The voice of the majority: We are Democracy

By Helena Chagas, in Divergent and for the Journalists for Democracy

It may seem like a small thing, but it brings some comfort: Corinthians fans went to Avenida Paulista on Saturday.At the same time, they disrupted a demonstration that Bolsonaro supporters had scheduled to defend military intervention. The banner that appeared most often was that of Corinthians fans: "We are Democracy." They were small groups of people on both sides, just as almost all the anti-democratic protests of recent weeks have been insignificant, fueled by money from businessmen linked to Bolsonaro and supported by the president himself. With the streets empty, however, they make a lot of noise.

Because they make noise, they occupy a certain space in the media and are used by the President of the Republic as an example of someone who has "popular support." After all, the other side, the anti-Bolsonaro side, has wisely stayed home to respect the isolation measures to escape the coronavirus pandemic. At most, they bang a few pots and pans in the late afternoon.

This, coupled with the stridency of Bolsonaro's supporters on the internet, fueled by their bots and unprecedented aggression, leads many well-informed and good people to believe that Jair Bolsonaro has a reasonable amount of social support to oppose democracy – and they are afraid to confront him, even in the highest echelons of the Legislative and Judicial branches. Everything indicates that this is no longer the case.

Hence the importance of the Corinthians fans' gesture. Small, almost ignored, but firm and fearless: "We are Democracy!". A good precedent, which may encourage other sectors of society to grab their masks and, yes, take to the streets for a cause as important as, or even more important than, going to the supermarket to feed their families: to uphold the will of the majority.