ABSTRACT
Using the country of Brazil as a point of reference this chapter offers an overview of some suppositions about truth and reconciliation commissions as well as the role of the religious sector in such commissions. This chapter briefly reviews the historical-political context of Brazil since 1964. It examines some culturally-specific reflections on obstacles to the establishment of a Brazilian truth commission, noting in particular the constraints inherent in the 1979 Law of Amnesty. In a number of countries around the world, truth and reconciliation commissions have made significant contributions to national processes of recovery and reconstruction. Aided financially by the support of the World Council of Churches, Brazil's most stunning effort in bringing to light the truth of torture was, comparatively speaking, informal, unconventional, and without precedent. Unlike many other Latin American countries, Brazil's initial efforts to deal with the aftermath of military rule were not the result of commissions established by the government or international human rights organizations.
