President Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) once again called Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, one of the main symbols of repression during the military dictatorship, a "national hero."
This Thursday (8) president welcomed at the Planalto Palace the widow of the military, Maria Joseita Silva Brilliant Ustra, who he referred to someone with "huge heart."
Ustra was convicted of torture and kidnapping during the military regime (1964-1985).
When asked why he met with Maria Joseita, Bolsonaro said she was the editor of Ustra's book and had plenty of stories to tell about women imprisoned in the dictatorship.
"Everything she did about the good treatment of them [women imprisoned in the dictatorship], about the trousseau, dignity, childbirth. And she tells a very different story from what the left told you. She has a huge heart. I'm in love with her," Bolsonaro said.
"I didn't have much contact, but I interacted a little bit with her husband while he was alive. He was a national hero who kept Brazil from falling into what the left wants today," he said.
In interviews before being elected president, Bolsonaro already pointed to Ustra's book "Suffocated Truth" as his bedside book.
Ustra commanded the DOI-Codi (Detachment of Information Operations) of the 2nd Army (SP) from 1970 to 1974, at the height of the fight against organizations of the armed left.
According to the final report of the National Truth Commission, Ustra's unit responsible for the death or disappearance of at least 45 people.
In 2008, the retired colonel became the first convicted officer in the Brazilian court in a declaratory action for kidnapping and torture during the military regime.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon