Democrats Around the World are Attentive to What Happens in the Brazilian Election - 7/26/22

By Paulo Abrão

There is a real risk that President Jair Bolsonaro will prevent the carrying out of the presidential elections. The threat has been repeated, although it is unknown whether there will be a questioning of the poll machines, whether local judges' orders challenging electoral procedures, or whether Bolsonaro will stop the conclusion of the count. Nor is it known whether or not he will invest in acts of violence or other means.

The important thing is to prevent this from happening and ensure that the country has another clean and transparent election, which is crucial for the consolidation of democracy and peace, and is in the interests of the majority of the Brazilian population.

Respect for the electoral process is not in the interests of the left or the right, of one candidate or another; it is in everyone's interest, the essential minimum for the country to continue functioning and not become an international pariah.

The erosion of democracy in Brazil has been going on for a long time. It includes not only the dissemination of fake news and unfounded accusations about the polls and the judges in charge of supervising the electoral process.

It manifests itself in 125 murders and attempted murders, 85 threats, 33 physical attacks, 59 violations of the law, 21 assaults, and 4 cases of arrest or attempted detention of political agents, pre-candidates, candidates, or elected officials, in data recorded between 2016 and 2020 by the joint research of Terra de Direitos and Justiça Global.

It extends through the numerous attacks on indigenous peoples, rights defenders, the press, the LGBTQIA+ community, and many other groups with which the current Brazilian government maintains a violent, permanent, incessant antagonism.

There is no action that, alone, can stop this. There must be joint and robust actions. And they cannot be limited only to Brazil. International support is essential, as this election matters to the entire world.

The current Brazilian government has internationalized its campaign to discredit the electoral system itself. The culmination of this campaign was the pronouncement that Jair Bolsonaro made on July 18 to a skeptical audience of representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in Brasília.

In response, a group of 18 Brazilian civil society organizations is in Washington until Friday, July 29 in order to meet with representatives of the US State Department, the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives, the president of the US Senate, and with one of the members of the Congressional Committee investigating the invasion of the Capitol, which took place on January 6, 2021. U.S. civil society organizations will also join this sizeable Brazilian delegation.

US officials have been traumatized by Donald Trump's anti-democracy actions. Therefore, there is a mutual interest in exchanging experiences and strengthening the democratic forces in order to prevent anyone in Brazil from trying to copy this American tragedy in the next elections.

The United States does not have any role in interfering with Brazilian democracy — and that is not what Brazilian organizations are demanding. However, we cannot ignore how much the world is interconnected.

All countries and international leaders know what will happen in the Brazilian election. This event will undoubtedly provoke echoes that will impact the fate of many other democracies.

Interest and interdependence are genuine. Opponents of democracy know this. Democratic forces worldwide now have the chance to prove that they can do much better together.

The Brazilian delegation is composed of representatives of the following organizations: Washington Brazil Office, Comissão Arns, Pacto pela Democracia, Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil - APIB, Artigo 19, Instituto Marielle Franco, Geledés - Instituto da Mulher Negra, Greenpeace Brasil, Instituto Vladimir Herzog, Instituto de Referência Negra Peregum, ABGLT, Conectas, 342 Artes/342 Amazônia, Instituto Clima e Sociedade, Transparência Internacional Brasil, Uneafro, Nave and Conaq.

This article was published in Folha de São Paulo on July 26, 2022 and is available in Portuguese here

Paulo Abrão is the Executive Director of the Washington Brazil Office