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SÃO PAULO – The politicians who participated in the articulation of the manifesto signed by the names of the centers in defense of democracy published on Wednesday night say that the text is the first step towards the construction of a single candidacy in the 2022 elections .
Former President Lula was not invited to join the movement. The document is signed by governors João Doria and Eduardo Leite (PSDB), former ministers Ciro Gomes (PDT) and Luiz Henrique Mandetta (DEM), presenter Luciano Huck and former presidential candidate João Amoedo (Novo). All six are cited as possible presidential candidates. In the manifesto, released on the day that the 1964 military coup turns 57, they say that Brazilian democracy is threatened.
“Many Brazilians took to the streets and fought for the reconquest of democracy in the 1980s. The“ Diretas Já ”movement united different political forces on the same platform, made possible the election of Tancredo Neves for the Presidency of the Republic, the return of direct elections for the Executive and Legislative and promulgation of the Citizen Constitution of 1988. Three decades later, Brazilian democracy is threatened ”, they affirm.
According to an experienced politician with good influence in various parties, after Minister Edson Fachin’s decision to overturn Lula’s convictions and release him to contest the elections, the unity of the center-right and center-left candidates became a necessity. Before, with another PT as the presidential candidate, it would be possible to discuss unity only in the second round.
Now a name is needed that can reach a level close to 20 points and represents an alternative to the polarization between Lula and President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party). There would already be “pinguelas” between the groups. An ally of one of the signatories also believes that the way has been opened for the guild, but notes that the consolidation of the framework will only occur next year.
The manifesto began to be articulated on Tuesday. Mandetta sought out the other five signatories with the initial idea of proposing a bill to establish a date for the celebration of Brazilian democracy, but finally the proposal was changed to prepare the document. The sextet even created a WhatsApp group to get the correct final version of the text.
The document makes an emphatic defense of the importance of democracy. “The conquest of Brazil dreamed of by each one of us cannot do without democracy. It is our legacy, our soil, our beacon. It is up to each one to defend it. And fight for its principles and values. There is no democracy without a Constitution. There is no freedom without justice. There is no equality without respect. There is no prosperity without solidarity. Democracy is the best of the political systems that humanity has been able to create. respect for individual rights, justice for all, the right to vote and protest All this only happens in democratic regimes. Outside of democracy there is excess, abuse, transgression, intimidation, threat and arbitrary submission of the individual to the State, “they write.
The text does not directly mention President Jair Bolsonaro, but the signatories say that authoritarianism can arise if society neglects the defense of democratic values. “Examples abound to show us that authoritarianism can emerge from the shadows, as long as societies are careless and silent in defending democratic values.”
The sextet also calls for a national union. “The men and women of this country who appreciate freedom, whether civil or military, regardless of their party affiliation, color, religion, gender and origin, must be united in the defense of democratic conscience. We will defend Brazil,” they conclude .
