A petition for “the defense of democracy” in Brazil gathered more than half a million signatures, in response to President Jair Bolsonaro’s criticism of the institutions and the electoral system.
Launched by members of the Law School of the University of São Paulo (USP), this “Letter to Brazilians in Defense of the Democratic State of Law” reached 546,000 signatures this Saturday, two months before the presidential elections.
“We live in a moment of great danger for democratic normality, of risk for the institutions, with insinuations of disrespect for the results of the elections,” estimate the authors of the text, also signed by former Supreme Court magistrates, and numerous artists, such as the singer Chico Buarque.
The petition speaks of “unfounded and unproven attacks that question the electoral process of the democratic state of electoral law conquered by the struggle of Brazilian society.”
“Threats against other powers (…), incitement to violence and institutional disruption are intolerable,” the text continues, without ever mentioning Bolsonaro.
The head of state of Brazil, in power since the beginning of 2019 and a candidate for a second term, has not stopped criticizing the electronic voting system in force in that country since 1996, fueling the idea that he will not recognize the result of the elections .presidential elections if he is defeated.
USP’s petition collected signatures from major employers’ associations such as the influential banking federation (Febraban) and the São Paulo Federation of Industry (Fiesp), seen by observers as a change in 2018 support for the president of the Republic.
“Who is against democracy in Brazil? We are for transparency, legality. We respect the Constitution. I did not understand this request,” Bolsonaro reacted on his Facebook page.
In a survey carried out by the Datafolha reference institute, published on Thursday, Bolsonaro recorded a difference of 18 points – at a disadvantage – with the leftist candidate and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), a great favorite in the scrutiny, with 47% voting intentions, compared to 29% for the current right-wing president.
Source: Observadora
