In the name of God

By Florestan Fernandes Jr.

Much has been stolen from us by the Bolsonaro government. The more than 680 lives lost to Covid, the prospect of a future for a country that will continue to reap the effects of hunger and malnutrition among children and pregnant women for decades to come. 

The consequences of malnutrition in young children and pregnant women are devastating, in addition to the social tragedy and cognitive deficits. 

This will severely impact the upbringing and education of these children. In other words, Brazil's future has been stolen.

And now, this week, a unique civic date has also been stolen from us. The bicentennial of Brazil's Independence, a unique opportunity to discuss as a nation the advances and setbacks we have experienced, has been taken from us.

Instead of a space for discussions and constructive actions, for civic celebration, it was a grotesque spectacle of misogyny, electoral crimes, incitement to hatred against institutions, and the elimination of political opponents.

Even the heart of Dom Pedro I, brought to Brazil in a controversial and symbolic initiative of this government's necropolitics, lost ground to the blood supply to the genitals of the President of the Republic. We were once again exposed to international ridicule. 

The national tragedy seems endless. It's like living in an infinite dystopian loop. 

We are living with the consequences of a discourse of elimination, which transforms antagonists into enemies, and which has robbed us of family men like Marcelo Arruda, treasurer of the PT (Workers' Party) in Foz do Iguaçu, who was killed during his own birthday party by a Bolsonaro supporter consumed by hate speech. Or Benedito Cardoso dos Santos, stabbed and killed yesterday with extreme cruelty in Cuiabá by his coworker, Rafael Silva de Oliveira, a Bolsonaro supporter, after a political argument.

In every aspect of national life, we have been penalized.

He stole our investments in education, research, and healthcare. He is burning our forests, polluting our rivers, and contaminating our crops with the release of pesticides that are highly harmful to health. 

He is handing over our riches and decimating the indigenous peoples. Bolsonaro has stolen the self-esteem of Brazilians. The dreams of a more just, fraternal, and compassionate society. 

Everything in this government is destruction and expropriation. We have also been deprived of publicity and transparency, which obliges public administrators to account for the use of our resources. We have been deprived of the right to know the destination of funds from amendments to the Union Budget, and the expenses of the corporate credit card. Everything is covered by centuries-old secrecy, from the suspicious family business dealings to the misdeeds of the administration. Finally, it robs us of the stability of the laws and the fairness of elections, since it used and abused countless artifices to guarantee its re-election, in an unprecedented outpouring of money for vote buying.

Bolsonaro and his followers, who so often invoke God's name, should heed what the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 10, says: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." One steals and kills. The other welcomes and cares.