Brazilian Chamber commission vetoes term “military dictatorship” in history book

A special commission of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has vetoed the use of the term “military dictatorship” in a book about Brazil's Independence. The commission, led by Deputy Lafayette de Andrada (PL-MG), also proposed the removal of entire paragraphs and sentences from the work, which was intended for publication by Edições Câmara, the legislative house's publishing arm.

The book, organized by professors André Machado, Andréa Slemian, and Claudia Chaves, compiles texts from the “Blog das Independências” and the academic journal “Almanacke”. Historians report that the proposed interventions target various subjects, including indigenous rights, comparisons with Haiti, the Paraguayan War, and even a reference to a 2019 Mangueira samba-enredo. In at least 13 instances, the commission suggested replacing “dictatorship” with terms such as “regime” or “military government,” while also seeking to soften descriptions of torture.

Although the book was already reviewed, diagrammed, and had approximately 50 authors with signed copyright agreements, it has been removed from the institution's editorial planning. The Chamber of Deputies stated that while adjustments were discussed, no final version was deemed suitable for institutional publication, noting that such proposals do not guarantee publication and fall under the institution's administrative and editorial autonomy.