Honoring repression: the award of the Peacemaker’s Medal to state agents involved in security (1964-1985)

Abstract

Abstract:The article analyzes the awarding of the Peacemaker's Medal to state officials involved in political repression in Brazil during the military dictatorship. The study aims to understand the characteristics of the medal and the criteria for awarding it, the justifications, the number of members of the intelligence community who were decorated and the time point when the medal was awarded during the period. For this purpose, the list of recipients was cross-referenced with the records produced by ex-political prisoners and human rights groups who denounced state agents for acts of torture. The article's conclusion is that the number of medals awarded to agents of repression is only a small percentage of the total. However, it is considerably higher in the case of the more prestigious category, "with Distinction". In addition, it shows that those state agents were decorated because of their involvement in political persecution, in spite of having violated human rights.