The landmark decision to punish dictatorship crimes in Brazil

The Brazilian Amnesty Law of 1979 represented a huge step on the country’s re-democratization process in the 1980s, bookending a 21-year military dictatorship. It allowed politically exiled militants to return to the country without fearing prosecution and sought to create a blank slate in Brazilian politics, as the Armed Forces prepared to hand the reins of power back to civilians.

But the amnesty also swept the murders, torture, persecution, and censorship perpetrated by dictatorship agents under the collective rug. As a result of the legislation, the military was never cajoled into issuing a mea culpa for its crimes. Indeed, until today, the barracks erroneously believe the 1964 military coup was a necessary solution to avoid Brazil becoming a communist dictatorship. In their view, the generals and politicians who took power were simply listening to the population’s demands.

Unlike many of its South American neighbors, Brazil has never punished former dictatorship agents who committed crimes in the name of the government. That is, until now.

On Monday, a criminal court in São Paulo convicted a former police chief for his role in the kidnapping, illegal imprisonment, and disappearance of a...