The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Thursday (25) condemned recent attacks by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) against institutions and the electoral system in Brazil. The former president of Chile also called the human rights situation in the country very difficult.
“I believe that President Bolsonaro has intensified his attacks on the judiciary and the electronic voting system, including a meeting with ambassadors in July, which provoked strong reactions, as you know,” Bachelet said at a press conference in Geneva.
The high commissioner referred to a presentation that the Brazilian president made to foreign diplomats in which, with a series of lies and conspiracy theories already exposed, he expressed unfounded concerns about electoral fraud in the October election. Bolsonaro, who has insisted on this speech for months, is behind Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in the polls.
“What I believe is most worrying is that the president has called on his supporters to protest against judicial institutions on September 7th, the day of the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s independence,” he added.
“You don’t do things that can increase violence or hatred against democratic institutions that must be respected and strengthened. No [deve] try to weaken them through strong political discourse.”
The events of the holiday, less than a month away from the first round of the election, are surrounded by expectations for what Bolsonaro’s stance should be – who, in meetings on the date last year, made strong attacks on ministers of the Federal Supreme Court such as Alexandre de Moraes. For 2022, he has already urged supporters to attend acts in BrasÃlia and on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.
The president also makes attempts to involve the military in the events. The mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes (PSD), said last week that he was informed by the Eastern Military Command about the army’s participation in the act on the waterfront in the south of the city, canceling the traditional parade in the center.
In Geneva, Bachelet also criticized the “very difficult human rights situation” in Brazil, highlighting reports of increased political violence, structural racism and reduced civic space.
“I feel that attacks against parliamentarians and candidates, particularly Afro-descendants, women and LGBTQIA+ people are of particular concern,” said the former Chilean president. “When a leader starts using language that can be used in the wrong direction, I think it’s very bad. Leaders need to ensure that the country is able to progress where there is dialogue and respect for each other, because that’s what democracy is all about.”
Bachelet said in June, in a surprise announcement, that she would no longer run for a term at the head of the United Nations. The statement came just weeks after she returned from a visit to China — the first by a high commissioner in at least 15 years — for which she was criticized by experts, NGOs and human rights activists.
This is not the first time she has criticized Bolsonaro’s administration. In 2019, she stated that she felt “pity for Brazil” due to statements made at the time by the president in defense of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile.
