MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER
Fonds of the Network of information and counter information
of the military regime in Brazil (1964-1985)
(Brazil)
Ref: 2010-21
PART A ▪ ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
1
Summary
This nomination is intended to list on the Memory of the World Register a set of 17 fonds produced by
the network of information and counter information on the military regime in Brazil (1964-1985), which
today are under custodianship of several public archival institutions in the country. Together with others
produced by public and private entities, these fonds are available for consultation on the website of the
Centro de Referência das Lutas Políticas no Brasil (1964-1985) – Memórias Reveladas (Reference
Center on Political Struggles in Brazil [1964-1985] – Revealed Memories), a project that combines State
and society efforts to preserve and recover the memory of that period and to encourage social reflection
about citizenship, democracy and human rights.
As an outcome of the military coup of March 31st, 1964, the President of the Republic João Goulart
was deposed, and arrests and protests followed. On April 9th, the Institutional Act no. 1 was
published, allowing for forfeiture of offices and suspension of political rights. In this conjunction of
circumstances and based on an already existing structure, an information service was be set up to
protect and support the regime. And on June 13th, 1964, the Serviço Nacional de Informações – SNI
(National Information Service) was created. Out of 4,841 official penalties imposed by the military
regime, 2,990 were given in 1964, many of them based on recommendations or information from SNI.
During the time the military regime was in force, exception legislation was created and a new
Constitution and the Law of National Security (1967) were passed. Over six thousand people were
convicted by institutional acts or sued based on the Law of National Security; about fifty thousand
underwent police interrogation; thirty thousand were tortured and hundreds died as a consequence; many
people are still reported missing; and thousands of citizens were denounced, charged and convicted by
the Military Justice.
The fonds produced over that period by information agencies, besides other holdings, integrate
Centro de Referência das Lutas Políticas no Brasil – Memórias Reveladas, created in 2009 by the
Presidential Staff Office. Under coordination of the Arquivo Nacional (National Archives),
Memórias Reveladas promotes and disseminates studies, researches and reflections on the theme,
interconnecting the Rede Nacional de Cooperação e Informações Arquivísticas (National Network
of Archival Information and Cooperation). The database available at Memórias Reveladas website
provides information and, in many cases, the digital copy of documents on police-military
investigations and diligences, cancellation of rights, control of individuals, associations and
organizations considered suspicious, military agreements, the Law of National Security, among
other themes. The gradual process of political liberation is also recorded therein, revealing the
complexity of that period, the role of the resistance to the dictatorship, and the efforts to build and
consolidate democracy.
Accessible to any person, the proposed holdings represent an important testimony to world history, not
only because in South America military governments established strong cooperation bonds, but also
because military governments in our hemisphere and in other parts of the world were implemented and
sustained thanks to the collaboration and consent of several developed nations on the pretext of avoiding
the communist risk. For Brazil, the availability of these fonds on the web represents a cornerstone in the
3
democratization of the access to information and an invaluable tool for building citizenship and a fairer
and equitable society in line with the Center's motto: “lest it be forgotten, lest it happen again”.
2
Details of the nominator
2.1 Name (person or organization)
Arquivo Nacional (Brazil)
2.2 Relationship to the documentary heritage nominated
According to Law no. 8.159, of January 8th, 1991, which sets forth the national policy on public
and private archives and other provisions, the director-general of Arquivo Nacional is the
president of the Conselho Nacional de Arquivos (National Council on Archives), the central
agency of the Sistema Nacional de Arquivos (National Archives System).
Also, according to Ordinance no. 204, of May 13th, 2009, of the Presidential Staff Office,
Arquivo Nacional is the coordinator of Centro de Referência das Lutas Políticas no Brasil (19641985) – Memórias Reveladas.
For the purposes of this nomination, it is also representative of the consortium of public
institutions that present their fonds in this joint nomination.
2.3 Contact person(s)
Jaime Antunes da Silva, director-general of Arquivo Nacional, president of Conselho Nacional de
Arquivos, and coordinator-general of Centro de Referência das Lutas Políticas no Brasil (19641985) – Memórias Reveladas
2.4 Contact details (include address, phone, fax, email)
Arquivo Nacional
Praça da República, 173 ▪ Centro
20211-350 ▪ Rio de Janeiro ▪ RJ ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-21-2179-1275
E-mail: diretoriageral@arquivonacional.gov.br
3
Identity and description of the documentary heritage
3.1 Name and identification details of the items being nominated
a)
Arquivo Nacional
Fonds of Sistema Nacional de Informações – SISNI (National Information System) central
agencies: Serviço Nacional de Informações; Comissão Geral de Inquérito Policial-Militar
(General Commission of Police and Military Inquiry); Comissão Geral de Investigações (General
Commission of Investigations); and Conselho de Segurança Nacional (National Security
Council)
b)
Arquivo Público do Estado do Ceará (Public Archives of Ceará State)
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Ceará (Police Station of Political and Social Order of
Ceará State)
c)
Arquivo Público do Estado do Espírito Santo (Public Archives of Espírito Santo State)
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Espírito Santo (Police Station of Political and Social
Order of Espírito Santo State)
d)
Centro de Informação e Documentação Arquivística da Universidade Federal de Goiás (Center
of Documents and Archival Information of the Federal University of Goiás)
Divisão Central de Informações do Estado de Goiás (Central Information Division of Goiás
State)
4
e)
Arquivo Público do Estado do Maranhão (Public Archives Maranhão State)
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Maranhão (Police Station of Political and Social Order
of Maranhão State)
f)
Arquivo Público Mineiro (Public Archives of Minas Gerais State)
Departamento de Ordem Política e Social de Minas Gerais (Department of Political and Social
Order of Minas Gerais)
g)
Arquivo Público Estadual Jordão Emerenciano (State Public Archives Jordão Emerenciano)
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social de Pernambuco (Pernambuco State Social and Political
Order Police) (See Annex 7)
h)
Departamento Estadual de Arquivo Público do Paraná (State Department of Public Archives of
Paraná State)
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Paraná (Police Station of Political and Social Order of
Paraná)
i)
Arquivo Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Public Archives of Rio de Janeiro State)
Departamento Autônomo de Ordem Política e Social do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Autonomous
Department of Political and Social Order of Rio de Rio de Janeiro State)
Departamento de Ordem Política e Social do Estado da Guanabara (Department of Political and
Social Order of Guanabara State)
Delegacia Especial de Segurança Política e Social (Special Political and Social Security Police)
Divisão de Polícia Política e Social (Political and Social Police Division)
Departamento Geral de Investigações Especiais (General Department of Special Investigations)
Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo (Public Archives of São Paulo State)
Departamento Estadual de Ordem Política e Social de São Paulo (State Department of Political
and Social Order of São Paulo)
3.2 Description
Given the nature of the documentary records, the collections gathered in this nomination may be
classified under two major groups:
a)
CENTRAL INFORMATION AGENCIES
Serviço Nacional de Informações
Established on June 13th, 1964, in connection with the Presidência da República, and extinct on
March 15th, 1990, transferring its assignments to the Secretaria de Assuntos Estratégicos.
Contents: documents produced by the Serviço Nacional de Informações and received from the
several agencies that integrated the Sistema Nacional de Informações, including the intelligence
units of the Armed Forces and the Polícia Federal, on repression to left-wing organizations,
amnesty, arrests, political parties, popular movements, unions, the Church, universities and
student movements, political exile, urban guerrilla, rural guerrilla, terrorism, international affairs,
forfeiture of public offices and cancellation of political rights. It includes files on people and
institutions that integrated a national record.
Dates of production: 1964-1990
Dimensions: 470 books; 665 periodicals; 9,549 bibliographic items; 778 maps; 6 CDs; 10,608
photographs; 1 iconographic item; 220,000 microcards; 4 discs; 176 audio magnetic tapes; 46
three-dimensional items; 132 meters of textual records.
Comissão Geral de Investigações
Established on December 17th, 1968, in connection with the Ministério da Justiça, it was
declared extinct on January 1st, 1979.
Contents: arresting procedures of property obtained through unjust enrichment, log books,
5
accounting procedures and dossiers with monthly financial demonstrations, balance sheets,
summary balance sheets, budgetary proposals and accountability reports.
Dates of production: 1968-1979
Dimensions: 269 meters of textual records.
Comissão Geral de Inquérito Policial-Militar
Established on February 10th, 1969, it was officially extinct on February 6th, 1970. Contents:
records of investigation activities and diligences, reports on military police inquiries, reports on
activities, denunciations and convictions for application of institutional acts to political
opponents.
Dates of production: 1964-1970
Dimensions: 3.24 meters of textual records.
Conselho de Segurança Nacional
Existing since 1934 as Conselho Superior de Segurança Nacional, under the 1937 Constitution it
became Conselho de Segurança Nacional, being so named up to 1988.
Contents: procedures for cancellation of political rights and forfeiture of elective offices,
individual files and folders, analyses of domestic and foreign political conjunctures, economic
analyses of international treaties.
Dates of production: 1934-1990
Dimensions: 107 meters of textual records.
b)
STATE SCOPE INFORMATION AGENCIES
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Ceará
Established on July 30th, 1936.
Contents: individual files of militants in unions, churches, political parties, left -wing
organizations, clubs, high school and college student movements, the Partido Comunista and
dissidents and peasant leagues; reports; requests; election polls; foreign search requests;
dismissals of federal servants in Ceará State; reports of police agents; confidential reports;
denunciation letters; pamphlets and bulletins.
Dates of production: 1964-1987
Dimensions: 312 periodicals; 10 meters of textual records.
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Espírito Santo
Established in 1953 under this name, it replaced Delegacia Especializada de Ordem Política
e Social, which had replaced Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social and Delegacia de
Segurança Política e Social. It was officially extinct in 1991.
Contents: letters received and sent by agencies of the Secretaria de Segurança Pública,
service orders, reports, internal and external letters, information bulletins, radiograms,
proceeds, search requests and information sending and receiving records, requests, political
ideology conduction attestations, testimonies, police inquiries, photographs, newspapers and
clippings, books, signs and pamphlets, dossiers on investigations of people, public and
private institutions, political parties, unions, clandestine organizations, demonstrations,
public acts, events, elections, strikes and student movements, religious organizations,
Aliança Nacional Libertadora and Ação Integralista Brasileira, and police identification
files.
Dates of production: 1934-1989
Dimensions: 18 books; 336 photographs; 1 three-dimensional item; 14.94 meters of textual
records.
Divisão Central de Informações do Estado de Goiás
Established under Departamento de Ordem Política e Social de Goiás (1976-1987), it dates
back to the time of the Serviço Estadual de Informações, when the latter integrated
Departamento de Polícia de Ordem Política de Goiás (1969-1973).
6
Contents: photographs; agent reports on clandestine political parties congresses; social
movements; student congresses; meetings and travels recorded by security agencies;
individual files and records; dossiers on union elections, strike movements, insti tutions,
political parties, personal activities, clandestine activities, political propaganda and land
invasions; newspaper clippings.
Dates of production: [1970]-[1985]
Dimensions: 176 photographs; 7.72 meters of textual records.
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Maranhão
Established on June 10th, 1969 through the transformation of Divisão de Ordem Política e
Social into Delegacia. Extinct on December 30th 1991.
Contents: letters exchanged with public administration agencies, such as Polícia Federal,
Ministries, Serviço Nacional de Informações, municipal chambers; dossiers (1,267) and files
(16,748) containing information on individuals (politicians, students, etc.) as of the 1960s
decade; pamphlets; search requests; information; proceeds; reports; political ideology
attestations; newspaper clippings.
Dates of production: 1968-1991
Dimensions: 32.5 meters of textual records.
Departamento de Ordem Política e Social de Minas Gerais
Established in 1956 through the transformation of Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social de
Minas Gerais into Department.
Contents: letters sent and received; arrest warrants; political prisoner files; police files;
socio-political background attestations; testimonies; service orders; search requests; arrest
records; arrested materials; documents of organizations (political parties, political -military
organizations, unions, community associations, student identities, religious organizations);
documents of companies and public institutions; investigation reports; reports on pu blic
demonstrations (strikes, elections, cultural events, parties, political authority visits); control
of arms and ammunition trade; rural movements; police-military inquiries; expert technical
reports; laws, decrees and ordinances; pamphlets; brochures; books; theoretical analysis
texts; national and foreign periodicals; periodical clippings; caricatures; cartoons; personal
documents; anonymous letters; notes; postcards; telegrams; photographs; cartographic and
censorship materials.
Dates of production: 1927-1982
Dimensions: 56 photographs; 98 micrographic items.
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social de Pernambuco
Established on December 23rd, 1935, it had its name and structure changed over time. As of
1957 it was named Departamento de Ordem Política e Social de Pernambuco.
Contents: working files referring to unions, churches, political parties, left -wing
organizations, clubs, student movements, Partido Comunista and dissidents and peasant
leagues; files of countries, states and municipalities; individual files, which correspond to
dossiers on citizens considered subversive by the political police; name-based general index
that refers to individual files, recording basic information such as name, parents' names,
address, reason and date of arrest; photographs; three-dimensional objects (coins, brooches,
keys); newspapers; books; magazines; book covers; maps; blueprints; folders and pamphlets.
Dates of production: 1926-1991
Dimensions: 363 meters of textual records.
Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Paraná
Established on March 15th, 1937
Contents: photographs, newspaper clippings, original documents, police files of denounced
people and thematic and individual folders.
Dates of production: 1920-1989
Dimensions: 4,079 photographs; 92 meters of textual records.
7
Departamento Autônomo de Ordem Política e Social do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Established in 1971 through the transformation of Departamento de Polícia Política e Social
do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.
Contents: files of natural persons, associations and political organizations; public servant
attendance records; received mail records; event records and files of people and collective
entities.
Dates of production: 1934-1975
Dimensions: 14 meters of textual records.
Departamento de Ordem Política e Social do Estado da Guanabara
In operation under this name between 1962 and 1975, it dates back to 1935 as Delegacia
Especial de Ordem Política e Social. In 1975 it was incorporated by the Departamento Geral
de Investigações Especiais. In 1975 it was incorporated by the Departamento Geral de
Investigações Especiais.
Contents: dossiers; files; appraisals; inquiries; letters; working files; photographs; public
servant attendance records.
Dates of production: 1962-1975
Dimensions: 250 bibliographic items; 1,441 photographs; 10 sound items; 13 meters of
textual records; 12 three-dimensional items.
Delegacia Especial de Segurança Política e Social
Established on June 13th, 1933 in replacement to 4ª Delegacia Auxiliar, created in 1923, in
charge of matters regarding social order and public security. Delegacia Especial reported to
the chief of Polícia Civil do Distrito Federal, which in turn reported to Ministério da Justiça
e Negócios Interiores. It was extinct on March 28th, 1944.
Contents: letters, reports, files of natural persons, inquiries, lists of arrested people, signs and
photographs. Emphasis is given to documentary files on communist and integralist activities
and on German espionage during World War II.
Dates of production: 1905-1944
Dimensions: 58 iconographic items; 1,379 photographs; 9 maps; 24 meters of textual records.
Divisão de Polícia Política e Social
Established on March 28th, 1944, Divisão de Polícia Política e Social was subordinated to
the Departamento Federal de Segurança Pública. It was extinct on December 24th, 1962.
Contents: letters, private bulletins, inquiries, reports, photographs, newspaper clippings
referring to activities of Partido Comunista do Brasil, unions and residents' associations, as
well as information on political, military and student leaderships.
Dates of production: 1944-1962
Dimensions: 2,523 photographs; 98 microcards; 63 meters of textual records.
Departamento Geral de Investigações Especiais
Established on March 15th, 1975, subordinated to Secretaria de Estado de Segurança
Pública. Extinct on April 13th, 1983.
Contents: letters; inquiries; reports.
Dates of production: 1975-1983
Dimensions: 22 meters of textual records.
Departamento Estadual de Ordem Política e Social de São Paulo
Originally instituted as Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social do Estado de São Paulo in
1924, it went through several transformations, including a change of name, and became
Departamento Estadual as of 1945. It was extinct on March 4th, 1983.
Contents: dossiers, records, reports and individual files, with socio-political background;
photographs; expert reports; police inquiries; documents belonging to investigated and
arrested individuals considered as evidence of political crimes, such as newspapers,
magazines, books, pamphlets and private photographs; investigations on foreigners,
8
clandestine organizations, students and workers movements, political encounters (congresses,
meetings and political demonstrations), class and military associations, and also on
universities, unions and churches.
Dates of production: 1924-1983
Dimensions: 1,173 meters of textual records.
4
Justification for inclusion / Assessment against criteria
4.1 Is authenticity established?
The documents integrating the collection are authentic and have been produced and gathered as
part of the activities developed by producing agencies.
4.2 Is world significance, uniqueness and irreplaceability established?
The fonds being nominated are undoubtedly unique and irreplaceable, and are essential for the
construction of the history of exception regimes in Latin America in the second half of the 20th
century and for the protection of human rights. With regard to academic research, these holdings
are indispensable sources for knowledge of military government policies and actions. Brazilian
historiography of that period, for so long restricted to reports of militants in clandestine
organizations and private archives, can now be enhanced by research based on new documents,
objects and approaches.
These fonds also contain documents produced during interrogations, investigations, military and
police operations, which are indispensable sources, for instance, to elucidate political facts, death
registers or to locate bodies of missing political activists. Among a sample of 7,658 requests
made to Arquivo Nacional between 2006 and December of 2009, 4,149 were from citizens,
2,973 from the Amnesty Commission of the Ministry of Justice, 335 from the Commission on
Political Dead and Missing Persons of the National Secretariat of Human Rights of the
Presidency of the Republic, and 105 from Republic and Judiciary attorneys.
4.3 Is one or more of the criteria of (a) time (b) place (c) people (d) subject and theme (e) form and
style (f) social, spiritual and community significance satisfied?
(a) Time
1920-1991
The records go back as far as 1920, when the first political police bodies were created. Through
the process of resource inheritance, successors of those bodies received the already existing
documentary collection. From the national perspective, by covering such an extensive period of
time, the collection includes documents on repression to workers' movement, since the anarchistunion organization phase with its high number of foreign leadership, and extensive material
regarding Vargas's dictatorship (1930-1934, 1937-1945), including the communist and fascist
movements that polarized the political struggle between 1935 and 1938. From that period,
emphasis is given to the records on Luís Carlos Prestes, the main leader of the Brazilian
Communist Party, and on his wife, German Jew Olga Benário Prestes, who was extradited
pregnant to Hitler's Germany and killed in a detention camp. The return to democratic normality
between 1946 and 1964 did not extinguish political control over citizens and institutions, also
because, except for the period 1946-1947, communists and sympathizers were always closely
watched.
From the international perspective, the period of the military regime in Brazil coincides with the
establishment of similar governments in other Latin American countries, specifically Argentina,
Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The information exchange and collaboration established among
these countries on different levels may be put against the efforts, also documented by police
authorities, of citizens that denounced persecutions, sheltered fugitives from neighbouring
9
countries or facilitated their exiling in other continents.
(b) Place
Brazil and, due to territorial and political proximity, other countries in the American continent,
especially those that went through exception regimes, such as Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and
Uruguay.
(c) People
The information recovered in this documentary collection supports countless indemnity claims to
the Brazilian State from victims of the regime and constitutes evidence in lawsuits against
torturers and other official agents involved in repression. Individually or by means of
commissions on Amnesty and Political Dead and Missing Persons, these collections have been
fundamental to compensate the violation of the rights of thousands of Brazilian and citizens.
(d) Subject and theme
The nominated collection highlights the risks that society is subject to when the State acts against
democratic freedom and allows the violation of fundamental human rights. Disrespect for
intimacy and private life and restrictions of freedom of speech, thought and movement evolve
into attempts against life, torture and physical disappearance and even into denial to families of
the right to bury their dead. Therefore, this collection is important not only in terms of its
historical and legal value, but also as a didactic resource for new generations, in that it will
stimulate their appreciation of freedom, democracy and human rights.
As to their thematic indexing, some of the main entries for retrieval of these resources are:
Brazil – Armed Forces – Political activities;
Brazil – History – 1964-1985;
Brazil – Politics and government – 1964-1985;
Brazil – Military politics;
Dictatorships and dictators;
Military government – South America;
Militarism – South America;
Political persecution;
International politics;
Relations between civilians and military men – Brazil;
National security – Brazil;
Intelligence services – Brazil – History.
(e) Form and style
Consisting mainly of textual records, the nominated fonds also include, among other media,
photographs, maps, books, periodicals, micro files, discs and audio magnetic tapes.
(f) Social, spiritual and community
The fonds have impact on world history as a record ofthe struggle of a significant number of
citizens for democracy as a universal value in the twentieth century. It is also of invaluable
importance to the history of Brazil and of the rise and fall of exception regimes in Latin America.
Moreover, these fonds have an unquestionable social dimension, as they enable the recovery of
citizenship by Brazilians and reassure principles of democracy and human rights.
4.4 Are there issues of rarity, integrity, threat and management that relate to this nomination?
Rarity
Comprising original documents, the nominated fonds are unique and irreplaceable, and also
constitute evidence of the way the Brazilian State was structured to maintain the exception
regime. Their rare and unique nature is true for both the documents produced by repression
agencies and seized documents, such as alternative newspapers and action plans of left -wing
organizations, which were preserved and represent a testimony of the political resistance in
10
the period.
Integrity
Since their transfer to custodian entities, there has not been any intervention to the form and
integrity of the fonds.
Threat
The gathering prevented any threats to the integrity and conservation of the fonds of military
governments, ensuring their preservation and safeguarding.
Management
See item 6
5
Legal information
5.1 Owner of the documentary heritage (name and contact details)
Arquivo Nacional
Praça da República, 173 ▪ Centro
20211-350 ▪ Rio de Janeiro ▪ RJ ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-21-2179-1275
E-mail: diretoriageral@arquivonacional.gov.br
Arquivo Público do Estado do Ceará
Rua Senador Alencar, 348 ▪ Centro
60030-050 ▪ Fortaleza ▪ CE ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-85-3101-2615
E-mail: apec@secult.ce.gov.br
Arquivo Público do Estado do Espírito Santo
Rua Sete de Setembro, 414 ▪ Centro
29001-970 ▪ Vitória ▪ ES ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-27-3223-8037
E-mail: diretorgeral@ape.es.gov.br
Arquivo Público do Estado do Maranhão
Rua de Nazaré, 218 ▪ Centro
65010-410 ▪ São Luís ▪ MA ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-98-3218-9927
E-mail: maricon95@hotmail.com
Departamento Estadual de Arquivo Público do Paraná
Rua dos Funcionários, 1.796 ▪ Cabral
80035-050 ▪ Curitiba ▪ PR ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-41-3352-2299
E-mail: daysilucia@seap.pr.gov.br
Arquivo Público Estadual Jordão Emerenciano (Pernambuco)
Rua do Imperador D. Pedro II, 371 ▪ Santo Antônio
50010-240 ▪ Recife ▪ PE ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-81-3181-4126
E-mail: pedromoura@bol.com.br
Arquivo Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Botafogo, 480 ▪ Botafogo
22250-040 ▪ Rio de Janeiro ▪ RJ ▪ Brasil
11
Phone: 55-21-2332-1449
E-mail: aperj@aperj.rj.gov.br
Centro de Informação e Documentação Arquivística
da Universidade Federal de Goiás
Campus Samambaia (Campus II), s.n., Caixa Postal 131
74001-970 ▪ Goiânia ▪ GO ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-62-3521-1055
E-mail: heloisa@proad.ufg.br
Arquivo Público Mineiro
Av. João Pinheiro, 372 ▪ Funcionários
30130-180 ▪ Belo Horizonte ▪ MG ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-31-3269-1060
E-mail: apm@cultura.mg.gov.br
Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo
Rua Voluntários da Pátria, 596 ▪ Santana
02010-000 ▪ São Paulo ▪ SP ▪ Brasil
Phone: 55-11-2221-2306
E-mail: saesp@arquivoestado.sp.gov.br
5.2 Custodian of the documentary heritage (name and contact details, if different to owner)
5.3 Legal status
(a) Category of ownership: public institutions
(b) Accessibility: under the terms of Brazilian Constitution (Article 5th) and of Law no. 11.111,
of May 5th, 2005, and in some cases of pertinent state laws.
(c) Copyright status: under the terms of Law no. 9.610, of February 19th, 1998
(d) Responsible administration: public institutions with custody of the archives
(e) Other factors
6
Management plan
6.1 Is there a management plan in existence for this documentary heritage?
Because they are under custody of diverse institutions, the fonds gathered under this nomination do
not have a single management plan. However, their gathering under Centro de Referência das Lutas
Políticas no Brasil (1964-1985) – Memórias Reveladas represents a centralizing factor towards a
preservation program of this important testimony of a significant period in humanity's history. This
program foresees the input of resources to arrange, microfilm and digitalize documents, besides their
description by a single methodology, the Brazilian Description Standard (NOBRADE), which is fully
compatible with the standards of the International Council on Archives – ICA. The nomination of the
fonds itself will reinforce the political strategy to enhance their value
7
Consultation
7.1 Provide details of consultation about this nomination with (a) the owner of the heritage (b) the
custodian (c) your national or regional Memory of the World committee
The proprietors and custodians of the documentary heritage were consulted and showed their
support to the nomination by providing all the required information. The Memory of the World
National Committee has already acknowledged the importance of enhancing the value of
collections that gather information on the Brazilian military regime period, by nominating the
12
collection of the DOPS-RJ, kept by Arquivo Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.
On the other hand, at the international level, the nomination of similar collections from other
countries (such as Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Dominican Republic) demonstrates the
importance of such documents to humanity.
PART B ▪ SUBSIDIARY INFORMATION
8
Assessment of risk
8.1 Detail the nature and scope of threats to this documentary heritage
Centro de Referência believes that the principal risk threatening these fonds is the lack of control
over the documents, which is being solved by the organization and description process
undertaken by all partners. Widely disseminating the existence of these fonds and making them
readily available for consultation are also an important cause of their preservation. The
nomination as Memory of the World itself is intended to become a facilitating instrument to their
appropriate safeguarding and protection.
9
Assessment of preservation
9.1 Detail the preservation context of the documentary heritage
Overall, the preservation state of these collections is reasonable good, although each custodian
institution has very different safekeeping conditions. Besides, since the handling itself may
damage documents produced in low preservation quality media, the Centro de Referência das
Lutas Políticas no Brasil (1964-1985) – Memórias Reveladas has helped finance projects so that,
under a sponsorship policy, these documents can be microfilmed and digitalized.
13