A petition forthe defense of democracyin Brazil has collected more than half a million signatures, including those of heavyweight employers, in response to President Jair Bolsonaro’s criticism of institutions and the electoral system. Launched by members of the Faculty of Law of the University of Sao Paulo (USP), this “Letter to Brazilian men and women in defense of the democratic state of lawexceeded 546,000 signatures on Saturday July 31 at midday, two months before the presidential election.
“We live in a moment of great danger for democratic normality, of risk for the institutions, with insinuations of non-respect for the results of the elections», Estimate the authors of the text, also signed by former judges of the Supreme Court, and many artists, such as the famous singer Chico Buarque. “Unfounded and unproven attacks call into question the electoral process and the democratic rule of law won with great struggle by Brazilian society. Threats to other powers, incitement to violence and institutional breakdown are intolerable“, Continues the petition, which at no time cites President Bolsonaro by name.
The head of state, in power since the beginning of 2019 and candidate for a second term, has continued to criticize the electronic voting system in force in Brazil since 1996, fueling fears that he will not recognize the result of the presidential in the event of defeat. The USP petition has collected the signatures of important business associations, such as the federation of banks (Febraban) and the very influential Federation of Industries of Sao Paulo (Fiesp).
A membership seen by many observers as a reversal, the business community having supported Jair Bolsonaro during his election in 2018, attracted in particular by the ultra-liberal speech of the current Minister of the Economy Paulo Guedes.