More than 160 entities of Brazilian society, in an unprecedented gesture, appeal to the international community to ask for support against any democratic rupture in the country. The initiative comes on the eve of the international day for the defense of democracy, scheduled for this Thursday.
Organizations demand that more attention be paid to threats to the electoral process and that these international institutions and governments speak out and concretely demonstrate that they are monitoring the national situation carefully and carefully.
Threats made by President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies have indeed mobilized civil society in international action. It was missions and calls like these that urged U.S. congressmen to write a letter to President Joe Biden and refuse the White House to give the Brazilian government any sign of support in its attacks on democracy.
At the UN, the warnings were also effective, as the party’s top leaders took action to send clear messages against any breaches. In recent days, a delegation of Brazilian activists also met with European representatives, calling for immediate EU recognition of the outcome of the country’s October elections, in a bid to weaken Bolsonaro.
In preparation for the launch of the warning letter, in the last week of August, representatives of these organizations held more than 30 bilateral meetings with United Nations Organization member states, denouncing the successive attacks by the federal government and its allies in the United States. The National Congress, human rights, the activists who defend them, and democratic institutions.
“While all the missions we spoke to showed they were attentive, they were surprised at the level of tragedy we were able to detail at these meetings,” says Alessandra Nilo, general coordinator of Gestos and co-facilitator of Civil Society. Working Group on the 2030 Agenda
The document was signed by organizations such as the Brazilian Association of NGOs, ActionAid, Brazilian Black Pastoral Agents (APNs), Article 19 Brazil, Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (Abraji), National Campaign for the Right to Education, Catholics for the Right. To decide, the Ecumenical Center for Black Culture, the National Health Council, the Geledes Institute for Black Women, the Paulo Freire Institute, the Vladimir Herzog Institute, the RCA Amazon Collaborative Network, UFRJ, and USP.
“We warn that the ongoing national elections in Brazil do not represent a common electoral conflict for the preservation or renewal of elected representatives, but represent an extremely critical moment for the preservation of the young and fragile democracy in the country established by the 1988 Constitution,” say the entities in the chart.
“Our situation of political, economic, environmental and social regression is exacerbated by threats of disruption of the democratic order and barriers to advancing our international commitments and goals for sustainable development. A scenario of conflict and even greater tensions to Brazil,” they warn.
“Therefore, we demand greater attention from authorities, international institutions and governments around the world who are committed to defending democratic values. And we ask them to take an open stance in defense of democracy, free elections in Brazil and fully respecting their results. with different faces to the field,” they conclude.
source: Noticias
