In the last years of the military dictatorship in the country, in the beginning of the 1980s, countless bombs exploded at newsstands and printers who sold and printed alternative journals with the objective of stopping the spread of pro-democracy ideals and opposition to the government. In the early hours of April 3, 1981, a bomb explosion partially destroyed Gráfica Americana – a printer located on Rua Leôncio de Albuquerque n. 34 – which belonged to the former exile Dimas Perrin, leader of the printer’s movement. Dimas, who was also a journalist and lawyer, had written the book, “Depoimento de um Torturado,” published in 1979, a report of the torture he had suffered at Doi-CODI, a repression agency created by the military regime.
Jornal do Brasil tells how the printer, Olivaldo Lima, suffered minor injuries and how the bomb destroyed some commercial presses, part of the store’s steel door, and an electric clock. In a statement to JB, the printer’s owner said that the establishment was being gradually closed down and that at that moment, only a few books and magazines were at the location. “It was a terrorist attack practiced by those who are discontent with the democratic process in the country. We will not accept provocations and our response will come in 1982, at the polls. These attacks cannot and should not prejudice the political opening for which the President is fighting. I repeat, we will not accept provocations,” Dimas said to the journal.