Ago 2nd 2024 | Nº. 128

Editorial

On Sunday, July 28, Venezuelans went to the polls in one of the most heavily scrutinized elections in the region’s recent history. Strongman Nicolás Maduro, who spent months applying the full weight of the government pressuring likely opponents, faced off against conservative Edmundo González, a politician and former diplomat. As many international observers expected, the voting process was marred by significant controversy and allegations of electoral irregularities. A lack of transparency in the hours and days after the election fueled accusations from both domestic opposition groups and international observers that Maduro stole the election. Even though several serious pollsters showed González with a sizable lead ahead of the vote, Maduro prevailed. His government then refused to provide raw electoral data to substantiate his victory. 

What has followed has been a test of Brazil’s regional diplomatic influence. The Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration has played a significant and nuanced role in the run-up and aftermath of the Venezuelan election. Lula has long supported Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution, which began under Hugo Chavez and has continued under the increasingly authoritarian rule of Maduro. This time, however, Lula sought to make clear that Maduro should accept the result of the election and step aside if he was defeated. The Brazilian president sent Celso Amorim, his closest foreign policy advisor, to Caracas to observe the election firsthand. Amorim met with both Maduro and González, according to a readout of a conversation between Lula and U.S. President Joe Biden, signaling Brazil’s intent to maintain contacts with the government and the opposition. Brazil has also stepped in to help manage the diplomatic affairs of Peru and Argentina in Venezuela after the heads of those countries broke with Caracas following the election. 

In an interview with journalist Kennedy Alencar, Amorim asserted that “we are disappointed with [Venezuela’s] National Electoral Committee’s delay in publishing the data” pertaining to the election, noting that usually the burden of proof when it comes to allegations of voter fraud is on the accuser, but given Venezuela’s years-long political travails, the onus is on the government to show that it won. Brazil issued a joint statement with Colombia and Mexico that made essentially the same point. Brazil has yet to publicly threaten a break with Venezuela, not least because Lula hopes to play the role of mediator in regional conflicts. It is unclear in this delicate moment whether Maduro will accept the moderating influence Brazil is attempting to exert. If he does not, the situation in Venezuela could once again become dire. 

Highlights

• Violence. The number of Indigenous people killed violently in Brazil in 2023 was 15 percent higher than that recorded in 2022. In total, 200 indigenous people were murdered last year, compared to 180 murders in 2022. The period in which the increase was recorded corresponds to the first year of President Lula's third term. In addition to the deaths, there were 404 cases of other types of violence committed against Indigenous people, in addition to 1,276 cases of violence against property, which included the destruction of homes and crops. The data is contained in the report "Violence Against Indigenous Peoples in Brazil," produced by Brazilian Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI).

• Espionage and coup. The Federal Police found documents in which Alexandre Ramagem, the director of Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) during the Bolsonaro administration, gathered information to question the reliability of electronic voting machines and the Brazilian electoral system, as well as information about members of the Public Prosecutor's Office who were seen as opponents of Bolsonarism. The findings are part of broader investigations into the “parallel ABIN”, as the structure set up within the Brazilian Intelligence Agency to monitor Bolsonaro's opponents when he was in power is called. Ramagem is currently a federal congressman and candidate for mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

• Governor indicted. Cláudio Castro, the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro and an ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has been indicted by the Federal Police. He is suspected of having committed the crimes of passive corruption and embezzlement involving public funds when he was a city councilman and vice-governor of the state between 2017 and 2020. From a formal point of view, it is now up to the Attorney General's Office to decide whether to accept the indictment and file a complaint with the Superior Court of Justice, which is the court responsible for trying governors. Castro's indictment adds to the long list of Rio governors who have been or are being investigated by the courts for corruption cases, which has already happened to Moreira Franco (1987-1991), Anthony Garotinho (1999-2002), Rosinha Garotinho (2003-2006), Sérgio Cabral (2007-2014), Pézão (2014-2018) and Wilson Witzel (2019-2021).

   

• Drop in unemployment. The unemployment rate in Brazil fell from 7.9 percent to 6.9 percent between the first and second quarters of this year. This decline brings the country's unemployment rate back to its lowest level ever measured for this period (April to June) since 2014. In absolute terms, the number of unemployed people in Brazil in the first quarter of 2024 was 7.5 million. People over the age of 14 who are looking for opportunities but are unable to find them are considered unemployed. The so-called “discouraged” – those who do not have a job but are not looking for one – are not included in this group. The “discouraged” in Brazil total 3.3 million.

• Public health. Brazilian health authorities have expressed concern about the spread and increase in the number of cases of oropouche fever throughout the country. Last year, 832 cases of the disease were recorded. In the first half of this year alone, the number jumped to 7,236. The fever, transmitted by a virus that has mosquitoes as its vector, was endemic in northern Brazil, but has now spread. At least two deaths have been recorded. Pregnant women make up the most vulnerable group.

News from the WBO, Organizations and Social Movements

Brazil Unfiltered. The newest episode of the WBO podcast, Brazil Unfiltered, features an interview conducted by the program's host, Professor James N. Green, president of the organization's Board of Directors, with André Pellegrini, WBO associate researcher and editorialist for the organization's weekly newsletter. They discuss the U.S. electoral situation, recently marked by the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the change of candidates in the Democratic field, following the departure of President Joe Biden and the entry of Vice President Kamala Harris into the presidential race. The program can be heard on the main players and is also available on video on YouTube.

COP30. Brazilian civil society organizations are holding a meeting this Friday, August 2 in Brasilia to discuss topics of interest to be taken to COP 30, the United Nations conference on climate change, which will take place in November 2025 in Belém do Pará. At the meeting, the “Political Charter of the Peoples’ Summit – Towards COP30!” will also be launched. 

Amazon. Before hosting COP30 next year, Belém will have, on August 4 and 9 and 9th of this year, two important events, both linked to the environment: the Amazon Summit and the Amazon Dialogues, which will be attended by heads of state or their representatives from the eight Amazonian countries: Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Suriname and Guyana. Greenpeace Brazil, which will be present, considers that “this is a key moment for us to pressure the governments of Amazonian countries for changes that create a new perspective on the Amazon”. 

Brazilian movies. Three Brazilian films will be presented at the African Diaspora Film Festival, which takes place in Washington on August 2 to 4. All the films deal with the intersection of racial issues with discrimination, political protagonism, music, democracy, and human rights. The film Rolê – Histórias dos Rolezinhos, directed by Vladimir Seixas, will make its debut at the festival. Levante, by director Lillah Halla, and Marighella by Wagner Moura will also be shown. Tickets can be purchased on the festival website, which has the entire festival program.

Feature Article

Violence as an element of presidential disputes in Brazil and the United States

By James N. Green* and Paulo Abrão**

The attack on Donald Trump, which took place on July 13 in the city of Butler, in the state of Pennsylvania, shocked the entire world, but it had an even more alarming meaning for Brazilians. In disbelief, viewers watching the news live in Brazil could not help but think of the many parallels between what was happening at that moment with the Republican Party candidate for the US presidency and what had taken place on September 6, 2018, when Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the stomach during a presidential campaign event in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais.

The first and most important fact to highlight in these two events is the harmful and undesirable effect of political violence in both countries. In a democracy, no presidential candidate should fear for his or her life when campaigning, just as no elected politician should fear for his or her life when exercising his or her mandate. In fact, no activist, protester, union leader, or leaders of civil society movements and organizations should be threatened in any way for simply exercising their legitimate right to free speech, movement, association, and protest. When the cost of political activism becomes one's own life, it is a sign of the deterioration of democracy.

The fact that violence has plagued two of the world's largest democracies in such a short space of time is a worrying indication of the corrosion of public debate. These signs should serve as a warning; they cannot be trivialized, ironized, or considered insignificant. Both cases must be properly understood and analyzed responsibly, and this analysis must lead to structural responses that are up to the task – since political violence shows signs of increasing with the passing of time. Obviously, Trump and Bolsonaro did not deserve the attacks they suffered. Both were victims of actions that are reprehensible under any circumstances. Just as, before them, Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, were also victims of political violence with an infinitely more tragic fatal outcome in March 2018. However, neither of these episodes should be seen as isolated cases disconnected from a broader context. Ignoring the complex elements that create the conditions for political violence to take hold in these societies is to miss the opportunity to collectively reflect on the quality of public debate and the risk that it will devolve into physical threats, as has been happening to a worrying extent in Brazil and the United States.

The language used by political actors has been an invitation to violence, and all those involved in this situation need to seriously reflect on their speech and attitudes. The dehumanization of adversaries points to the devaluation of life. When adversaries are seen as enemies, politics begins to go down a dangerous path. When at campaign rallies candidates use their hands and fingers to simulate firing weapons in the air or when they pick up TV camera tripods to simulate rifles with which to machine-gun their opponents, aren't they themselves investing in language that trivializes, incites, and encourages violence?

If we look back, can we not conclude that the invasion of the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021 and the destruction of the headquarters of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in Brasilia on January 8, 2023 are also part of this broader context in which violence is normalized? These acts, which would have been unimaginable in the past, are now not only part of the political landscape of the current generation but also loom as permanent threats of confrontations and violent uprisings against the centers of power.

The perpetrators of political violence must always be held accountable for their actions without a doubt. But this will not be enough unless the leaders who promote this violent climate reflect on the type of behavior that has been encouraged in their electoral campaigns and in their real and virtual relationships with their followers. Without self-criticism and an in-depth debate about the direction of our democracies, there will be no real progress in creating, developing, and defending a plural and healthy public space in which electoral participation does not become so dear that it ends up costing someone their life.

*James N. Green, historian, professor emeritus of Brazilian history and culture at Brown University, author or co-editor of eleven books on Brazil, and president of the Board of Directors of the Washington Brazil Office (WBO)

**Paulo Abrão, doctorate in law, was executive secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), national secretary in the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and president of the Amnesty Commission, as well as executive secretary of the Mercosur Human Rights Institute. He is the executive director of the WBO.

Feature articles express the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or WBO.