Brazil officially acknowledges state role in Marighella’s death

In Brazil, Carlos Augusto recently commemorated the 30th anniversary of the government’s official acknowledgement of its responsibility for the 1969 death of his father, Carlos Marighella, a federal deputy and guerrilla.

For 27 years after Marighella’s death, the family lacked an official death certificate stating the cause of death. The acknowledgement came with the creation of the Special Commission on Political Deaths and Disappearances in 1996, a step toward repairing Marighella’s reputation.

Marighella died in São Paulo during an ambush carried out by agents of the military dictatorship. Initially, he was buried as an unidentified person, and his remains were not moved to his hometown of Salvador until 1979 after the passage of an amnesty law. His son, Carlinhos, noted that many who fought alongside his father never received proper burials. Last year, the commission issued a revised document with more detailed information about Marighella’s death.

The first commission president, Miguel Reale Júnior, said admitting the state’s guilt was important because it clarified that Marighella was executed, not killed in a confrontation. Eugênia Gonzaga, the current commission president, added that the revised documents also recognized Marighella’s marriage to activist Clara Charf, which had been omitted from earlier records. Carlinhos hopes that acknowledging the struggles of his father will inspire Brazil’s youth to value democracy and resist coups.