Fernando Henrique Cardoso Once Sympathized with Prospect of Huck as Candidate

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – As he publishes the fourth and final volume of his presidential journals, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC) is now somewhat skeptical of Luciano Huck‘s efforts for the 2022 elections.

In an interview with the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, FHC said that the TV host must be a leader. “It is necessary to see if Huck will stop being a celebrity and become a leader,” he said.

In 2018, FHC sympathized with the concept of Huck as a candidate, breaking up the polarity between Bolsonaro and PT, but the TV host has given up the fight.

You mention abuse by prosecutors in the book. Do you see similarities between abuses at the time and the alleged abuses by Lava Jato?

I don’t know if there is a parallel. What they are claiming to be abuse by Lava Jato: telephone interception. On the phone, you speak naturally. And people work together, the prosecutor and the judge. It is likely that in Lava Jato there is also, as there was in the past, a political approach. In the past, in my time, it was a stance against the government and pro-PT, basically. In Lava Jato there may have been a political stance. But the judge when judging has facts. You can’t say he’s contaminated the whole case.

Do you see abuse in Lava Jato?

I can’t say. On average, Lava Jato was positive. It imprisoned the wealthy and powerful who never got arrested. I don’t like to see people in jail, it brings me no satisfaction. But I can’t help but acknowledge that Lava Jato was a reaction to the corruption of the democratic system.

In the book, you say that Brazil could pay a high price for Lula’s election. Would the price be Bolsonaro’s government?

In my opinion, both are a high price. But as far as I know, there was nothing in Bolsonaro’s government until now that would have been against the law. I didn’t vote for Bolsonaro and I don’t support the government, but you have to have a balance in these things. There’s freedom, there’s a free press, there’s justice, there’s Congress working. It is another thing to disagree with the measures that are taken. I don’t see that Bolsonaro’s government has incurred in anything that is a crime, against the law.

What about the suspicion of a “split salary” in Flávio Bolsonaro’s office and the alleged closeness to the militias?

But that’s not him. I can’t condemn the president because of his family. It has to be seen on a case-by-case basis. It seems doubtful to me that someone connected to the Presidency of the Republic has links with militias.

In 2002, you said that Lula was not prepared to be president. Do you think Bolsonaro is?

I was wrong in Lula’s case, I don’t want to do the same thing with Bolsonaro. What did Lula do that others could not? Form a majority, explain to the country where it is going.

Is Lula a political prisoner?

No, I don’t think so. There may be a motivation against him, even by judges, but that is not why he is convicted. He is convicted by facts.

There’s a movement that seeks a center candidate to avoid the extremes. Could Luciano Huck be that name?

Eventually yes, but what does that mean? It means that one has to exercise political leadership. I’m a friend of Luciano’s, etc. Now, I need to see if he will stop being a celebrity and become a leader. Being a celebrity is an important thing, he has access to the people, but being a leader is something else. If he takes this step, he has a chance. Sometimes people are elected without that quality, they come to the government and they don’t govern. Or they govern with difficulty.

Can Doria be that name?

Being elected president depends on your understanding and dealing with the diversity of Brazil. I don’t know if Doria has the ability to express a national feeling.

Source: O Estado de S. Paulo