilma Rousseff Calls for Keeping Memory on 1964 Military Coup

The former president of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, victim of torture during the military dictatorship (1964-1985), defended this Sunday the importance of remembering the coup d'état of 1964, of which today is the 60th anniversary.

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"Maintaining the memory and the historical truth about the military coup that occurred in Brazil 60 years ago is crucial to ensure that that tragedy does not recur, as almost happened recently on January 8, 2023," wrote X Rousseff.

She drew parallels between that event and the coup attempt planned by former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and his circle of confidence to nullify the electoral results that gave the victory to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.

Manter a memória e a verdade histórica sobre o golpe militar que ocorreu no Brasil há 60 anos, em 31 de março de 1964, é crucial para assegurar que essa tragédia não se repita, como quase ocorreu recentemente, em 8 de janeiro de 2023. pic.twitter.com/P3gNvUhfUg

— Dilma Rousseff (@dilmabr) March 31, 2024

This month marks 60 years since Brazil's military coup ushered in 21 years of US-backed, authoritarian dictatorship. This weekend people came out to protest the amnesty law which protects military torturers & murderers from prosecution. My story @telesurenglish #23MSemAnistia pic.twitter.com/cxISd0tpQi

— BrianMier (@BrianMteleSUR) March 24, 2024

Rousseff also pointed out that "history does not erase the signs of betrayal of democracy or clean from the national conscience the acts of perversity of those who exiled and stained the Brazilian life with blood, torture and death for 21 years".

''Nor does it rescue those who supported the attack on institutions, democracy and the ideals of a more just and less unequal society.'' highlighted the first Brazilian woman head of state at the time she sentenced, ''Dictatorship never again!''

Relatives of victims of the dictatorship and human rights associations are planning to march this Sunday in the city of São Paulo from a former torture center to the Ibirapuera Park, to "not forget" the pain caused by the dictatorship.

Shortly before leaving the presidency in 2023, Jair Bolsonaro eliminated the Commission of Dead and Disappeared, an institution that had been investigating the military dictatorship's crimes since 1995. Victims are fighting to raise their voices seeking the demilitarization of the police, the creation of mechanisms against torture, the reissue of textbooks with the victims' perspective.