Paulo Maldos (São José dos Campos, 1953) is a recognized voice in Brazil for his defense of the disadvantaged. Lula's adviser already in the dictatorship, since 2009 he was involved in the governments of the Workers' Party as an interlocutor with the popular, indigenous or landless movements and was Secretary of Human Rights with Rousseff. A friend and collaborator of Pere Casaldàliga, he recently visited Catalonia, invited by the foundation that promotes the legacy of the deceased bishop and warned of the increase in political violence in Brazil.
Lula is the favorite to win the first round on October 2. In 2018, antipetism made Bolsonaro triumph, who is now losing support, but the polarization continues. How do you see the campaign?
Throughout the Bolsonaro presidency, the phenomenon of anti-Bolsonarism took place, and it is growing. At gatherings of young people, women, concerts or in a shopping center, suddenly people start singing “Fora Bolsonaro! ”. It already has almost a 63% rejection rate. Anti-petism is falling and anti-Bolsonarism is growing, due to frustration. Our concern is that this situation, instead of generating a serious debate about the future, will lead to a physical conflict.
Do you mean clashes in the streets?
Yes, we already have many signs. With Bolsonaro, the so-called shooting clubs emerged, there are hundreds in the country. They are places where people go to shoot. Many videos are already circulating of people threatening the elections, with Lula's face on targets. There have already been serious security problems at several Lula rallies and trips. Hate speech has been installed.
Do you think that if Bolsonaro loses there is a risk of a coup?
Yes, there is danger of a coup in Brazil. The leadership of the armed forces backed Bolsonaro, who sows doubts about electronic voting. Twenty years as a deputy and now president, and nothing ever happened. But now the electronic ballot boxes are not to be trusted! Bolsonaro follows Trump's strategy: he sows distrust of the electoral process in order to later denounce fraud and carry out a coup. Since Bolsonaro arrived, there have been 60,000 soldiers holding public office in the state.
And if Bolsonaro loses, can he end up in jail?
It has a lot of open processes. He and his children. Starting with the Marielle Franco case: the murderer was her neighbor and all the connections lead to Marielle's murder. He is accused of environmental crimes, against indigenous peoples, of racism...
How will Bolsonaro overcome Lula?
He has already said many times that only God is going to remove him from the presidency. His strategy in the first round is to polarize to retain his base and reach the second round against Lula. His bet is to reactivate anti-Lulism and anti-Petism. Perhaps some kind of change in strategy will take place in the second round, spreading fake news against Lula with the advice of Steve Bannon and the millions of evangelicals.
Why is the extreme right increasing in Latin America as well?
There is a crisis of representation in contemporary society that connects with the anti-system discourse. People are not satisfied. There is frustration. The danger is hate speech. Right here, Vox attacks Lluís Companys and treats him as a genocide. Attacking symbols of democracy and human and social rights is very dangerous.
Why is the figure of Pere Casaldàliga remarkable?
Because he was always faithful to the most humble, disadvantaged, excluded sectors of society. And he had a critical discourse against a system that generated exclusion and proposed the construction of a new society in a radical but not aggressive way.
