On October 2nd, a memorable election will be held in the history of Brazil. While all contests are important, this year’s elections are perhaps the most relevant because they are taking place in the midst of the biggest crisis in Brazilian democracy since the transition and in a climate of high polarization and political violence.
The latest polls show Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the favorite with 47% of the votes. Jair Messias Bolsonaro is in second place with 33%, while candidates Ciro Gomes and Simone Tebet have less than 10% support and are technically tied. The elections will therefore be a struggle between Lula and Bolsonaro, but at the present time they represent much more than that: they reflect two opposing views of the country.
Building a broad pro-democracy front
The election campaign officially started in August and has been in full swing in televised debates, social media and other spheres. However, the climate of polarization and the exacerbation of political violence, which has led to killings and injuries, as well as numerous attacks on journalists, civil servants and researchers, has produced an atmosphere of fear in which people are self-censoring or afraid to express their opinions. preferences. According to Datafolha, nearly seven out of ten Brazilians now say they are afraid of being physically attacked because of their political choices.
Your fears are more than well-founded. Although political violence is not a new phenomenon in Brazil, and cases such as the murder of councilor Marielle Franco in 2018 went around the world and became emblematic of the fight against gender and racial political violence, since the arrival of Jair Bolsonaro to presidency the phenomenon has taken on unprecedented levels. According to the Observatory of Political and Electoral Violence of the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (OVPE-Unirio), in the first half of 2022 alone, this phenomenon has already caused more than forty deaths in the country.
Furthermore, unlike in the past, when violence was limited to specific politicians and sectors, today it is a widespread trend in which ordinary citizens play a central role. This is a consequence of the growing climate of hatred that has settled in the country, supported and legitimized by an authoritarian president who praises the torturers of the military dictatorship, but also by a society that has an unprecedented amount of weapons at its disposal. Nearly half a million revolvers and pistols have been imported since 2019, a record number compared to the last two decades.
The climate of hatred has also led to attacks on journalists and human and environmental rights activists, with a special emphasis on women, Afro-descendants, indigenous people and LGBTQIA+ people. As if this were not enough, according to the Research, Science and Freedom Observatory of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC), the climate of hatred and threats to government critics also put academic freedom at risk. Almost six out of ten respondents know about the experiences of people who have suffered limitations or undue interference in their studies or classes.
But the attacks are not restricted to civil liberties. Bolsonaro’s attacks on all institutions have been a constant since he took office. His questioning of the electoral system and the results of the elections, claiming that electronic voting machines are deficient and that “if he doesn’t win in the first round with more than 60% of the votes, it is because something abnormal happened in the Supreme Electoral Court”, is just another episode in a long list of scammer threats.
The seriousness of the country’s democratic crisis is expressed in threats like these and in the permanent lack of respect for the independence of State Powers. In this process, the president has the support of several anti-democratic sectors and part of the Armed Forces, which demanded that the TSE test the integrity of the ballot boxes on election day, despite the transparency and efficiency of the Brazilian electoral system being internationally recognized.
In this context of serious threats to Brazilian democracy, the alliance between former rivals Lula and Alckmin assumes a foundational character. In addition, the defense of democracy led to the formation of a broad front that brings together several former presidents and representatives from different political sectors, such as Marina Silva, Fernando Meirelles and Guilherme Boulos. Businessmen, intellectuals and artists also signed petitions and promoted pro-democracy events.
One of the latest to join is the intellectual and former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who recently published a pro-democracy letter. Without explicitly mentioning Lula, the former president called on people to vote for “those who are committed to the fight against poverty and inequality, who defend equal rights for all” and who are committed to “strengthening the institutions that guarantee our freedoms”.
Faced with one of the most delicate crises in recent history, this decisive moment requires dialogue, responsibility and the commitment of all those who seek to deepen democracy in the country. And, given the importance of Brazil, the international community, in addition to exerting diplomatic pressure and sending electoral observation missions, must make its voice heard through initiatives of international solidarity with Brazilian democracy and the holding of free elections.
Elections are at the heart of democracy, but as several sectors have denounced, Brazil runs the risk that the results of the October elections will not be respected and that an unprecedented climate of authoritarianism, violence and instability will be established. Faced with such a scenario, democracy and the reconstruction of the country must be a priority for all of us.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
