Fernando Alcoforado*
In our last article Em defesa da paz social no Brasil (In defense of social peace in Brazil), written before the result of the elections of last October 28, we affirm that “the winner of Brazil’s presidential elections must understand that it will only be able to exercise governability if it builds social peace which is a state of balance and understanding among the inhabitants of the same country, where respect between them is gained by accepting differences and conflicts are resolved through dialogue, people’s rights are respected and their voices are heard, and all are at their highest point of serenity without social tension”. This means that the future Bolsonaro government would have to exercise a democratic government in the light of the common good. The gesture of social peace directed by Jair Bolsonaro to broad sectors of the population, who voted for the adversary, would be the starting point to begin the dialogue with the great majority of the population in the construction of a government program that would serve the interests of Brazilian society. Without social peace with the country deeply divided, no government will be able to overcome Brazil’s gigantic political, economic and social crisis, even if it implements a government of exception.
In his speech after his victory, Bolsonaro said that his government will be a defender of the Constitution, democracy and freedom. Bolsonaro said that “freedom is a fundamental principle, freedom to walk the streets, freedom to come and go everywhere, freedom to undertake, political and religious freedom, freedom to inform and have an opinion, freedom to make choices and be respected by. This is a country of us all, Brazilians born and of heart, Brazil of diverse opinions, colors and orientations”. This manifestation naturally aimed to alleviate its earlier antidemocratic pronouncements that generated the opposition of many Brazilians who do not share their thoughts. In his speech, Bolsonaro affirmed that “there are no Brazilians from the North or Brazilians from the South. We are all one nation, one democratic nation.” This manifestation was to attenuate certainly his negatives comments against Northeasterners who voted massively in Fernando Haddad.
Although he affirmed that he would make a commitment to respect the Constitution and to make a democratic government, Bolsonaro’s speech to the nation after the election results did not wave a gesture of peace to his left-wing opponents when he said that the Brazilians came to integrate “a great army that knew where the country was marching” and that “we could not continue to flirt with socialism, communism, populism and extremism on the left”. Bolsonaro informed in his speech after the victory to which citizens will be directed his future federal administration. He said: “I will lead a government that upholds and protects the rights of the citizen who does his duties and respects the laws”. Bolsonaro also highlighted his defense of private property stating that as “the democratic state of law has as one of its pillars the right to property, we reaffirm here the respect and defense of this constitutional principle”. This message would be directed to all people and organizations of civil society that do not respect the laws and the principle of private property.
Social peace will be ensured by a democratic government, not only when people’s rights are respected, but when their voices are heard. It is unlikely that the latter condition will be respected, especially in meeting the economic, social and environmental demands of the vast majority of the population. The voices of the vast majority of the population will not be heard because the Bolsonaro government will privilege the interests of business elites linked to industry, agribusiness and finance, especially the banks. His future minister of economics, Paulo Guedes, is a fundamentalist of neoliberalism who, partisan of the nonintervention of the State in the economic activity, admitted the possibility of selling public assets to reduce the size of the public debt and adopt all the prescription established by the Washington Consensus in the 1990s that has already led several countries to bankruptcy, among them Brazil in 2014. Paulo Guedes admitted the possibility of privatization of Petrobras and Eletrobras that is facing resistance even in sectors of the staff of Bolsonaro.
It can be said that Bolsonaro will only ensure social peace in Brazil if his government exercises its mandate democratically respecting the Constitution and the laws, if the constituted powers (Executive, Legislative and Judiciary) act independently according to the Constitution, if there is freedom of opinion of citizens and the media, if there is religious freedom and independent association, if there is a transparent exercise of justice in civil, criminal or other proceedings, if citizens enjoy rights and freedoms, if there is a guarantee of the citizen’s free right to political exercise without discrimination of creed, race, religion or sexuality, if fundamental human rights are respected, such as the right to life, education, housing and food for peaceful coexistence among human beings and if the economic, social and environmental demands of the vast majority of the population are met.
It is not enough to say that there will be respected the Constitution and the laws so that Bolsonaro will democratically exercise his government. Speech is important, but practice is key. It is important to respect the Constitution and laws, but it is fundamental that the economic, social and environmental demands of society are also met so that social peace can be achieved. Let us wait for the steps to be taken by the future Bolsonaro government to evaluate whether or not it will meet the conditions presented in the previous paragraph in order to make possible the construction of social peace in Brazil and avoid that the political conflict that dominates the electoral campaign does not deepen during the Bolsonaro administration whose consequences would be damaging to the country’s future. Bolsonaro needs to understand that overcoming the political, economic and social crisis will only take place provided there is a democratic dialogue with the great majority of Brazilian society. Not enough is the support of 55% of the electorate obtained in the last elections for Bolsonaro to exercise the governability. It requires the consent of the vast majority of the population for the acts of his government.
* Fernando Alcoforado, 78, holder of the CONFEA / CREA System Medal of Merit, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development by the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is the author of 14 books addressing issues such as Globalization and Development, Brazilian Economy, Global Warming and Climate Change, The Factors that Condition Economic and Social Development, Energy in the world and The Great Scientific, Economic, and Social Revolutions that Changed the World.
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