AI-5: 50 years ago, Brazil institutionalized torture and repression

Dec 13, 2018 16:53 4 min read

Fifty years today, on December 13, 1968, Brazil’s military regime enacted a decree which came to define the dictatorship period of 1964-1985. Known as Institutional Act No. 5, or AI-5, it served to institutionalize the generals’ practices of torture, repression, and censorship, signaling the beginning of Brazil’s Years of Lead.

Four and a half years after the military coup which deposed President João Goulart and installed a dictatorship in charge of Brazil, AI-5 gave the head of state almost unlimited powers, closing the Congress, impeaching politicians, and suspending the right of habeas corpus for political...

Access all of The Brazilian Report

Start your 7-day free trial.

Free trial

AI-5: 50 years ago, Brazil institutionalized torture and repression

Access all of The Brazilian Report

Start your 7-day free trial.

Bolsonaro fears the reaper as Covid hearings kick off

Bolsonaro's pandemic response will be under the microscope. Whatever the probe's outcome, it is unlikely to be positive for the president

Congress wants to repeal censorship law. Is the replacement any better?

The 1983 National Security Law has been used as a tool to intimidate demonstrators. Lawmakers hope to introduce a replacement, but will it be any better?

What actually constitutes an impeachable offense in Brazil?

Many have called for the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro for his mismanagement of the pandemic. But what does the law actually say on the issue?

As Congress kicks off pandemic hearings, Bolsonaro strikes back

A Supreme Court ruling forced the Senate to launch a hearings committee to investigate the Bolsonaro government's pandemic response

In-person worship trial used as tryouts for Supreme Court seat

Brazil's Solicitor General and Prosecutor General are using a trial on the reopening of churches to please President Jair Bolsonaro and boost their chances to win a spot on the Supreme Court

Change to patent law could be a blow to Brazilian innovation

A Supreme Court ruling limits medical patents to a maximum of 20 years. Investors in innovation are likely to steer clear of Brazil

The (promising) state of Brazil’s oil sector, during the pandemic

Oil has been one of the few Brazilian economic sectors largely unharmed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Further improvements are expected as opportunities open for foreign companies

University students pitch in to save ailing small businesses

Students in São Paulo develop projects to assist small businesses in São Paulo, which have been among those hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic

Vastly underused, Brazil seeks to boost its waterway transport system

Only China and Russia have more navigable inland rivers than Brazil, yet only 2 percent of the country's cargo is transported via waterways

Vaccination by private companies could cause Brazil more headaches

Congress is set to allow private companies to purchase coronavirus vaccines and immunize their employees. Health experts are against it

Tech Roundup: The importance of a national data council

Brazil's Data Protection Council is one step closer to creation, which will give regulators a huge boost in decision-making and research

Tech Roundup: Virtual trips could save Brazil’s tourism sector

This week’s topics: How tech could help the tourism sector survive. Brazilian startup hubs join forces to build a stronger environment

Starlink expands satellite internet access to Latin America

Starlink, Elon Musk’s new venture, aims to close the internet gap in rural areas. Latin America is next on the project's to-do list

The São Paulo research institute leading the charge toward a Brazilian vaccine

Created 120 years ago, the Butantan Biological Institute has a proud history of scientific developments and immunization campaigns

Tech Roundup: Brazilian MVNOs ready to surf the 5G wave

This week’s topics: MVNOs and 5G; Embraer's flying car; and WhatsApp Pay is back to stay

What we can learn from Brazil’s only fully-vaccinated city

In Serrana, around 300 kilometers north of São Paulo, the local population has taken part in a mass vaccination experiment and now hopes to return to a normal life

In favelas, economic chokehold adds to the virus fears

With cases and deaths at record levels, cities have tried to listen to experts and close the economy. For those living in favelas, however, restrictive measures cause economic distress and hunger

Brazil vaccinating indigenous communities at a snail’s pace

Indigenous people were included among Brazil's vaccine priority groups, but they are receiving immunization at a much slower pace

How São Paulo became a positive vaccine outlier in Brazil

São Paulo is suffering from overcrowded hospitals. Still, Brazil's richest and most populous state is making great strides in vaccine rollouts

Brazil faces widespread oxygen shortage amid coronavirus peak

Increased demand and consumption around the country could lead to oxygen shortages, similar to those seen in Manaus two months ago

As U.S. and Brazil discuss the Amazon, civil society says “don’t trust Bolsonaro”

The two countries are set to discuss terms over potential U.S. financial aid to help Brazil fight deforestation

New “pre-salt” oil reserves on the Amazon coast excite markets

Researchers claim to have found new deepwater oil reserves off Brazil's northern coast. However, environmental agents say coral reefs could be destroyed by oil extraction activities

Brazil’s next oil lease auction threatens hundreds of marine species

Brazil's National Oil Agency is set to sell off 92 oil fields in October, but many are located close to environmental reserves

11,000 Brazilian families sue Norwegian miner for environmental disaster

Norwegian giant Norsk Hydro repeatedly discharged toxic waste into rivers surrounding the town of Barcarena, damaging the local environment

Effects of Brumadinho disaster all too present two years on

A tailings dam collapsed in the Minas Gerais town of Brumadinho two years ago. The victims remain without homes and water

Amid a slow rollout, Mexico gambles on homemade vaccine

President AMLO presented the new vaccine as being 100-percent made in Mexico, but it relies on technology developed in the U.S.

Uruguay luring disgruntled Argentinian businessmen

Uruguay has often served as a sort of a tax haven for Argentinian businessmen. Now, more Argentinian firms are also calling Uruguay home

What good will Chile’s new constitution really do?

One political scientist believes Chileans are being too optimistic about the benefits of a new constitution, without realizing the risks

Vaccine story so far in Chile, Latin America’s fastest rollout

Chile has been a success story in rolling out coronavirus vaccines. But why are infections still rising at an uncontrolled pace?

The pandemic’s actual death toll in Mexico likely to be 60 percent higher

The government in Mexico discretely published a report on Saturday revising the coronavirus death toll in the country by 60 percent

Ahead of 2022, anti-partisanship is a looming risk for Brazil

More and more Brazilian voters have no party allegiances of their own, while actively opposing at least one political party. That is a problem

Bolsonaro is scrambling on shaky ground

After a major cabinet reshuffle, President Jair Bolsonaro should manage to find some political stability. However, it will come at a price

Brazil among world’s top 10 democratic backsliding countries

Data shows the trend beginning in 2016, prior to the Bolsonaro government

Can any attempt to hold the Bolsonaro accountable be apolitical?

A prosecutor from Brazil's Federal Accounts Court issued a request to suspend Bolsonaro and members of his cabinet

Lula is the least of Bolsonaro’s problems

Rising inflation, an uncontrolled pandemic, and massive economic uncertainty should keep Bolsonaro up at night — much more than Lula

When Hollywood royalty traded it all for a Brazilian farm

In the mid-20th century, a group of Hollywood movie stars gave up the glitz and glamor to become farmers in the Brazilian state of Goiás

The ancient stone city of Pireneus: Brazil’s best-kept secret

The city of Pirenópolis attracts tourists from all over for its lavish vegetation. But its most stunning attraction is remains unknown

Businesses in Brazilian tourist city organize their own voluntary lockdown

Small business-owners in Alto Paraíso de Goiás took matters into their own hands after the local mayor failed to do so

Foreign residents in Brazil being turned, despite right to enter