President Lula (Workers' Party) will recreate the Special Commission on the Dead and Disappeared, which was abolished at the end of 2022, at the end of the Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) administration.

This was a campaign promise by the Brazilian leader, who had been demanded by relatives of victims of the military dictatorship (1964-85) since he took office for the third time.

Lula's decision will be published in the Federal Official Gazette this Thursday (4). There will be three acts: an order reversing a previous act by Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party), which abolished the commission, another dismissing the members appointed by the previous administration and a final one appointing the new names.

The president will also approve the choice of four people to join the new collegiate body. Federal prosecutor Eugênia Augusta Gonzaga will resume her post as chair of the commission, which she held until the first year of the Bolsonaro administration, when she was dismissed.

University professor Maria Cecília Oliveira Adão will be the representative appointed by civil society. Also confirmed were federal deputy Natália Bonavides (Workers' Party) and the representative of the Ministry of Defense, Rafaelo Abritta - who is a civilian and not a military officer.

Created under the Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Also known as FHC, Neoliberal President 1994 - 2002) administration as a way of recognizing victims of the regime, locating missing bodies and compensating their families, the commission was abolished at the end of 2022 by Bolsonaro, who is a supporter of the military regime.

Throughout his term, Bolsonaro also turned the collegiate body into a military trench, which even revoked recognitions of victims of the regime. At the end of his administration, he signed an order saying that the commission's work was finished - even though there was still a huge backlog of cases.

According to members of the government, President Lula himself decided when the commission should be recreated. Not only is this an issue close to the president's heart - after all, he himself was imprisoned during the military dictatorship - but there is also a trial scheduled for next week at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that will shed light on the issue.

The court is expected to hand down Brazil's third condemnation for the dictatorship, in this case for the death of student Eduardo Collen Leite, better known as "Bacuri". He was arrested and killed by the military in 1970 after 109 days of torture.

Army commander Tomás Paiva defends the reinstallation of the Special Commission on the Dead and Disappeared

"It will be reactivated," said the military officer

Army commander Tomás Ribeiro Paiva defended the reinstallation of the Special Commission on the Dead and Disappeared of the military regime (1964-1985). The law was suspended under the Jair Bolsonaro administration (2019-2023). The commander's interview was given to the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo.

"It will be reactivated. People have lost people. They have the right to know where they are. As long as the person is missing, it's humanitarian for us to be able to know what happened. This has to be understood as a humanitarian issue. I'm just worried that, over time, expectations will be dashed."

Asked if the military will complain about the possible reinstatement of the commission, the commander said it was "people's right to know what happened to their relatives". "Even if they complain, it's the right thing to do."

The military officer commented on possible support from the army in the commission's work. "The army has always helped. There have been various expeditions, research. The Araguaia Working Group, for example. What annoys me is that sometimes people don't understand expectations. After so long, we can't find out what happened. But I reiterate: as long as there are people who have suffered losses, I think it's humanitarian. This has been settled for us".