Truth no more? The Struggle over the National Truth Commission in Brazil

Abstract

The Plan called Third National Programme of Human Rights, or PNDH-3, created by the Federal Minister Paulo Vannuchi, exmilitant of a terrorist group, is key proposal is to create a National Truth Commission (NCT) to investigate human rights violations during the military regime in Brazil (1964-1985). On 21 December 2009, the Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signed the PNDH-3 proposal. Two days later, the Brazilian Defence Minister, Nelson Jobim, and Brazil’s three leading military generals threatened to resign over the creation of the NCT. This contribution explains the history of this recent governmental crisis and elucidates how Vannuchi’s proposal to create a NCT reignited the struggle over the memory of the military regime. My aim is to identify the key agents involved in this struggle, explain their positions, and examine the way they defend a particular version of the military past to increase their power in present day Brazil.