RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Six political leaders who may be candidates for the Presidency of the Republic in 2022 signed a joint manifesto on Wednesday, March 31st, defending democracy and criticizing authoritarian initiatives that could endanger the country’s achievements such as freedom of expression, equal access to justice and other individual rights.
The document was signed by the governors of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), and Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB), former governor of Ceará Ciro Gomes (PDT), former Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta (DEM), TV presenter Luciano Huck (no party affiliation), and businessman João Amoêdo (Novo).
“Democracy is the best of the political systems that humanity has been able to create. Freedom of speech, respect for individual rights, justice for all, the right to vote and protest. All this only happens in democratic regimes. Outside of democracy, what exists is excess, abuse, transgression, intimidation, threats, and arbitrary submission of the individual to the State,” says an excerpt from the document.
The letter recalls that many Brazilians took to the streets for democracy in the 1980s, under the “Diretas Já” movement during the period of military dictatorship, in defense of the return of direct elections – and reminds us that, three decades later, “Brazilian democracy is again threatened.”
The manifesto was released amid discomfort about President Jair Bolsonaro and the military after the heads of the Armed Forces were replaced – one of the reasons for the fall was said to have been the unwillingness of these heads, such as former Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva and the then Army Commander General Edson Pujol, not to allow the Armed Forces to be involved in political issues.
The event rekindled fears that the president may again flirt with the authoritarian impulses that have marked his political career.
Read: Congressmen in Brazil submit a bill granting Bolsonaro war powers
The document also shows an unprecedented joint position among the main names emerging on the political scene as alternatives from the political center for the 2022 presidential race – all of them trying to become viable as an alternative to the polarization between Bolsonaro on the right and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the left.
The full document:
Many Brazilians took to the streets and fought to regain Democracy in the 1980s. The “Direct Elections Now” movement united different political forces on the same platform, made possible the election of Tancredo Neves as President of the Republic, the return of direct elections to the Executive and Legislative branches, and the promulgation of the 1988 Citizen Constitution. Three decades later, Brazilian Democracy is threatened.
The conquest of Brazil dreamed by each one of us cannot do without democracy. It is our legacy, our ground, our beacon. It is up to each one of us to defend it and fight for its principles and values.
There is no democracy without a constitution. There is no freedom without justice. There is no equality without respect. There is no prosperity without solidarity.
Democracy is the best political system that humanity has been able to create. Freedom of speech, respect for individual rights, justice for all, the right to vote and protest. All this only happens in democratic regimes. Outside democracy, what exists is excess, abuse, transgression, intimidation, threats, and arbitrary submission of the individual to the State.
There are plenty of examples to show us that authoritarianism can emerge from the shadows whenever societies are careless and silent in defense of democratic values.
Men and women of this country who appreciate FREEDOM, whether civilian or military, regardless of party affiliation, color, religion, gender, and origin, must be united in defense of the DEMOCRATIC CONSCIENCE.
Let’s defend Brazil.”
CIRO GOMES
EDUARDO LEITE
JOÃO AMOEDO
JOÃO DORIA
LUIZ HENRIQUE MANDETTA
LUCIANO HUCK
Source: Veja