Jean Wyllys' decision and the attack on our freedom.

Jean Wyllys' decision not to serve his third consecutive term as a federal deputy is yet another serious indictment of the democratic restrictions in place in our country since 2016.

A representative of the LGBTI community and defender of human rights, including men's, women's, Black, Indigenous, and workers' rights, Jean announced that he will not take office for the 2019-2023 legislature due to death threats he and his family have received.

Without the support of the State to represent his people, the parliamentarian becomes the first sitting politician to go into exile abroad after the military coup that began in 1964.

As Chilean lawyer Antonia Urrejola Noguera, Brazil's special rapporteur to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS), observed, Brazil was unable to guarantee the basic conditions necessary for Jean to perform his duties. This inability stems from the fragility of our democracy and the failure of the democratic rule of law.

Last November, the Inter-American Commission issued a precautionary measure ordering the State to take steps to protect Jean, who was living in a kind of private prison, with security guards and armed escort. The government, however, was negligent and failed to act in defense of a Brazilian citizen in danger.

Just as it failed with Marielle Franco, a city councilwoman from the same party as Jean Wyllys, who was brutally murdered in March of last year in Rio de Janeiro. The crime has not yet been solved.

I had the privilege of working alongside Jean in the National Congress. A journalist and university professor, he always stood out for his intelligence, consistency, ease of communication, and commitment to the causes he defends and to the people who elected him.

Jean was instrumental in securing the approval, in the Social Security and Family Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, of bill 7.441/10, which obligates the government to compensate dependents of victims of sexual or domestic violence when the victim's death is a result of omission or negligence on the part of the government.

He is passionate about culture and a great ally in defending women's rights, with outstanding performance in the Culture and Combating Violence against Women committees and important contributions to the Women's Rights Defense Committee, which I had the honor of chairing in 2018, and to the Special Committee that analyzed PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) 181/2015, a measure that alters maternity leave in cases of premature births.

Furthermore, he is the author of important bills such as PL 2.669/2011, which establishes guidelines for the treatment of rare diseases in the Unified Health System (SUS); 11.169/2018, which creates the Brazilian Women's Dossier, to guide the participation of public authorities in the preparation of periodic statistics on women served by federal government public policies; and bill 11.168/2018, which establishes the Permanent Campaign for Awareness and Confrontation of Harassment and Sexual Violence against Women in public transport. The last two texts were presented by Marielle Franco in the Rio de Janeiro City Council.

The State of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil have lost a great parliamentarian, a legitimate representative of a marginalized and harshly persecuted segment of society. This is a severe attack on freedom, one of our most cherished constitutional principles. A victory for intolerance, hatred, and ignorance, which have been amplified by fake news and irresponsible, reckless statements that fuel ideological policing and encourage the actions of insane followers.

Although I regret the negative impact of his departure on the balance of power and popular representation in the National Congress, I understand Jean and sympathize with him during this difficult time.

With a state absent and determined to eliminate dissent at any cost, Jean is right to act in order to stay alive. The wheel of history turns and new times will come. As former Uruguayan president Pepe Mujica told the parliamentarian, "martyrs are not heroes," and great warriors know the right time to retreat, wait, and prepare for the next battle.

Receive my solidarity and fraternal embrace, dear friend. See you soon!