Several South American countries were ruled by military dictatorships in the 20th century, such as Paraguay (1954-1989), Uruguay (1973-1985), Chile (1973-1990) and Argentina (1966-1973 and 1976-83), but unlike the others, Brazil (1964-1985) has never prosecuted those responsible for the crimes of these years. An amnesty law was passed in 1979 pardoning all Brazilians, civilian activists and Army officials, for crimes committed under the flag of the dictatorship. The country has, for the first time, published an official account detailing the atrocities committed during the era: kidnaps, rapes, tortures, executions and the concealing of bodies in clandestine cemeteries, to name but a few. “The Right to Memory and Truth” is a long report on the outcome of an 11-year investigation conducted by the national Commission on Political Deaths and Disappearances. The 500-page book has been praised by Human Rights Watch as an important step forward in addressing impunity. Although no documents have been provided by the Army, the Brazilian secret service documents on the 1964-1985 dictatorship are going to be made available online by 2008 in the National Archives. “The Right to Memory and Truth” is already available for download in Portuguese, free of charge. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was imprisoned for a month under the military dictatorship, and the new Minister of Defense Nelson Jobim attended the launch. In an apparent message to military officers that boycotted the event, Minister Jobim made a comment that has been echoed by bloggers everywhere: “There is not a single individual who can challenge [the book], and if there are, they will be answered”. Lula, leading a strike in 1980. Photo by Estevam Cesar, used with permission. The reaction came a few days later. On September 1st, the Brazilian Army made a public statement reminding the nation that an investigation into political killings during the military dictatorship would violate the amnesty law and be a “step backward” for the country. Other reactions followed suite. obomcombate [pt] published a letter by an Army official challenging Jobim: “Estou, segundo faculta-me a Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil, reagindo contra o conteúdo de tal publicação, porque entendo que ele se contrapõe aos fundamentos que levaram o governo a promulgar a Lei da Anistia, importando “em retrocesso à paz e à harmonia nacionais” “I am, in the right to me guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution, reacting against the contents of such publication, because I understand that it is against the fundamentals that led the government to proclaim the amnesty law, thus a “step backward to the national peace and harmony” The Brazilian blogosphere was torn between supporters and critics of both sides, showing that the 20-year dictatorship is a wound that still needs thorough healing. Celso Lungaretti [pt], who personally met more than 20 people mentioned by the book as dead or “disappeared”, says that the official Army's notification is not acceptable: “Foi o pretexto de que o Alto Comando carecia para manifestar seu inconformismo com a revelação da verdade histórica. (…) A nota oficial que lançou representa uma quebra de autoridade, já que desautoriza o ministro da Defesa, e coloca em dúvida (“até porque os fatos históricos têm diferentes interpretações, dependendo da ótica dos seus protagonistas”) o acerto das iniciativas do estado brasileiro para reparar as atrocidades cometidas durante os anos de chumbo” “This was the excuse that the High Command needed to show its lack of conformity with the revelation of a historic truth. (…) The official notification released by them is meant to be a breach of authority, as it discredits the Minister of Defense and casts doubt (“even because historic facts have different interpretations depending on their protagonist’s point of view”) on the success of the Brazilian government’s initiative to repair atrocities committed during those bullet ruled years” Journalist Carlos Motta [pt] points out that the Minister Jobim is now in a difficult situation. Will he show who is in charge? “Só que desta vez terá de mostrar qualidades bastante raras nos homens públicos. Coragem, por exemplo. Se ficar calado a respeito da insubordinação dos chefes militares, que repudiaram o conteúdo e o lançamento do livro “Direito à Memória e à Verdade”, patrocinado pelo governo federal e que expõe os horrores promovidos pela ditadura militar, Jobim será mais um ministro da Defesa de fachada, sem comando nem autoridade” “However, this time he will have to show rare qualities for someone in public life. Courage, for example.