Brazilian feminist activist fought for justice and memory

Maria Amélia de Almeida Teles, known as Amelinha Teles, died on Tuesday at age 81 after dedicating her life to women’s rights and seeking justice for crimes committed during the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985).

Amelinha herself was imprisoned and tortured during the dictatorship and spent decades advocating for truth and accountability.

In interviews with Brasil de Fato, she consistently pressed the Brazilian state to take responsibility for the dictatorship’s abuses and connected the lack of accountability to ongoing authoritarianism in the country. She welcomed the prosecution of military personnel involved in a 2022 attempt to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office, noting they faced the democratic legal system, a contrast to how crimes from the dictatorship were handled.

Amelinha argued that Brazil has a history of erasing its past and silencing state crimes, making it difficult to build a solid democracy. She criticized the slow progress in implementing recommendations from the National Truth Commission and called for opening military archives and teaching the history of the dictatorship in schools. She also spoke about the enduring pain of families searching for those who disappeared during the military regime.

Beyond her work on historical justice, Amelinha Teles was a key figure in the Brazilian feminist movement for over six decades. She participated in the underground feminist press during the dictatorship and worked to empower women through legal education and advocacy, believing that collective action was essential for lasting change. Her family successfully pursued legal action against Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, a military officer, and secured a court ruling recognizing his role as a torturer.