Human rights and democracy: National truth commissions' experience in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to reflect on the proliferation phenomenon of national truth commissions in Brazil, highlighting the ways in which democracy and human rights are understood. I base this work on documentary research and semistructured interviews with members of the National Truth Commissions and ten other commissions situated in other states of Brazil. The commissioners converge in expecting a civic pedagogy of "truth" and in their symbiosis of significations of democracy and human rights. On the other hand, there are two axes of dissent. The first concerns the validity of its main motivators, i.e., the "victims' truth" or the "impartial truth". The second comprises the interpretations of the term "grave human rights violations", some partial to the practice of international right, and others, to local sensibilities. Although prominent, the proposed counterpoints are not rigid and present many important shades.