Dirty War

Estela de Carlotto has been searching for her grandson for 36 years. He was stolen during the Dirty War in Argentina. Now, after nearly four decades she has found him.

The selection of Jorge Bergoglio as the next leader of the Catholic Church has reopened old wounds from Argentina’s past during the Dirty War. But some activists say Pope Francis shouldn’t be lumped in with church figures who supported the dictatorship.

Brazil was ruled by an abusive military dictatorship decades ago, like many other South American countries. But alone among its neighbors, Brazil has resisted efforts to confront and deal with that past. A new Truth Commission has been established to investigate, but no concrete actions are expected.

The new Pope, formerly Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was head of the Jesuit Order in Argentina during much of that nation’s darkest episode, the so-called Dirty War in the 1970s and early ’80s. That has led to some uncomfortable questions there about his role.

Brazil is among the latest countries in Latin America to create a truth commission to investigate abuses during the country’s military dictatorship. But as John Otis reports, there’s little confidence in Brazil that the truth commission will do much good.