Without punishment, ‘ghosts’ of the dictatorship return, warns Fernanda Torres in NY

Speaking to a foreign audience, Fernanda Torres explained that “the problem in Brazil is that the dictatorship lasted 21 years, and when they – the military – decided it was supposed to end, they were in charge.” She made a comparison with Argentina, which ended its military regime with the collapse of the military in the wake of the Falklands War.

“In Argentina, civil society was able to prosecute the perpetrators of the crimes. But not in Brazil. There was a more extremist part of the military that didn’t want it to happen. And the same people are the ones who tried to carry out a coup d’état now”, warned.

“In Brazil, there was an agreement. We forgive and you forget what happened. But the ghost resurfaces again”, lamented the actress.

For her, it is “very impressive” that the Federal Supreme Court cited the film in a decision to reopen the debate on the amnesty law. The idea is that if a body disappears, it cannot be part of the amnesty. “We are starting to discuss this,” said the actress.

The film by Walter Salles, which tells the story of Eunice Paiva, was cited by minister Flavio Dino as one of the arguments to propose a reassessment of the 1979 Amnesty law, in the face of crimes such as the forced disappearance of Rubens Paiva.

Walter Salles made a point of being emphatic. “We are on Eunice’s side. The dictatorship’s crimes need to be judged and punished. As happened in Argentina and Chile,” he said.