Three RS Cities Rename Streets and School Honoring Dictatorship Presidents

Three municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, have changed the names of streets and a public school that previously honored former presidents of the 1964-1985 civil-military dictatorship. These alterations followed recommendations from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), which argued that honoring individuals responsible for grave human rights violations is incompatible with a democratic regime. The MPF stated that maintaining such names trivializes the dictatorship's offenses and encourages revisionist narratives. A g1 survey revealed that, as of the 2022 IBGE Census, Rio Grande do Sul had 156 streets and 33 avenues named after the five presidents of that era. In Machadinho, a municipal law renamed "Rua Marechal Castelo Branco" to "Rua Agustinho Polidoro." Similarly, São José das Missões changed "Rua Ernesto Geisel" to "Rua Ipiranga" through municipal legislation. In Carazinho, the Municipal Secretariat of Education renamed the Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Presidente Castelo Branco to Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Castelo. The MPF's directive is grounded in the 2014 Final Report of the National Truth Commission (CNV), which identified the military presidents as responsible for state-sponsored systematic repression, including torture, summary executions, forced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions. This action also aligns with the 2009 National Human Rights Plan (PNDH-3), which advises against naming public buildings after individuals recognized as torturers.