Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, with an unconventional career in Portuguese politics, has been known for decades as a communications ace. In addition to being a leader of the center-right in the 1990s, he served as the prestigious editor of the newspaper Expresso during the transition to democracy and, in the 2000s, as the voice of the nation, commenting on the news every Sunday on prime-time television.
In a country where people are known for their appreciation of formality, Marcelo, as he is often called, stands out by driving taxis to talk to ordinary people, holding and kissing children, pregnant women and the elderly, and even leaving the Presidential Palace to withdraw money from the ATM. in the midst of a political crisis.
This populism of affection, in addition to guaranteeing him good popularity, has enormous symbolic power. By humanizing the presidential function, mummified by his predecessor, AnÃbal Cavaco Silva, he gave unexpected vitality to national political institutions, threatened by the crisis of legitimacy of democracies and the rise of the extreme right. Portugal’s reputation as an island of peace in a conflicted Europe can be attributed to its way of exercising the presidential role.
Marcelo has also been one of the rare heads of state not to abandon Brazil in recent years, multiplying official visits and insisting on dialogue with all political forces, with little emphasis, however, on black and indigenous leaders, who deserve more attention. for its central place in the history that unites the two countries.
The Portuguese leader’s passion for Brazil seems to have bothered Jair Bolsonaro, who canceled an official meeting scheduled for this Monday. A typically irrational decision by the president, given the proximity between the two countries, which brings the memory of another shameful moment, when he exchanged a meeting with French Chancellor Jean-Yves Le Drian for a trip to the hairdresser, burying the agreement between European Union and Mercosur in its first year in office.
Marcelo reacted to the diplomatic vandalism with superb indifference. He took advantage of the weekend to take a dip on a beach in Rio de Janeiro, praise the friendship between peoples and meet Lula. His gesture made evident the contempt of the international community for Bolsonaro. Once an unpredictable president who should be treated with care, he is now a perfectly expendable autocrat.
By escaping from the intrigue, Marcelo also prevents the celebration of 200 years of independence from being hijacked by the Bolsonarista breguice. Behind initiatives that reek of olavism, such as the transport of the heart of Dom Pedro 1º, there is a relationship in full creative and festive effusion that will be celebrated at the Book Biennial, with the presence of some names such as Rui Tavares and Kalaf Epalanga.
For them and many others, what really fascinates them is the next 200 years. Marcelo’s dive, in the end, reflects the feeling of a growing part of Brazilians to wash their souls after four years of mediocrity and human misery.
