Brazilians march in defense of democracy and social justice

teleSUR English

*Brazil, activists of all ages gathered to mark this solemn occasion *Military dictatorship operated torture chambers and death squads *Protester demand the reestablishment the Truth Commission

Transcript

00:00 Saturday marked the 60th anniversary of Brazil's military coup,

00:03 which installed a totalitarian government which lasted until 1985.

00:07 Across the country, people held rallies. Our correspondent Brian Meir has the story.

00:11 60 years ago, March 23rd entered Brazil's history books as a day of infamy,

00:19 when tanks rolled into Rio de Janeiro and the armed forces enacted a coup d'état,

00:24 ushering in 21 years of totalitarian dictatorship.

00:28 Across the country today, activists of all ages gathered to mark this solemn occasion,

00:32 remembering all of the people who were killed and tortured, and to say "never again."

00:36 The student union was one of the main movements that confronted the dictatorship. The students

00:42 came to the streets and the union has been fighting for the truth and justice to this day,

00:48 including against the coup d'état that took place on January 8, 2023. We have a historic

00:55 responsibility to Brazil to expose the truth and to fight in defense of the Brazilian people.

01:01 Students have always been on the front lines in defense of Brazil.

01:05 Brazil's military dictatorship operated torture chambers and death squads. In 2014,

01:11 President Dilma Rousseff, herself a victim of brutal torture, created a truth commission which

01:16 registered 8,743 assassinations of political prisoners and indigenous people. When it ended

01:22 in 1985, unlike in neighboring Argentina, the military officers involved were granted amnesty,

01:28 with some rising to powerful positions in the Bolsonaro government.

01:31 I was a student during the coup. I was an activist and I went on the ground.

01:38 I was arrested and spent nine years in prison.

01:45 I say that in a certain way, today is a sad day because we still haven't escaped the dictatorship.

01:52 The dictatorship continues through its most important law,

01:59 the amnesty law. It's the law that Bolsonaro is trying to use to stay out of jail.

02:05 The protesters demand that Brazil re-establish the truth commission,

02:11 which was shut down by Jair Bolsonaro, who was an army captain during the dictatorship.

02:16 Brian Mayer, Telusur, Hacifi.

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