Activists held a demonstration Tuesday in downtown Rio de Janeiro to remember the victims of Brazil’s military government, marking the anniversary of the 1964 military coup.
The group gathered in front of a former building of the extinct Department of Political and Social Order, known as DOPS, used for incarceration and torture during that period.
Many held pictures of political opponents that were murdered or disappeared during the regime.
But there were also flags and stickers highlighting the 2022 Jan. 8 events, when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the capital building.
Activists shouted “no amnesty” for the former president.
In March, a panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled that Bolsonaro and seven of his associates will stand trial on five counts, including attempting to stage a coup after the far-right leader lost the 2022 election.
“We have this debate about memory, and it’s important to deepen this reflection in society precisely to avoid what happened recently. Brazil needs to implement the truth, it also needs to condemn the coup plotters of January 8th,” said Luciana Boiteux, a professor of Criminal Law at Rio’s Federal University.
In 1964, a coup overthrew President João Goulart by members of the Brazilian Armed Forces, launching a 21-year dictatorship that saw hundreds of people killed and thousands tortured.
AP Video shot by Lucas Dumphreys
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