The text, written by members of the University of São Paulo’s law school, under the title “Letter to Brazilian men and women in defense of the democratic rule of law”, had gathered more than 546,000 signatures as of noon yesterday, about two months before the the presidential elections.
An open letter to “defend democracy” in Brazil has gathered more than half a million signatures, including those of big business leaders and employers’ associations, amid an atmosphere of concern over far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s relentless criticism of electoral institutions and the electoral system .
The text, written by members of the law school of the University of São Paulo (USP), under the title “Letter to Brazilian men and women in defense of the democratic rule of law”, had gathered more than 546,000 signatures as of yesterday Saturday noon, approximately two months before the presidential elections are held.
“We are experiencing a moment of great danger to democratic normality, danger to the institutions, with the implications of not accepting the result of the elections”, judge the authors of the text, which have also signed former members of the Supreme Court and numerous artists, such as famous singer Chikou Buarke.
“The baseless and unproven attacks call into question the electoral process and the democratic rule of law that was won with great struggle by Brazilian society. Threats against other powers (…) incitement to violence and institutional breakdown are unacceptable,” the letter continues, without mentioning President Bolsonaro by name.
The head of state, in power since 2019 and running for a second term, has not stopped criticizing the electronic voting system adopted in Brazil in 1996, fueling concerns that he will not recognize the result of the presidential election if he loses.
Recent opinion polls give a big lead to center-left former president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010).
The text has been signed by major employers’ organizations, such as the federation of banks (FEBRABAN) and the Federation of Industries of São Paulo (FIESP).
In 2016, FIESP played a central role in the mass mobilizations in favor of the removal of former president Jilmas Houssef.
The fact that this particular institution signed the text was seen by some observers as a reversal of his stance, as several businessmen sided with Mr. Bolsonaro when he was elected in 2018, seduced by the ultra-liberal speech of current Economy Minister Paulos Getzis.
The far-right president did not hide his displeasure. “Who is against democracy in Brazil? We are in favor of transparency, legality, we respect the Constitution. I didn’t understand this open letter,” was his reaction on Thursday, during the live intervention he does every week via Facebook.
The day before Friday, he sarcastically retweeted his own epigrammatic “Letter in favor of democracy”: “I hereby declare that I am in favor of democracy. Signature of Zaich Messias Bolsonaro, President of Brazil”.
The text will be read publicly at a ceremony—which may turn into a demonstration—on August 11 in Sao Paulo.
According to Brazilian media, the website where the signatures are gathered has been the target of several hacking attempts.
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