RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Just at the right time, after Jair Bolsonaro has revealed to the world how sophisticated and statesmanlike he knows how to deal with international crises and foreign head of states, the attention of observers and interested parties is actively directed to the heroic and lovable side of the president.
Why not try to consolidate Jair Bolsonaro, who is, after all, already six months in office, in the collective consciousness of Brazilians? A draft law introduced on Wednesday, August 28th, suggests the establishment of the National Day to Fight Ideological Intolerance in Brazil. The proposal is from federal deputy Carlos Jordy (PSL-RJ).
The date would be September 6th, when then-presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) was stabbed during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais.
In the text, the legislator justifies that steps must be taken to prevent physical or defamatory violence occasioned by ideological conflicts.
“In recent years, Brazil has been the stage for constant ideological clashes, not only between political parties but also among sections of society. Modern and contemporary ideologies often rationalize and excuse exaggerated crusades, which rather than fostering a debate confined to idiosyncrasies, escalate into physical or defamatory violence,” argues Jordy.
The deputy further criticizes what he terms the “Dictatorship of the Politically Correct,” links left-wing groups to the perpetration of terrorist practices, and mentions the PSOL party’s involvement in last year’s attack on Bolsonaro.
“The growing of such intolerance brings with it the Dictatorship of the Politically Correct, and also the risks of a return to terrorist practices, such as some of the actions of leftist revolutionary groups in the 1960s. We propose September 6th as the date, in memory of the day when presidential candidate, Deputy Jair Bolsonaro, suffered a cowardly assassination attempt, being stabbed in the stomach by a former member of the PSOL, because of political and ideological differences, as declared by the perpetrator himself.”