Pau de Arara: The Perch

What happens when an interrogation turns into one of the most infamous torture methods in Brazilian history?

In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan travel to Brazil during the military dictatorship to explore the brutal history of the Pau de Arara, also known as the Parrot’s Perch.

We’ll look at how prisoners were suspended in this painfully contorted position and then subjected to beatings, electric shocks, drowning, sexual violence, and other forms of torture. We’ll also hear the stories of people who experienced it firsthand, including Dulce Pandolfi and Dilma Rousseff, and examine the notorious role of Carlos Brilhante Ustra in Brazil’s torture apparatus. The Brazilian National Truth Commission documented the use of the Pau de Arara alongside other systematic torture methods during the dictatorship.

But the story of the Pau de Arara goes back much further than the 20th century. We’ll trace its history through Brazil’s long history of slavery and examine how a method associated with punishment and torture became embedded in the country’s history of violence.

And because this is Torture: A Dark History, Kevin and Dan bring their particularly dark sense of humor to one of the most brutal chapters in Brazilian history.

If you love Brazilian history, military dictatorships, political torture, the Pau de Arara, Dilma Rousseff, Carlos Brilhante Ustra, human rights history, dark history, and some of the most disturbing torture methods ever used, this episode is going to be a rough ride.

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The Sassholes Insta!!

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

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