Former president Lula (PT) and ex-governor Geraldo Alckmin of São Paulo (PSB) signed this Tuesday (9) the letter articulated by Fiesp (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo) in defense of democracy, after participate in an event at the entity’s headquarters.
With the endorsement of trade union centrals, Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and UNE (National Union of Students), among others, the document preaches an “unavoidable commitment to the sovereignty of the Brazilian people expressed by the vote and exercised in accordance with the Constitution”.
The letter also highlights the importance of the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s independence.
During the meeting, organized by Fiesp, the former president stated that the federal government is promoting the largest distribution of money that a political campaign has made since the end of the Empire. Lula also criticized Bolsonaro’s position, who classified the manifesto led by Fiesp in favor of democracy as a “letter”.
“How can we live in a country where the president tells seven lies every day, and with the greatest impudence. He calls a letter in defense of democracy a ‘letter,'” Lula said.
“Perhaps the letter he would like to have is a letter written by militiamen in Rio de Janeiro, and not a letter written by businessmen, intellectuals, trade unionists, defending the democratic regime and the electronic ballot box, which so far has been proven to be a of the most perfect that exist in the world.”
The text states that respect for the rule of law and democratic stability in the country are essential for Brazil to overcome the challenges and that this is “the greatest meaning of the 7th of September this year”.
“Our democracy has given evidence of robustness. In less than four decades, it has faced deep crises, both economic, with periods of recession and hyperinflation, and political, overcoming these ills by the strength of our institutions”, says another excerpt from the document.
On Monday (8), Lula signed the “Letter to Brazilians and Brazilians in Defense of the Democratic Rule of Law”. The text was organized by former students of the Largo São Francisco Law School, at USP (University of São Paulo), and had the subsequent articulation of movements such as 247 Artes and the Prerogativas group, which brings together jurists and lawyers.
Both letters will be read on August 11 at ceremonies at the USP Law School.
According to people close to him, Lula initially did not want to sign the manifestos for fear of giving the movement a political-electoral character and being accused of trying to instrumentalize the initiative.
After the endorsement of the letter by politicians and presidential candidates, however, Lula’s allies encouraged his participation in a counterpoint to President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who has staged several coup demonstrations and jeopardized the fairness of electronic voting machines.
Bolsonaro was invited to sign the Fiesp letter and declined. The president also canceled his participation in the “Meeting with Candidates for the Presidency: Priority Guidelines of the Federal Government (2023-2026)”, previously scheduled for the 11th. The president’s visit to the entity at another time is not ruled out.
Ciro Gomes (PDT) and Simone Tebet (MDB) have already participated in the debate.
The documents from both Fiesp and USP are seen as a response to Bolsonaro’s authoritarian attacks.
The initiative of former students of the USP Law School refers to the Letter to Brazilians of 1977.
That year, representatives of the academic community also read a manifesto in Largo do São Francisco in repudiation of the military dictatorship.
The letter, prepared in response to Bolsonaro’s attacks, recalls the overcoming of the military dictatorship (1964-1985), the enactment of the 1988 Constitution and affirms that democracy has matured.
The text considers, however, that Brazil is going through a moment of immense danger to democratic normality and risk to institutions.
“Unfounded attacks unaccompanied by evidence question the fairness of the electoral process and the democratic rule of law so hard won by Brazilian society. Threats to other powers and sectors of civil society and the incitement to violence and the rupture of the constitutional order are intolerable” , it says.
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