Herald Português

Brazil's Dark Chapters · 5 chapters · 25 min

Barbacena: The Patients of the Colônia

1903 to 2026Barbacena, Belo Horizonte and Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais; Rio de Janeiro; Bauru, in São Paulo

The story in brief

In 1903, Minas Gerais opens a hospital for about two hundred people in Barbacena. Trains bring people from all over the state, many with no mental illness at all; hay takes the place of beds, and tens of thousands die there. Photographs, reporting and an Italian psychiatrist make the country look, and the last door closes only in 2026. A story of abandonment, mistreatment and death, told with respect for the people who lived there.

The chapters

  1. Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free

    One Way

    In 1903, Minas Gerais opens a hospital for about two hundred people in a cold hill town. The trains will not stop coming.

    Sources: Decree No. 1,132 (1903); Daniela Arbex (2011 and 2013)

  2. Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free

    The Hay

    The hospital was planned for about two hundred people. It came to hold thousands, sleeping on hay.

    Sources: Decree No. 1,132 (1903); Guimarães Rosa, Primeiras estórias (1962)

  3. Chapter 3 · 5 min

    Six Hours

    In 1961, a magazine went inside the Colônia and published what it saw. The country was shocked. And nothing changed.

    Sources: O Cruzeiro, 13 May 1961; Daniela Arbex (2013)

  4. Chapter 4 · 5 min

    The Register

    In the 1970s, the bodies of those who died at the Colônia were sold to medical schools. In 1979, Brazil finally looked.

    Sources: Federal Prosecutors in Minas Gerais (2026); Daniela Arbex (2013)

  5. Chapter 5 · 5 min

    The Padlock

    In 1987, mental-health workers chose a motto. In 2026, the Colônia’s last ward closed, empty.

    Sources: Law No. 10,216 (2001); Agência Minas (2026); UFMG and UFJF (2026)

Who’s who

The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.

  • Juliano MoreiraThe psychiatrist who took down the bars · National Asylum · The law of 1903
  • João Guimarães RosaThe doctor who became a writer · Barbacena, 1933 · Sorôco
  • Luiz AlfredoThe photographer of 1961 · O Cruzeiro · Six hours in the Colônia
  • Franco BasagliaThe psychiatrist who closed the asylums · Trieste · Barbacena, 1979
  • The Anti-Asylum MovementWorkers, users and families · Bauru, 1987 · 18 May
  • Nise da SilveiraThe psychiatrist who refused the shock · Engenho de Dentro · Museum of Images of the Unconscious

What you’ll be able to tell

This story belongs to the journey “The Forgotten”. By the end of it, you can tell what really happened in each place, why it was allowed to happen, and what changed after.

Stories in this journey

  1. Madeira-Mamoré: The Devil’s Railway
  2. Fordlândia: Henry Ford’s Amazon Town
  3. Barbacena: The Patients of the Colônia

Sources

  • Decree No. 1,132 of 22 December 1903
  • Law No. 10,216 of 6 April 2001
  • Law No. 10,708 of 31 July 2003
  • Government of Minas Gerais (Agência Minas, 2021 and 2026)
  • Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Minas Gerais (2026)
  • UFMG and UFJF (2026)
  • Daniela Arbex (Tribuna de Minas, 2011, and her 2013 book)
  • O Cruzeiro, 13 May 1961

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