Violation des droits de l'homme et redémocratisation au Brésil : sous l'Etat scélérat, la société perfide...

Abstract

Human Rights Violation and Redemocratization in Brazil : A Treacherous Society within a Wrongful State. Human rights violation made up one of the most striking issues raised in the latin-american political agenda during the seventies. In order to face the Brazilian « torturing State », a movement to defend human rights emerged under the guidance of the Catholic Church and the Brazilian Bar Association. This movement mobilized the public opinion and played a fundamental role in the disintegration of the military regime. However, at the end of the dictatorship period, this movement oecame stronger and instead of dealing with political prisoners it started to defend tortured common prisoners stemming from low income class. After this period, human rights militants were accused to protect marginals and the public opinion became hostile to this new approach of the movement. In the past, torturing practices related to middle class prisoners caused indignation among Brazilians. At the present, an apatnetic society sees these practices coming back within a different realm. This contrasting behavior tells us a lot about the strong hierarchy that pervades the Brazilian society. Beyond the classical dichotomy « dominated and dominants », this society is also based upon a more tragic dichotomy : those who are eligible to be tortured and others that are not eligible to be tortured.

A luta pelos direitos humanos: profissionalização de causas e politização do direito

“…No que diz respeito às redes nacionais, podemos observar o papel de instituições religiosas, principalmente da Igreja Católica, por meio de grupos como a Comissão Pastoral da Terra, Centros de Defesa dos Direitos Humanos, constituídos pela Conferência Nacional de Bispos do Brasil (CNBB), como também as novas lideranças sindicais (movimento sindical no ABC Paulista), as entidades estudantis e as instituições de representação profissional, como a Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil (OAB) e a Associação Brasileira de Imprensa (ABI) e, ainda, as campanhas nacionais, como a Campanha pela Anistia. A OAB teve um papel decisivo nesse processo, intensificando sua participação por meio das comissões de direitos humanos e na luta pela democratização (Oliveira, 1992).…”