Politics of Memory of the Recent Past in Brazil the Federal Government’S Role in Constructing Collective Memory Between 2003 and 2016
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Awarded Theses 2018/2019 Emmanuel Frías Sampaio Politics of Memory of the Recent Past in Brazil The Federal Government’s Role in Constructing Collective Memory Between 2003 and 2016 LATMA, The Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Latin American and the Caribbean EMMANUEL FRÍAS SAMPAIO POLITICS OF MEMORY OF THE RECENT PAST IN BRAZIL: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN CONSTRUCTING COLLECTIVE MEMORY BETWEEN 2003 AND 2016 EMMANUEL FRÍAS SAMPAIO FOREWORD The Global Campus of Human Rights is a unique network of more than one hundred participating universities around the world, seeking to advance human rights and democracy through regional and global cooperation for education and research. This global network is promoted through seven Regional Programmes which are based in Venice for Europe, in Sarajevo/Bologna for South East Europe, in Yerevan for the Caucasus, in Pretoria for Africa, in Bangkok for Asia- Pacific, in Buenos Aires for Latin America and the Caribbean, and in Beirut for the Arab World. Every year each regional master’s programmes select the best master thesis of the previous academic year that is published online as part of the GC publications. The selected seven GC master theses cover a range of different international human rights topics and challenges. The Global Campus Awarded Theses of the academic year 2018/2019 are: • Begalieva, Nuriza, From Democracy to Autocracy? Growing Threats to Civil Society and Media in Kyrgyzstan, Supervisor: Arusyak Aleksanyan, Yerevan State University. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in the Caucasus (CES), coordinated by Yerevan State University. • El-Hawary, Nouran Refugees ad Migrant Access to Health in Transit Countries: Politics of Adaptability, Enactment of Slow Death and Inevitability of Pain: an Ethnography of Poor Urban Neighborhood in Rabat (Morocco), Supervisor: Jeremy Gunn, International University of Rabat (UIR). Arab Master’s Programme in Democracy and Human Rights (ARMA), coordinated by Saint Joseph University (Lebanon). II POLITICS OF MEMORY OF THE RECENT PAST IN BRAZIL • Ferizov Jasenka Prosecution of Crimes of Appropriation of Private Property before the ICTY and the IRMCT, Supervisor: Hans- Joachim Heintze,ić, Ruhr Unversity Bochum. European Regional Master’s Programme in Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe (ERMA), coordinated by University of Sarajevo and University of Bologna • Frías Sampaio, Emmanuel, Politics of Memory of the Recent Past in Brazil: The Federal Government’s Role in Constructing Collective Memory Between 2003 and 2016, Supervisor. Ana De Maio, University of Buenos Aires. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Latin American and the Caribbean (LATMA), coordinated by National University of San Martin (Argentina) • Guzmán Torán, Juan José, When the Forest Screams. The Rights of Nature and Indigenous Rights as a Mutually Reinforcing Resistance Platform for the Indigenous Peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon, Supervisor: Felipe Gómez Isa, University of Deusto Bilbao. European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA), coordinated by Global Campus of Human Rights Headquarters. • Hasanah, Mahesti Between the Domination of Transnational Companies and Its Discourse on Business and Human Rights: Contract Farming and Banana Small Farmers in the Davao Region (The Philippines), Supervisor: Ryan Jeremiah D. Quan, Manila University. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Asia Pacific (APMA), coordinated by Mahidol University. • Nyemba, Chisomo Right to Data Privacy in the Digital Era: a Critical Assessment of Malawi’s Data Privacy Protection Regime, Supervisor: Akinola E Akintayo, University of Lagos. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA), coordinated by Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. III EMMANUEL FRÍAS SAMPAIO This publication includes the thesis Politics of Memory of the Recent Past in Brazil: The Federal Government’s Role in Constructing Collective Memory Between 2003 and 2016 written by Emmanuel Frías Sampaio, supervised by Ana De Maio, University of Buenos Aires and translated from the original Políticas de la memoria sobre el pasado reciente en Brasil: el rol del gobierno federal en la construcción de la memoria colectiva entre 2003 y 2016 by Kirsty Walter for EUROTRAD snc. BIOGRAPHY Emmanuel is a lawyer and Master in Human Rights and Democratisation. He acted as a voluntary university advisor in lawsuits involving the right to the city, as well as the right of indigenous peoples and quilombola communities. Researcher in constitutional law and human rights, with an emphasis on transitional justice. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my mum, my dad and my sister, the lights of my life. To all my other relatives; To my old and future friends, for being there throughout my career; To Ana, for her patience and her significant methodological and investigative help; To Roberta, for the continuous inspiration and for her contribution to this work; To Professor José Carlos, likewise, for his contributions; To the friends I made during my Masters, for their love, understanding and tenderness; To the team at CIEP, for being right by my side every step of the way; Thank you so much! IV POLITICS OF MEMORY OF THE RECENT PAST IN BRAZIL ABSTRACT Towards the end of the 2010s, the Brazilian federal government once again made discussions about the recent past – regarding the military regime that occurred between 1964 and 1985 – public. This time, however, these discussions are characterized by its revisionism and negationism, with an outlook opposing that built by successive governments in the time since the democratic transition in the country. Beginning with an attempt to understand some of the factors that led to the current scenario, this thesis describes and analyses the politics of memory about the recent past that were promoted by the federal government between 2003 and 2016, during the mandates of the Workers Party (PT), regarding its role in shaping the collective memory in the country. To do this, I studied the historical background research on redemocratization in Brazil and the first public politics of memory between 1985 and 2002. I then focused specifically on the politics of memory during the period under investigation, to finish with an examination the institutional peculiarities in the Brazilian case, made clear in presidential speeches and in internal disputes. This provides a picture of these politics, and the collective memory they created. I used a descriptive qualitative methodology to write this thesis. Although official documents and journalistic sources were the main basis for this research, I used variety of available sources of data and information. This allowed me to undertake an analysis of primary sources – namely laws, decrees, administrative acts, programs, reports, publications, and presidential speeches – linked to the federal government’s action on memory policies. I also had access to various bibliographical collections and research background on the subject addressed, in addition to two interviews. The main question that I sought to answer in this research was: what role did the politics of memory from the federal government between 2003 and 2016 play in constructing memory of the recent past in Brazil? Keywords: politics of memory, transitional justice, collective memory V EMMANUEL FRÍAS SAMPAIO TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS ABAP Brazilian Association of the Politically Amnestied (Associação Brasileira dos Anistiados Políticos) ABI Brazilian Press Association (Associação Brasileira de Imprensa) ABIN Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Agência Brasileira de Inteligência) ACHR American Convention on Human Rights ADCT Act of Transitional Constitutional Provisions (Ato das Disposições Constitucionais Transitórias) ADPF Allegation of Disobedience of Fundamental Precept (Arguição de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental) AGU Attorney-General of the Union (Advocacia-Geral da União) ANPUH Brazilian National History Association (Associação Nacional de História) ARENA National Renewal Alliance (Aliança Renovadora Nacional) CBA Brazilian Committees for Amnesty (Comitê(s) Brasileiro(s) pela Anistia) CDHM Human Rights and Minorities Committee of the Chamber of Deputies (Comissão de Direitos Humanos e Minorias da Câmara dos Deputados) CEMDP Special Commission on Political Deaths and Disappearances (Comissão Especial sobre Mortos e Desaparecidos Políticos) Cenimar Navy Information Centre (Centro de Informação da Marinha) CF/1988 1988 Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil (Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988) CGI General Investigations Commission (Comissão Geral de Investigações) CGU Comptroller-General of the Union (Controladoria-Geral da União) VI POLITICS OF MEMORY OF THE RECENT PAST IN BRAZIL CIA United States Central Intelligence Agency CIE Army Information Centre (Centro de Informação do Exército) CISA Aeronautical Security Information Centre (Centro de Informação de Segurança da Aeronáutica) CNBB Brazilian Episcopal Conference (Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil) CNV National Truth Commission (Comissão Nacional da Verdade) CONADEP National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (Argentina) (Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas) DEOPS/SP São Paulo State Department of Political and Social Order (Departamento Estadual de Ordem Política e Social de São Paulo) DOI-CODI Information Operations Detachment-Centre for Internal Defence Operations (Destacamento