By ANDRÉ MÁRCIO NEVES SOARES*
You have to persevere and hope for better days
The latest surveys by Ipec and DataFolha herald the end of four years of darkness for most of Brazilian society. In fact, since Bolsonaro's election, we have had glimpses of barbarism with the denial of the COVID-19 vaccine by that government, the passage of the cattle by the illegal agribusiness, led by the former Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, in addition to the recent scandal of the purchase of 25 properties by the president's family in cash, totaling more than 50 million reais. This is all just to mention a few examples.
This past weekend's horror show in London at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, with speeches to a modest troop of supporters at the venue; first lady outfits that looked like a funeral fashion show; and hideous gaffes practiced by the president, seems to bury once and for all the spirits of the last acolytes of the already divided “centrão”. The last card of the Bolsonaro government seems to have been the opening speech of the UN General Assembly. However, this proved to be more of the same, due to the strong electoral appeal combined with fake news. For example, having said that corruption was extirpated in his government; boasted about a supposed 7,7% drop in the number of feminicides; in addition to taking over the conclusion of the transposition project on the São Francisco river.
The signaling against the coup coming from the United States, for more than once, if it is as it seems, is the lime shovel in the coup intentions of the desperate of the time. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, the adage that “what's good for the United States is good for the rest of the Americas” still holds true. Hence the fanatical cheering of this scribe for Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump. Less for political affinities than for practicality. in fact, the soft power of the Democrats is, at this moment, less harmful to our elections than the wild “Trumpism”. Without the seal of approval of Washington, the chances of the “leses-patrias” military to advance against the national democratic order are few.
Therefore, as the electoral polls increase, close to the elections, it is already possible to verify movements disguised as disembarkation of the Bolsonarist ship. For example, the largest evangelical church in the country, namely the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which has Bishop Edir Macedo as its maximum leader, is already preparing its abandonment from the extreme right wing (at least in speech).[1] Also some members of the “centrão” are already recalculating their political routes to get closer to Lula's candidacy.[2]. The next step should be for the mainstream media, which is still raging against Lula, to soften her attacks. Indeed, if the Globo made a kind of “mea culpa” to Lula, in the August 25th interview, it is likely that other large media outlets, such as the SBT of Silvio Santos, and his minister-son-in-law, will soon think more about their own pockets than about ideologies.
That said, the fact is that since Lula announced his candidacy, in fact even before that, the scenario has only worsened for the hordes of the current government. In fact, up to the present moment, Lula has always been at the forefront in countless electoral polls, with the most diverse ideological biases (yes, the polls have ideologies, even if mitigated by the technical narrative).
It is true that there was apprehension in the “Lulista” campaign with the beginning of the payment of alms of R$ 600,00 reais, given by the Bolsonaro government to a portion of the most miserable, in a vain attempt to reverse its fall. However, it seems clear, two weeks before the election, that the alms came too late and for few, despite the great official fanfare.
In this sense, it is equally true that the reduction in fuel prices and table inflation over the past two months also served to encourage congressmen allied with the president to try to praise his intervening capacity in the economy, despite the clear predominance of the neoliberal paradigm of the his government, in order to create an image of protector of the most underprivileged. Too late. After almost four years of an economic policy of complete dismantling of the national economy, only those that Brecht calls “criminals” are still capable of defending, by far, the worst civil government in the history of that country.[3]
However, it must be borne in mind that the victory is not yet won. If the electoral polls indicate the possibility of a victory in the first round, this cannot be taken for granted. In my view, a second round scenario, with the dispute between a desperate and barbaric extreme right-wing minority, against the majority of the Brazilian population that just wants to go back to living in peace, with the minimum necessary to survive with dignity, as it was in both Lula governments, and in the first government of Dilma Rousseff, seems more plausible. Unfortunately. Hence we do not see the mass disembarkation of the “centrão” shock troops. Like vultures, they still smell the carrion of the Bolsonaro government.
For all that was exposed above, it is necessary to persevere and hope for better days. It is good to see that Lula's campaign is not stuck in a “splendid cradle”, just waiting for the results of the polls. For the rest, may Father Júlio Lancelotti bless us. And I hope I don't write about it again, in a possible second round.
* André Márcio Neves Soares is a doctoral candidate in social policies and citizenship at the Catholic University of Salvador (UCSAL).
Notes
[2] https://www.canalmeio.com.br/edicoes/2022/09/19/centrao-comeca-a-se-reaproximar-de-lula/
[3] For Bertold Brecht, “he who does not know the truth is simply ignorant, but he who knows it and says it is a lie, he is a criminal”;
