Their detailed accounting of abuses did not initially appear to contain any unexpected bombshells, in part because much of the report’s content was released beforehand.

Instead, the greatest impact may lie in its recommendations – primarily, that the amnesty law be changed, ignored or otherwise put aside so that trials can go forward.

Rousseff did not comment on that possibility in her speech, but aides have told Reuters news agency that she will not support any efforts in Congress to change the law, believing Brazil’s hard-won democratic stability is more important than her personal past.

“The new generations deserved to know the truth,” Rousseff said on Wednesday. “But the truth shouldn’t be confused with seeking revenge. It shouldn’t be a motive for hate or settling scores.”

The ‘pau-de-arara’ was a preferred form of torture in Brazil, introduced by the CIA in the 60/70’s Operation Condor. Electric shocks were applied to limbs, genitals, anus. Cigarettes butts put out in body, beatings to unconsciousness.

‘Black lists’

The report included a new estimate of people killed or disappeared, up to 434 from 362 previously.

Brazil’s military is no longer a threat to democracy but it retains influence among some legislators in Congress, so the prospect of former officers facing trial is uncertain.

The truth commission also detailed how private companies, including many foreign automakers, helped the military put together “black lists” of union activists. Many of the activists were harassed by police or unable to find jobs for a long period, Reuters reported earlier this year.

The report said that Germany’s Volkswagen AG had been a particularly active provider of information to the military, providing detailed accounts of union meetings.

In an e-mailed statement, Volkswagen repeated a previous vow to investigate “any eventual participation of company officials in providing information to the military regime”.

The commission also said state-run oil company Petrobras , which is currently at the centre of a corruption scandal shaking Rousseff’s government, was an “iconic” case of a company that suppressed labour unrest with military assistance.

Rosa Cardoso, one of the truth commission’s leaders, said public prosecutors should try to bring civil lawsuits against companies whose actions directly led to serious rights violations.

Some legal experts have expressed doubts that the evidence is strong enough, or the alleged abuses involved serious enough, to sustain a court case against any companies.

Nevertheless, human rights groups said the report was a big step forward.

“It points the way to the next crucial step that Brazil needs to take: making sure that those who committed atrocities are finally brought to justice,” said Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil director at Human Rights Watch.

“The truth shouldn’t be confused with seeking revenge. It shouldn’t be a motive for hate or settling scores.”
— Dilma Rousseff, President