BRAZIL
Rewriting History
The government of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro has rejected a call from the United Nations to clarify the country’s past, rejecting that the 1964 takeover of the government by the military was a coup d’etat.
In a letter to the UN human rights commission in Geneva made public on Thursday, Brazil repudiated “the baseless accusations” that Bolsonaro was attempting to downplay rights violations, Reuters reported.
“President Bolsonaro has reiterated his understanding that the 1964 movement was necessary to stave off the growing threat of a communist takeover of Brazil and to ensure the preservation of national institutions in the context of the Cold War,” the letter said.
On Sunday, Brazil’s armed forces celebrated the 1964 coup that led to a two-decade military dictatorship, following Bolsonaro’s decision to scrap an eight-year ban on such festivities.
The dictatorship executed hundreds, tortured thousands and shut down the Congress even as Bolsonaro appears to look back at the period with nostalgia, critics charge.
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