Close your eyes tight, because in the old Ministry of Justice building, a terrible thing happened on August 15th, 1964.
Now, close your eyes tight, because something terrible took place on August 15, 1964 in the building that used to be the Ministry of Justice.
On the fourth floor, Dilermando Melo do Nascimento, an economist, member of the Superintendency for the Development of the Northeast (SUDENE), and former director of the Material Division of the Ministry of Justice, was murdered during an interrogation that involved torture. There is still debate as to whether he died in this area or on Mexico Street.
He was a veteran of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) and had fought in Italy during WWII. He was subject to a Military Police Investigation (IPM) and spent a night being interrogated by the Navy Captain Correia Pinto.
Dilermano’s son, Jorge Thadeu Melo do Nascimento, testified on January 3, 1995 that two plain-clothed soldiers came to his house at 8 P.M. on August 14, 1964 when he was 15 years old. The soldiers said he could go visit his father where he had been held since his arrest on August 12. When Jorge got there, the Navy Captain Correia Pinto had him sit down and refused to let him see his father, threatening: “If your father doesn’t confess, he won’t leave here alive” and “If he doesn’t confess, your whole family will pay.” These threats, from what it seemed, were really directed to Dilermano himself, who must have been in the known that his son was in the building. The next morning was August 15, 1964, and Jorge found out that his father was dead.
The official account of events treated the case as a homicide. The newspaper Ultima Hora published the following note: “Following the expert report, Dilermando (…) was sitting by the window on the 4th floor, reading a newspaper. He watched the door open and saw officer Correia Pinto. He ran to shut the door violently. Upon opening the door, officers – allegedly – saw the window open and the room empty.” The soldiers said that Dilermando even had time to write a farewell note: “Put an end to demoralizing emotional torture.”
Dilermando’s wife, Natalia Oliveira do Nascimento, affirmed that she was forced to sign a statement that her husband committed suicide. She testified that the suicide note was false.
Today, Dilermando is recognized as a victim of the dictatorial regime.
Think about that story and ask yourself: why didn’t you know about this?
Because Dilermando is another ghost, hidden in our history. In 1964, newspapers were censored and no one could truly investigate what actually caused such a terrible death in downtown Rio de Janeiro.