By CARLA TEIXEIRA*
We won't beat the virus without beating the worm
“There needs to be some respect, / at least a sketch / Or human dignity will be asserted / with ax blows” (Torquato Neto in “Poem of Final Warning”).
Popular demonstrations across the country are planned for today, May 29, to contain the rage of those who want to earn money while the people die of the plague and hunger. After the fascists felt free to take to the streets claiming authoritarian agendas – such as the closure of the STF and the National Congress, and more powers to the captain president –, the left, parties, unions and social movements decided to leave the zoom and streamyard to join the ranks of those outraged and vilified by the death policy of the current military government.
Historically, it was the numerous popular demonstrations that guaranteed the public services that the Brazilian people have today and also the achievements achieved by workers. Just imagine: what would become of our country, in this pandemic, without SUS, universities and public research institutions? We would certainly have an even bigger pile of corpses and even the vaccine, the dropper, would not be dripping on the arm of Brazilians. If things look bad, history shows that it wasn't worse only because popular organization, in the streets, guaranteed a way out for the countless tragedies we've been through.
The military coup of 1964 took place in a context of broad popular demonstrations that called for the urgent democratization of society with the expansion of rights and citizenship. Once again, the armed forces, the elitist media, the conservative churches, the exclusionary middle class and the slave-owning oligarchs came together to throw the country into the chaos of 21 years of military dictatorship that kidnapped, tortured, killed and made its opponents disappear. .
In the 1970s and 1980s, there were gigantic strikes by workers in the ABC region of São Paulo and the massive campaign for “Diretas agora!” that put the militiamen out of the government and allowed the return of civilians, endorsed by the 1988 Citizen Constitution. was interrupted by the 2016 coup, starring characters that echoed the institutional violence of 1964, making us live the recurrence of a past that does not pass.
Bolsonaro’s rise to power in 2018 took place in a context of proven electoral fraud that today costs us the worst government the Republic has ever had. The new coronavirus pandemic has exploded in the face of Brazilian society all the sores it insisted on ignoring: social inequality, racism, patrimonialism, corruption, patriarchy, machismo, intolerance and a shocking disregard for human life.
The current situation can be summed up in the phrase that called Saturday's demonstrations: "the government is more dangerous than the virus". This concludes that there will be no way out of this pandemic under the Bolsonaro government due to the simple fact that the President of the Republic is the main point of disintegration in any attempt by political forces and institutions to contain the spread of the virus and the worsening of the pandemic. Bolsonaro and his group of fanatics rely on the theory of “herd immunity”, boycott vaccines and any measure of individual and collective protection.
We won't beat the virus without beating the worm.
May 29 will be just the first of many demonstrations. The path will be arduous, but history shows us that victory is certain. All calls insist that those present wear a PFF2 (N95) type mask, take gel alcohol and try to keep physical distance from other people: taking care of themselves and everyone else. Many cities plan to form “safety commissions” to contribute to the sanitary organization of the demonstration, including the distribution of masks. Popular mobilization is the first step on a long road until social justice and dignity, for all, are re-established in this country.
29M: Out with Bolsonaro! For worthy emergency aid and vaccine for everyone now!
* Carla Teixeira is a doctoral candidate in history at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).