Minister Fernando Haddad's civilizing crusade

Minister Fernando Haddad has been giving historic interviews this month, a kind of March rains closing out the summer, which is absolutely fundamental for Brazil, which still lives under a false polarization encouraged especially by the mainstream media, which ends up giving breath to the authoritarian remnants of Bolsonarism for a simple reason: it is the same media that said: "Anything but the PT!", that had to swallow the PT and now wants to return to the old McCarthyism and hatred of the PT.

The presence of Minister Fernando Haddad in various forums speaking about the excellent results of the economy, pulling Brazil out of the hell of stagflation — the phenomenon of combining low growth (or recession) with inflation, masked by a decrease in the quantity of product and an "equal" price, for example, instant coffee with a 40g packet, previously 50g, or toilet paper that was 40m, now 30, 20m, but with the illusion of the same price — among other magic tricks of the Temer-Bolsonaro era.

Minister Fernando Haddad was on the popular podcast Flow and, in addition to giving a great lesson, he did so in a lighthearted and relaxed way, clarifying controversial points — including the Pix issue, the dollar, and the immense victory of the tax reform approval — in a didactic, simple, and direct manner, without needing to use a professorial tone or economic jargon, which was a pleasant surprise.

The recent offensive by Lula's government in communication and image recovery, especially because the government obtained large positive numbers in the face of the chaos that Brazil experienced under two terrible governments—the result of the coup, Temer-Bolsonaro—has made Brazil go backwards: a setback of 20 years, a return to the map of hunger, unemployment, and despair.

The recovery is remarkable, not only in the GDP, which is "surprising," but also in employment, economic initiatives, and inflation control. However, there are obviously societal pressures because the economy was in bad shape and the political scenario was much worse. Within this logic, there is little room for error or experimentation: it's about doing what the PT governments did best, during the Lula and Dilma I administrations, which is the pursuit of growth and income distribution, strong social programs, and investment in health and education.

Campaign promises, such as the issue of income tax exemption for those earning up to R$ 5.000,00, are a huge challenge in an extremely unfair country, where those earning over R$ 600 pay almost no income tax, yet have their media outlets defending them. The effort by CNN and GloboNews “journalists” to intimidate Minister Haddad, who delivered a spectacular speech before the armed ultraliberal bloc against taxing millionaires, was symbolic.

The civilizing crusade relies on this correct, serious, calm, and convincing vision that Minister Haddad has brought to the debate, without allowing himself to be intimidated or pressured by ideologically captured journalists serving the interests of a tiny minority. As the minister said: 140 people cannot impose themselves against 220 million. The vulgar argument of one journalist even went so far as to claim that they pay taxes when they buy and consume—as if others didn't—and that the latter also pay income tax; they don't.

It is necessary for the progressive camp to amplify the excellent interviews that Minister Haddad has been giving, as a way to improve the quality of the debate and get out of this predicament the country is in.

Congratulations, Minister Fernando Haddad!