Brazil's history at risk.

• Position: ARCHIVES - Brief article

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

An archive containing more than 35 million records documenting murder, forced disappearances, and torture committed by Brazilian military rulers from 1964 to 1985 is disappearing, a historian has warned.

The collection--one of South America's largest historical archives--is rotting in a government building in Brazil's capital city, Sao Paulo, even as it continues to expand, according to CNN.

Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo first reported the deteriorating conditions at the Brazilian national archives building. The problem stems from Brazil's decision to release a large amount of classified records to the public. When the documents are released, however, they are just stuck in the archives building. CNN has reported that the building is "jampacked" with military documents -so much so that even the bathrooms are full.

The overcrowding problem is exacerbated by continual court orders that have forced military jurisdictions throughout the country to send in their documents over the past eight years, and the building cannot handle the load. Left unattended, a Brazilian...