A note from the Lula Institute
In the face of the indefensible decision taken by Bolsonaro’s Government to commemorate the 1964 military coup, the Lula Institute expresses its solidarity with those tortured and relatives of those disappeared and murdered by the military regime. Paying homage to dictatorships is not in keeping with the democratic spirit. Gloating over and celebrating the pain of families is inhumane. Jair Bolsonaro ignores the history of Brazil, insults the country that he presides over and disrespects the pain of thousands of daughters and sons, mothers and fathers, spouses and relatives of Brazilian citizens.
Republican democratic institutions have already begun to act to prevent such regression. This is how a democracy works.
This terrible period of our history should not be celebrated but rather, remembered and studied to ensure that it can never happen again. Women and men who sacrificed themselves in those dark, nightmarish years in the struggle for freedom and social justice, will never be forgotten. And the hard-won democracy that followed needs to be permanently defended, respected and strengthened by all of us.
The Lula Institute places itself alongside all those who have fought for the restitution of democracy and invites everyone to visit and share the following link: www.memorialdademocracia.com.br. It must never happen again.
Dictatorship, never again.
Translated by Carolina Paes Brownlow