Former President Dilma Rousseff receives political amnesty
The Amnesty Commission of Brazil’s Ministry of Human Rights on Thursday (May 22) granted political amnesty to former President Dilma Rousseff and apologized for the persecution and torture carried out by the Brazilian state during the military dictatorship (1964–1985). She will also be entitled to economic reparations adding up to BRL 100 thousand for her dismissal from the Economics and Statistics Foundation (FEE) in Rio Grande do Sul state in 1977.
“This commission, by the powers vested in it, grants you, Brazilian citizen [Dilma Vana Rousseff], political amnesty and on behalf of the Brazilian state apologizes for all the atrocities which the dictatorial state caused you as well as your family, your comrades-in-arms, and finally the whole Brazilian society,” said the commission’s chair, retired Federal Prosecutor Ana Maria Oliveira.
“We would also like to thank you for your tireless fight for Brazilian democracy, your tireless fight for the Brazilian people,” she added during the commission’s plenary session in Brasília.
Due to commitments as president of the New Development Bank in China, Rousseff was unable to attend the ceremony in person.
Dilma Rousseff first submitted her amnesty request in 2002, when the Amnesty Commission was created, but the process was suspended at her bidding while she held the positions of cabinet minister and president. In 2016, the process was resumed, and in 2022 Rousseff’s request was denied. She then filed an appeal.
Torture
Dilma Rousseff was arrested in 1970 at the age of 22, persecuted for her political stance of criticism and opposition to the military government. She spent almost three years in detention, answering several inquiries at military bodies in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais, “always for the same facts investigated, with the aim of prolonging her period in prison,” says Rodrigo Lentz, rapporteur of the case at the commission.
To the National Truth Commission, the former president said that torture leaves scars that are not just physical.
“I don’t think any of us can explain the after-effects; we’re always going to be different,” she said, adding that she was able to withstand prison better physically because she was younger, but the medium-term impact was greater.
Political amnesty
The Amnesty Commission is the government body responsible for examining requests for recognition and economic reparation to citizens who were politically persecuted by agents of the state or their family from September 18, 1946, to October 5, 1988.
