BRASïLIA: The remains of ex-president Joao Goulart will be exhumed next month to determine whether he was poisoned during his exile in Argentina in the 1970s, Brazil said Monday.
One day after the November 13 exhumation, the remains, currently in a family mausoleum in Sao Borja in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, will be transferred to Brasilia to receive the full state honors which Goulart did not get when he died, Human Rights Minister Maria do Rosario said.
"It's the duty of the Brazilian state to shed light on the circumstances of the death of president Joao Goulart," the official Agencia Brasil quoted her as saying.
The exhumation will be conducted at the request of the late president's family which has long pressed for a probe of his death.
Experts from Argentina, Uruguay and the International Committee of the Red Cross will take part in the exhumation.
Popularly known as "Jango", Goulart served as president from 1961-1964 and was ousted in a military coup. He took refuge in Uruguay and Argentina, where he died on December 6, 1976. The official account says the cause of death was heart attack.
The military went on to rule in Brazil from 1964-1985.
In 2008, former Uruguayan intelligence officer Mario Neira said while in detention in Brazil for arms trafficking that Goulart was poisoned by Uruguayan operatives at the request of Brazilian military rulers.
His allegation that Goulart died following a swap of the heart medication he was taking has not been confirmed.
But the National Truth Commission tasked with probing crimes perpetrated under the military dictatorship, has said the body's examination would help shed light on the case.
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