El Memorial is housed at the former offices of the Department of Social and Political Order of São Paulo State, one of the most gruesome political police forces in the country during the military regime.

The only site remembering the dictatorship currently open to the public, El Memorial uses the history of detention and resistance to help visitors recognize that human rights abuses can occur in many forms and at any social level, and encourages citizens to stand-up against oppression and apathy in their own social, political, and cultural contexts.