May 13th - A liberation that has not yet materialized.

132 years ago, slavery was formally abolished in Brazil. The Golden Law did not translate into the full liberation of our enslaved ancestors; it did not guarantee them basic social rights, they did not have access to land, as Joaquim Nabuco already advocated at that time; they did not have access to education. Rights related to decent housing, professional training, dignified work, and access to cultural and artistic goods and values ​​were not even considered.

Today I want to remember a very dear and unforgettable colleague, Francisca Trindade, a fellow member of the Chamber of Deputies. One day, back in 2003, I raised some questions with her about the issue of quotas.

She was firm and clear. 

We are not asking for any privileges, only the beginning of the redemption of a debt that is almost four hundred years old.

My doubts have disappeared.

Today, the tragedy of Covid-19 exposes the brutality of our social injustices and inequalities. These have been built up throughout our history, with slavery being the primary cause. May 13, 1888, did not open new perspectives; on the contrary, it closed the doors to inclusion and citizenship. Slaves, who were treated as things, material possessions, and not as human beings equal to us, were literally thrown into the street of bitterness and abandonment.

This remains the great challenge for our country: to build a sovereign nation where all Brazilian women and men, without discrimination or exclusion, can live with dignity and exercise the fundamental rights and duties guaranteed in our Constitution.

Social public policies that promote life and the common good are essential; we can only ensure them in the medium and long term by implementing what has never been done in Brazil: the fair distribution of goods and wealth, which presupposes the application of the principle of the social function of urban and rural properties and tax reform, as we have done with the IPTU (Property Tax) in the Municipality of Belo Horizonte. Those who can afford more, pay more; those who can afford less, pay less; those who cannot afford it, do not pay; they receive, so that their children and grandchildren can contribute in the future.

PS Anyone who wants to know more about Francisca Trindade, Read the text I wrote. shortly after his unexpected and premature death.