A Call for Free Elections and Respect for Poll Results in Brazil
International Solidarity is Not an Empty Word
A Call for Free Elections and Respect for Poll Results in Brazil
In a few weeks, Brazil will hold its ninth presidential election since the end of the military dictatorship. For the first time since 1988, there is a great risk that the results of the elections will not be heard and respected.
For several years, President Jair Bolsonaro has been planning to contest his likely defeat by discrediting the Brazilian electoral system. He accuses Supreme Court justices of being corrupt and partisan, predicts that votes will be tampered with, and suspects that the media is at the service of the opposing camp. Inspired by Donald Trump's strategy, the Brazilian president mobilizes his supporters by presenting himself as a victim persecuted by an establishment that has sold out to the Left and as the only savior and redeemer of the nation. He demonizes his foes and designates them as enemies. In doing so, he prepares his militant supporters, many of them armed, for political violence and even insurrection.
This is not surprising given his openly nostalgic regard for the military dictatorship and complete contempt for democratic institutions, political pluralism, and the rule of law. However, he utters these extremist diatribes today as Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and he has radicalized his militant base of support over the last four years in power. No coup d’état has ever been so explicitly announced.
Democracy in Brazil today needs the support and vigilance of the world. Our common responsibility is to respect the Brazilian Constitution and the will of the people.
Brazil is a country with a population of over 212 million that has an environmental heritage of crucial importance for the future of the planet and plays a leading role in the world economy and governance. The fate of this country of continental dimensions is an issue whose consequences go far beyond its borders. The strength of Brazilian democracy and respect for the rule of law, human rights, the environment, the rights of indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups are issues that concern everyone and, as such, are the object of our legitimate attention and solidarity. The democracy of this immense country is of common interest, and we cannot remain mere spectators.
The time has come to organize a powerful movement of international solidarity in defense of the democratic process in Brazil.
That is why we, intellectuals, politicians, artists, activists, citizens, demand:
- That presidential elections in Brazil take place under the terms of its constitution;
- That all threats and violence against candidates and their supporters be condemned and prosecuted;
- That democratic institutions be maintained and their decisions respected;
- That the armed forces do not interfere in the electoral process, in the verification of results or in the transition of power.
Democracy is a precious and fragile asset, of which we are all guarantors. In this year in which Brazil celebrates the bicentennial of its independence, its historic challenge remains to defend a democratic, plural and inclusive country. Brazilian democracy is also ours, and international solidarity must not be an empty word.