Memórias traumáticas da ditadura civil-militar no Brasil e na Argentina a partir dos usos de retratos de mortos e desaparecidos nas Instituições de Memória e Manifestações Sociais

Abstract

This doctoral research studied the attributed uses of the portraits of the dead and missing people in the civil-military dictatorships in Brazil (1964-1985) and Argentina (1976 – 1983). The political violence perpetuated by the State imposed to the society a traumatic atmosphere of terror and victimized, directly or indirectly, hundreds of thousands of people, being many of them dead of missing. The traumatic memories that have remained from that time are situated between what should be remembered and forgotten and the fight for atonement. This research departed from the context mentioned before and followed the routes of the political transition and redemocratization processes of each of these countries. Therefore, it is important to highlight the role of the social actors as protagonists and active individuals who claim for the memory, the truth and the justice regarding the traumatic memories derived from the authoritarian and repressive regimes of the military dictatorships in these countries. These individuals have used portraits as means of testimony, denouncement and fight for the memory of that past. It was important to try to understand how these portraits, which were incorporated in the public scene as powerful devices for creating awareness and promoting transformation, have influenced the consolidation of the memory policies in each of these countries. This comparative study analysed the uses attributed to the portraits. The method showed efficiency in comparing two similar cases in their original contexts and the uses given to the portraits, identifying the following sources: a) portraits exhibited in Memory Institutions derived from the memory policies; and b) portraits depicted in placards and carried in social manifestations organized by the social actors along with the society. In both cases, these actions aimed at giving visibility to the memory of the dictatorships and what they represented, and were a way to honour the victims. The intense and continuous use of the portraits of the dead and missing, the way they were presented, the emotional power aggregated to them, and the visibility they received may have contributed to a greater awareness regarding the traumatic memory and the violations of the human rights, which resulted in more solidarity in a country compared to the other. Such visibility and support were fundamental to the elaboration and implementation of memory policies, and the portraits were used as powerful tools to claim for atonement, recognition and memory.