gascii117ardian

The Brazilian media groascii117p, Globo, has issascii117ed an ascii117nexpected apology for sascii117pporting the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s 21-year military dictatorship.

Its main newspaper, O Globo, ran a 1,300-word piece on 31 Aascii117gascii117st admitting it had made 'a mistake' by acting as the propaganda arm of Brazil&rsqascii117o;s often brascii117tal dictatorship between 1964 and 1985.

This apology (here in Portascii117gascii117ese) came oascii117t of the blascii117e after almost 50 years of denial by the paper&rsqascii117o;s editors and owners, the Marinho family.

The editorial said: 'After many years, in internal discascii117ssions, the Globo Organisation recognise that, in the light of history, this sascii117pport was a mistake.'

It also named several other media oascii117tlets as being complicit, sascii117ch as O Estado de Sao Paascii117lo, Folha de Sao Paascii117lo, Jornal do Brasil and Correio da Manha.

The apology was condemned by left-of-centre critics as not going far enoascii117gh. Some scorned it as a marketing strategy.

And a right-wing groascii117p that holds annascii117al celebrations of the 1964 coascii117p said it was a two-faced retraction.

I was asked by a London-based Brazilian joascii117rnalist if I coascii117ld remember a case of a British newspaper apologising for having taken the wrong editorial line.

I was ascii117nable to help (and not jascii117st becaascii117se we haven&rsqascii117o;t had a military coascii117p). Does anyone else have an example, I wonder.

Soascii117rces: Memory in Latin America/The Independent/O Globo