Prosecutors seek to stop the event named after a police intelligence agency that tortured dissidents during the 1964-1985 military regime

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

As Brazil gears up for its annual carnival celebrations, an event in São Paulo has been accused of glorifying crimes from the country’s dictatorship past.

Billed as “Brazil’s largest anti-Communist block party”, the carnival event “Dops Basement” is named after the Department of Political and Social Order, a police intelligence agency that tortured dissidents during the 1964-1985 military regime.

The online flyer bears the images of the Dops chief Sérgio Paranhos Fleury and the army colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, who were accused of commanding torture and death squads under the dictatorship.

Local prosecutors tried to stop the party, scheduled this weekend, but a judge overruled them, citing freedom of expression. The prosecutors are appealing the decision.

“The judge’s decision is an insult to all the families of those that were tortured and killed as well as the whole of the Brazilian population,” said Rose Nogueira, a torture survivor and director of São Paulo’s branch of the No More Torture NGO.

Brazil president weeps as she unveils report on military dictatorship's abuses Read more

During Brazil’s dictatorship, hundreds of political activists were killed or disappeared. Thousands more were tortured, including the former president Dilma Rousseff, who at the time was a Marxist urban guerrilla.

A 2014 report from Brazil’s Truth Commission found that torture was widespread under the military regime, including the use of electric shocks, beatings, crucifixion and sexual abuse.

“It’s ridiculous that during carnival – which is supposed to be a time of celebrating democracy – this group is choosing to celebrate crimes against humanity,” said Samia Bonfim, a São Paulo city councilwoman with the leftwing Socialism and Liberty party (PSOL).

The organizers deny that the event is an apology for torture and say their objective is to “demystify” the military regime.

“In Brazil, we only hear the side of the leftwing guerrillas who wanted to turn the country into a communist dictatorship like Cuba or Venezuela. The military saved us,” said Douglas Garcia, an organizer and vice-president of Right Wing São Paulo, a small hardline group that supports a smaller state, harsh treatment of prisoners, increased police violence, harsh anti-immigration policies and the US president, Donald Trump.

Brazil's right on the rise as anger grows over scandal and corruption Read more

Amid economic recession, rising violence and a glut of high-profile corruption scandals, some in Brazil look back at the military regime as a time of peace, prosperity, law and order.

Polling second before general elections later this year is the hardline rightwing former army captain Jair Bolsonaro – himself an avid supporter of the military regime.

Similar block parties with authoritarian, conservative or military themes are also planned across the country in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Norte and Amapa.

“There are a lot of myths today among conservatives that the military regime was prosperous and safe – but if you look closely this doesn’t add up,” said Marcos Napolitano, a historian at the University of São Paulo.

Napolitano said there was no evidence that Brazil would have become a communist dictatorship, while the final years of the military regime saw hyperinflation, a huge external debt, and rising violence as the country’s cities grew.

“It is one thing to celebrate the military regime, but it’s another thing to celebrate torture,” he said.

About 1,000 people replied to the party’s Facebook invitation saying they were attending or interested in the event. In comparison, vast crowds took to São Paulo’s streets to enjoy the pre-carnival events last weekend.