December 3 – Former Atlético Mineiro and Brazil player Reinaldo has been granted amnesty and compensation for his persecution during the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985, and repressed dissidents and political opponents.
Reinaldo, famous for his clenched fist goal celebration that was seen as a political protest, will receive 100,000 Brazilian reais ($19,000) for persecution, and recognition by the Amnesty Council – an advisory body of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship.
Reinaldo, a legend of the Brazilian game, spent more than a decade with Atlético, winning eight Minas Gerais championships. He also represented Brazil in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina where the team finished in third place.
During the military dictatorship, the former number 9 openly opposed the regime and celebrated his goals with a raised, clenched fist – a gesture linked to the Black Panthers movement and viewed with distrust by the military authorities.
“Maybe you remember my trajectory in the fields, but you may not know the struggle, often silent, that I had to face,” said Reinaldo, as quoted by Globo.
“Everyone knows the horrors of the dictatorship that took the lives of so many Brazilians, but the repression of the State went far beyond basements and cells and did not use only physical violence. They created defamation campaigns, real operations to end the reputation and social life of people they considered enemies or threats.
“They wanted to silence my voice, decrease my strength, and ended my life and my career. This form of state violence that attacks honour, image and dignity is as serious as the others and seeks to destroy people from within, taking their place in the world and in the future. It’s a violence that leaves deep and lasting marks, even if we don’t see it.”
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