Brazilians in Italy charter buses to vote after sections close

In the October presidential elections, Brazilian voters abroad are more numerous and face more difficulties in being able to vote.

The Superior Electoral Court revealed that there was a strong growth of the Brazilian electorate abroad, compared to 2018. In 2022, there will be 697 thousand voters able to vote outside the country, 40% more than four years ago. However, Itamaraty reduced the number of polling stations outside Brazil.

There are Brazilian voters domiciled on five continents; the countries with the highest number of voters are: United States (108,624), Japan (30,671), Portugal (30,431), Italy (20,972) and Germany (17,555).

In the presidential elections four years ago, 33 polling stations were opened in different municipalities from the cities where the Brazilian embassies and consulates are based. According to Itamaraty, this served to “facilitate citizens residing in locations far from the headquarters of diplomatic or consular offices to exercise their civic rights.” Of the 33 “outside headquarters” sessions held in 2018, 22 were opened for the first time.

Brazilians in Italy

According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), 50,666 Brazilians reside in Italy (January 2021 data). The majority (13,977) live in the Lombardy region in the north, where the city of Milan is located. In second place is the Lazio region, where the capital, Rome, is located, which has 6,117 Brazilian residents. Then come Veneto (5,628), Piedmont (4,896), Emilia Romagna (4,012) and Tuscany (3,852).

The decision of the Brazilian government to reduce polling stations abroad causes inconvenience for many Brazilians in Italy. This year in the country, voting sessions will be held in the two seats of consular jurisdictions, respectively in Milan, in the north, and in Rome, in the center of the country.

However, two other polling stations were suspended, one in the city of Venice and one in Florence. These two sessions are part of those that were opened for the first time for the 2018 presidential elections.

Questioned by RFI on the reason that led the Brazilian government to reduce polling places abroad, the Brazilian Consulate in Rome replied that “the decision was taken by the Foreign Electoral Registry, in Brasília, and communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”. When asked how much it costs to organize polling stations in Rome and Milan, the consulate stated that “the information is centralized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Brasília.”

The resolution harms Brazilians living in Veneto and Tuscany, regions in the northeast and center of the country with a high concentration of voters who previously had closer polling places.

Edson Silvério Cruz, 51, from Minas Gerais, has lived in Italy since 2000. He lives in Florence, in central Tuscany, and works at a travel and tourism agency. In the tourist sector, Sunday is an intense work day.

“For us to be able to take a leave of absence that day is not easy, you know? And trying to justify this to our bosses is very embarrassing”, says Edson.

Expense on behalf of the citizen

The Brazilian Consulate in Rome informed RFI that during the presidential elections, the cities of Milan and Rome will each have a single polling place with several boxes. “Milan’s jurisdiction takes care of the eight northern regions and that of Rome is responsible for the 12 central and southern regions of the country.”

Brazilians who live far from Milan or Rome have to travel at their own expense in order to vote. On social media, many Brazilian voters in Italy protest against the lack of assistance from consulates for transport to the polling station.

Some are organizing groups to charter buses and reduce the cost of travel in order to vote. This is the case of Brazilians living in Tuscany. On the chartered bus from Florence to Rome, each return ticket costs €26, around R$150. A round-trip train ticket costs around €90, almost R$500.

Edson will travel from Florence to the Italian capital on the chartered bus. The distance between the two cities is 275 km, therefore 550 km round trip. He does the math: “If it weren’t for the possibility that the group of Brazilians had organized the buses to Rome, I don’t know if I could go to vote. you have to have lunch and snacks. This means that the cost of a round trip by train would cost more than €100, about R$600. This is all out of my pocket. I will not be paid for the day’s work”.

According to Edson, the government should have kept the voting section in Florence to facilitate thousands of Brazilian voters. “When they communicated to me, I felt like I had been left out. It’s like I’m not a Brazilian citizen either. I don’t see anything wrong with bringing the ballot box to Florence, as it was in 2018. In the past elections we had the opportunity to vote here.”

Absence for financial reasons

Teacher Nair Aparecida Pires, 56, has lived in Italy since 1994 and lives in the city of Treviso, in the Veneto region, in the northeast of the country. According to her, what is happening is a disrespect for the voter who had already transferred the title to Venice.

“Actually, the consulate had guided and advised us to transfer the title to Venice. Now the result is that people here have transferred the title to the Venice electoral section, but they will have to vote in Milan. physical and financial exhaustion. Because it’s not close and it’s a lot of expense”, explains the teacher.

According to her, many Brazilians will not vote for financial reasons. “I have two children who would vote, but the trip of three people from the same family from Veneto to Milan just for the purpose of voting is too high an expense. Therefore, I am the only one in the family who will vote. I have Brazilian friends in the same situation. “

Right and duty to vote

Nair recalls that in Brazil expressing a preference for a candidate through voting is a right, but voting is mandatory, therefore a duty. “Brazil is a democratic country, but voting in Brazil is not so democratic. Voting is not just a right, it is a duty. Therefore, as a duty, the competent authorities have an obligation to make it easier for citizens to to be able to vote. Because it’s a duty, it’s an obligation.”

The teacher points out that it is possible to justify the absence of voting, but many people want to vote and are unable to. According to her, this may be a suppression of the right.

“To make voting difficult means preventing the citizen’s right to express his choice for a candidate. Therefore, the suppression of a democratic right. This is my opinion and that of so many Brazilians with whom I have spoken.”

‘Fear of reprisals’

Along with a group of Brazilians outraged by the reduction of voting sessions in Italy, Nair launched an internet campaign asking that the situation be rethought and that institutions take into account, in the name of inclusion, the most diverse family situations and expenses. on a trip.

“The petition was made with the objective of helping the Brazilian community. It was not with the objective of favoring any candidate. Because it is not a question of party, it is a question of right, right and duty to vote. difficulties, in order to participate in this civic moment”, he insists.

According to the professor, many Brazilians did not participate in the initiative because they fear reprisals. “Many times people are afraid to sign the petition. Many Brazilians who live here say they fear that the signature could compromise them personally and that their family members could suffer reprisals. They say: ‘You know how it is, we are living a such a difficult time in Brazil’.”

Nair deeply regrets the fear of Brazilians to speak out. “It’s terrible because if we live in a democracy we don’t have to be afraid to express our opinion. Especially when our opinion meets a civic exercise. a petition. We cannot be afraid to express ourselves and to demand from our rulers and representatives what the people’s right is. And also so that they hear the voice of the people, see the people’s difficulties. Because they are working for us, Not the other way around”.