By 1970, reporting on human rights violations in Brazil was widespread. Several investigations were launched into the nature and extent of these violations, spearheaded by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a branch of the Organization of American States (OAS). At the same time, political resistance on the left was escalating, and the military felt they had the justification to continue violent repression of the left.
The Catholic Church and the OAS
Reverend William Wipfler, Father Frederick McGuire, and Luiz Reque in Washington, 1970
Much of the activism around torture both in the United States and Brazil was spearheaded by ecumenical religious groups. Many activists wrote letters and signed petitions to raise awareness about escalating repression in Brazil. For instance, activists Frederick McGuire and William Wipfler wrote a letter to the IACHR requesting an investigation into the situation in Brazil, and the National Council of Churches released an official statement on political repression and terror in Brazil in June 1970.
- Read a statement on Brazil by the International Affairs Committee of the Latin American Bureau of the National Council of Churches (May 26, 1970).
- Read about Reverend Louis Colonnese.
- Read the December 1970 document of protest given to the Brazilian government by Brazilian Lutherans.
- Read a letter to the commissioner of the IACHR with documentation of political tortures in Brazil and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) report on police repression and torture of political prisoners in Brazil.
- Read the ICJ report “Police Repression and Tortures Inflicted upon Political Opponents and Prisoners in Brazil“ (July 22, 1970).
- Read “ICJ Urges for the Restoration of Habeas Corpus in Brazil to End Torture of Detainees as Found by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.”
Inter-American Human Rights Cases
Although many cases about Brazil came before the Commission, some doubt the tangible results of the accusations and investigations. Tom J. Farer, who served on the IACHR from 1976 to 1983, questioned whether reports, petitions, and press releases had any real effect on political prisoners in Brazil. “Governments do not admit delinquencies. If individuals are freed, their liberation, if it is advertised at all, is presented as an act of official grace. It also is difficult to measure achievement outside the paper world of reports and communications because the commission had no absolute right of access to the prisoners, detention camps, and interrogation center where hope is crushed and identity extinguished.” – Tom J. Farer. “United States Foreign Policy and the Protection of Human Rights: Observations and Proposals.” Virginia Journal of International Law 14 (summer 1974): 623–46.
Medíci’s ‘White Book’
Accusations of human rights abuses concerned a regime bent on maintaining a positive image abroad. The government responded to increasing claims of violations of human rights with an awkwardly titled report: “Information of the Brazilian Government to Clarify Supposed Violations of Human Rights Related in Communications Transmitted to the ‘Inter-American Commission of Human Rights of the Organization of American States’,” unofficially called the “White Book.” The report, whose name perhaps played on the “Black Book” that appeared in 1969 delineating the abuses of the military regime, outlined the arguments used by Brazilian government officials that the country operated within the law. Notably, it claimed there was neither torture nor political prisoners in Brazil and attacked the widespread denunciations as part of a communist and terrorist strategy. It also examined particular cases of alleged torture and murder such as Olavo Hansen and Father Antônio Henrique Pereira da Silva Neto, who were accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Also, Itamaraty invited many foreign journalists to Brazil (all expenses paid) in a public relations effort to shore up positive press internationally for the regime. An example is Selden Rodman’s article, “Don’t Underestimate Brazil.”