By Walter Sorrentino
Vice-President of the Communist Party of Brazil (PcdoB)
First of all, for Brazil the year 2023 continues to be the year of hope. Nevertheless, the recent clashes are very serious. The incidents in the capital have the character of an uprising, with a chain of command and a structure.
These incidents expose Bolsonarism as agent of coupism and acts of terrorism. They are connected to a president who left the country in order not to accept the electoral result. A perfidous coward!
Underestimated the situation
We must admit that to a certain degree, we have underestimated dimension of the situation. After the elections, there were lots of celebrations and a wave of hope for most Brazilians. Loaded with symbolism, Lula’s inauguration turned into a big mass demonstration, and the new government was established with a broad range of forces.
Then they invaded the government palace, the Supreme Court and the Congress. The most worrying fact is that the government palace is protected by the military, whose chain of command did not set in action in motion. The forces of public security of the Federal District were absent. Now they were being exonerated. There are thousands of arrests and the financial sources are being identified.
Strong democratic response
The actual democratic response is very strong. Lula took charge of the situation, the Supreme Court entered in action and the Congress supported the government measures in defense of order and democratic institutions. Lula gathered all state governors in the National front of Prefectures. More importantly, massive popular mobilizations continued throughout the country with the character of a broad democratic spectrum.
Of that way, the Lula government opens path to “make from lemon lemonade”, as the Brazilian saying goes. We are alert. We cannot underestimate the seriousness of the events, nor will there be any leniency. But the support of the people to government tends to be stronger now, with a broad character of democratic unity.
A long battle ahead
This will be a long battle. There is a hard core of support for Bolsonaro in the society and its forces are encrusted in the state institutions. Besides, there is lots disoriented people. Restoring the trust of the people, moving with a large part of the population – the 49% of voters who chose Bolsonaro, depends on the success of the government, on its wide democratic and mass support democratic and the ability to raise the political consciousness of the people.
It has become more clear today that to have success for the government program, democracy remains central. The great, fundamental and first goal of the current government is to build a broad democratic front in order to isolate the forces of extreme right. That way it is possible to establish a government that already in its first year begins to fulfill promises, improves the life of the people, undertakes the reconstruction national sovereignty and ensures the resteablishment of democracy, science, education and culture that have been liquidated by the previous government.